The use of social networking, especially with friends, while watching the tube has become increasingly popular because of the spread of smartphones and tablets. Motorola's new SocialTV Companion Service runs on devices like those, which consumers simultaneously and frequently use when watching TV, as we reported last week in "Motorola Combines Social Networking and TV Viewing."
SocialTV Companion Service came about because of the convergence of a perfect storm in the industry, according to Chris Wright, with Motorola's converged experiences software product marketing team.
The storm that emerged in the last year consists of:
1. The soaring popularity of companion devices like the iPad and Motorola's Xoom. Many consumers are using them in the living room while watching the boob tube.
2. The prominence of social networks like Facebook, Twitter and chats. The FOMA (fear of missing out) has struck young and old and keeps them glued to the screen of their computing devices, tablets and smartphones.
3. The convergence of technology that lets social networking and content to be connected.
Motorola's current SocialTV Companion runs entirely on companion devices. It is not currently linked or interactive with what's on TV although that is an option if the pay-TV services are interested.
The cloud-based software supports HTML5, meaning it works on any device with an HTML5-compliant Internet browser. That includes iPad and iPhone, which do not support Adobe's Flash. Motorola has affinity for its Motorola Xoom, of course.
Motorola's SocialTV Companion Service is aimed at content providers such as the studios and networks and at the pay-TV service providers.
1. It allows pay-TV companies to compete with the threat from OTT video services such as Netflix by increasing stickiness. Pay TV subscribers could also operate their DVR because it knows what's on and could offer interactivity. By tapping into the booming popularity of social networking, they are more likely to retain subscribers. The pay-TV services can offer their own version of the Social Companion, one that's customized to their needs. The user would follow a TV channel such as ABC or the BBC.
2. Content providers can offer the app as a private branded portal, one they can bring the cast and crew to for direct chats. They can also integrate the SocialTV Companion with existing apps like Facebook. If someone has, for example, 130 Facebook friends, all 130, subject to filtering, can see and chat about what they're watching.
There are reportedly two layers to the Social Companion service:
1. A baseline service that lets viewers see all Tweets related to a particular show as well as a live feed of real-time comments with their social community. It also provides show-specific featured product promotions, a built-in loyalty program, related online web video clips and optional advertising services plus standardized real-time experiences that let viewers express how they feel about the show they are watching and see the combined results for the larger community.
2. If the content producer is involved, then viewers may have access to additional premium interactive content or services, such as interacting with the cast and crew that could be chatting or participating in real-time show-specific trivia quizzes or voter surveys.
Both the pay-TV service and the content producer can offer extras like games, show-related merchandise, extra video feeds, DVDs and promote other shows.
Motorola says it's ready to take orders and it can do an implementation in about eight weeks. Verizon is believed to have signed up for its FiOS TV service. So far, Motorola said, no one has said no to the concept.
In the future, Motorola said it could also stream live TV to a companion device, in full-screen or in a partial one, with social networking showing in a Window.
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