Fox announced Tuesday that it is launching a syndication network that will allow outside second-screen TV app providers to use Fox's sync-to-broadcast experiences, which are currently only available in Fox Now apps. The new digital network is also designed to allow Fox to create, manage and syndicate content to smart TVs, connected TVs and television service providers looking to increase audience engagement. Most importantly, this is significant news to leading second-screen companies like: Shazam, Viggle, ConnecTV and NextGuide which will gain access Fox's social, behind-the-scenes and interactive content around Fox shows while synced to the broadcast.
According to Viggle's press release (linked at bottom), "Fox has some of the most loyal, invested fans on the planet, so we want them to have the richest, most immersive experience possible with our shows and our brand partners -- no matter which TV app or platform they use," said David Wertheimer, president, digital, Fox Broadcasting. "By syndicating the content we've built around our show broadcasts, we're extending the Fox experience to viewers across all digital platforms and providing our partners with new and valuable opportunities around our content." See More:
Viggle - 02/26 - FOX LAUNCHES NEW DIGITAL CONTENT SYNDICATION NETWORK or B&C - 02/26 - Fox to Launch Digital Content Syndication Network by Tim Baysinger
Betsy Morgan and I met back earlier in her career when she was SVP of CBS Interactive. She's built an outstanding track record and has experienced a lot since then spending the majority of her time in the "wild west" times of the digital age's new video landscape. Currently she is the president of TheBlaze (Glenn Beck's media company). A network that's "blazing" (pun intended) new trails in today's cross-media multi-platform world. Today there is no longer a one-size fits all model; rather what's needed is a flexible approach that serves consumers however and whenever they want to access content. She believes that the big problem with legacy media companies is that they’re trying to preserve audience. By choosing to protect particular businesses at the expense of experimenting with new models those content provider will ultimately be the ones that will ultimately lose.
This morning I ran across this insightful interview of her at NAPTE done by Will Richmond @ Videonuze.com. Take a look: Conversation with The Blaze's Betsy Morgan
UPDATE 05/02/13 - Cablevision, beginning late this month, will add Glenn Beck's online channel TheBlaze to its Optimum TV lineup. Cablevision, which has about 3 million customers in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, is the biggest provider to program Beck's channel, which launched an effort in March to gain carriage on pay-TV systems. The New York Times - Cablevision Picks Up Glenn Beck’s Internet Channel by Brian Stelter
Since this year’s CES show in early January, Intel has been receiving a lot of press on it's up and coming Web TV service. In a recent conversation with Peter Kafka and Walt Mossberg at D: Dive Into Media, corporate VP of Intel Media Erik Huggers tried to make the case that yes, the hardware company can make a compelling case to market Web TV to consumers. Can they succeed where other industry giants like Apple and Google have not? Hugger's admits that it's an uphill battle. The Intel service will require consumers to purchase a new box (the name of which is yet to be announced), which is necessary to deliver what he deems “the full experience” that the company wants. "I think we can bring an incredible television experience via the Internet to consumers,” Huggers said. “What this is not about... is a value play.” Don't expect them to offer “a la carte” programming, either. In other words, expect bundles of programming like those offered with other major TV packages. But Huggers’s pitch is for a better bundle, smarter and more well-curated. “If bundles are bundled right … I think there is real value in that,” he said.
No doubt Intel’s most difficult sell with this new product/service will be with the integrated camera. According to Hugger, it watches your movements and TV viewing habits with the aim of personalizing the way your each member of the household watches television (not to mention it’s ability to highly target advertisements). Ultimately, he said, being able to identify an individual TV viewer will provide a better overall user experience. So in a nutshell, Huggers wants you to buy a great-looking box with a superior UI and potentially personalized content streams for roughly the same or more than you currently pay. From my perspective that’s going to be a difficult pitch, to say the least. Over the past five years I've worked with the majority of companies that are trying to carve out a share of this space. This is definitely one to keep an eye on. More on this to come!
See the interview on Aol: http://on.aol.com/video/erik-huggers-talks-up-intels-web-tv-service-517670867
Second-screen apps have been trying to figure out how to turn a profit from the growing chatter around TV and Zeebox thinks they have the answer. Earlier this week they launched an automated advertising platform called SpotSynch that will show users targeted digital advertisements simultaneously with specific TV programs and commercials. The goal of the new product is to create an immediate path to engagement, said Jason Forbes, exec VP-managing director of Zeebox USA. Traditional TV ads create demand and are a call to action, ads on Zeebox let viewers go to brands' websites, get more information, enter a sweepstakes or take a poll or quiz. The hope is that playing Zeebox ads off commercials will increase the impact on viewers while creating a monetization model the company can bank on.
First launched in the App Store in September, Zeebox is a second-screen TV app. Using it, viewers can see comprehensive TV listings, information about favorite television personalities, and, of course, it comes with a social element. According to the company, Zeebox has been downloaded about 1.2 million times since it arrived in the U.S. Full disclosure, I use Zeebox on a ongoing basis, at to onset, I do not have any issues with the concept behind SpotSynch. I actually feel it will add to my viewing experience and I like the idea of having consistent ads on two platforms providing they are relevant. Second screen apps, by their very nature, are supposed to add to the TV viewing experience however, if SpotSynch becomes too obtrusive to my television viewing experience, my opinion and future usage of the app is very likely to change.
