By Susan Rush, SmartBlogs.com
If you think social TV is only for young, hip viewers, you are mistaken. Live televised events or TV series that have loyal fan bases are perfect candidates to add social TV elements — that was one of the takeaways from the “Social Television — The Merger of Content, Social Interaction and the Video Platforms” discussion panel at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on Friday.
Where will social TV work?
To open the session, panel moderator Richard Sussman of The Nielsen Co., pointed to the success the 2010 Oscars had with Facebook, noting that “Facebook was the winner of the Oscars.” Shows like the Oscars make viewers realize that they need to watch an event or show in real time to be part of a “telecommunity.” “A [digital video recorder] makes the telecommunity disappear,” said Sussman, who also said viewers who paused the Oscars were out of sync with the social interaction.
“Any show with deeply loyal communities can be a candidate for social TV, “ said Sussman.
Gayle Weiswasser, Discovery Communications’ vice president of social media, agreed. “Social media has great capabilities to enhance the fan experience. She pointed to the success Discovery had building fan participation on a social platform when the channel aired Capt. Phil Harris’ last appearance on “Deadliest Catch,” which aired after he passed away. Discovery’s website attracted 14,532 participants in an online chat after the episode aired on the East Coast and another 5,339 after the West Coast airing.
To read more, visit: http://smartblogs.com/socialmedia/2011/01/11/how-can-advertisers-and-programmers-leverage-social-tv/