As social media continues to evolve and expand, we are now seeing a fundamental shift being made in the way companies are trying to capitalize on this in order to reach a broader market. A UK channel is now in the process of experimenting on how social media can influence the TV consumption habits of its viewers. Channel 4, the UK’s second biggest TV station, is planning to launch a new sub channel that will exclusively rerun shows that have created the most buzz on Twitter, Facebook and other social media outlets within the last 24 hours. The new channel, 4Seven, plans to bring social media to the screen by broadcasting viewer’s comments about the show (positive and negative) before the start of each segment. By implementing this strategy it’ll give Channel 4 the opportunity to maximize the audience of its most popular shows and allow people to catch up on TV that ran within the previous week.
According to Jim Dowling, manager of Cake who handles social media for Sony and Ikea, "The opinion people trust the most is that of their friends, not TV critics or commissioning editors. I like the idea of a broadcaster listening to its audience and serving up what it wants. Advertisers will enjoy the comfort buying spots around shows that have already been given the thumbs up by the audience."
I know what you’re thinking because I was thinking the same thing. What about DVRs and Video on Demand? According to analysts, in 2011 90.6% of all TV in the UK was watched live. So even though the research is slightly outdated, they are under the assumption that people prefer to watch their TV in real time. I’m very curious to see how this new channel performs. Typically when episodes get lots of buzz after airing, people who missed the show, but whose interests were piqued, would have to wait for the next week to sample the show. Now however, they will be able to watch it the very next day and not have to start watching the series having missed the hyped episode. This has the potential to be a success but I also feel there are several factors that may impede it. The social media audience typically consists of a younger generation of individuals. Therefore, 4Seven is only catering to a younger demographic and runs the risk of not being able to reach older viewers. In addition, socially savvy audiences are also technologically savvy and could eventually be more inclined to adapt to DVR/PVR/VOD usage and thus impact the long term sustainability of this idea. Lastly, given that the data is taken from the last 24 hours, how does 4Seven plan to tell notify its viewers in advance of what shows it will be showing? This communication problem could turn viewers off. However, if 4Seven, proves to be a success, it could start a new trend that will reshape the entire television industry. Time will tell…
http://adage.com/article/global-news/u-k-channel-air-shows-social-media-buzz/235245/
No comments:
Post a Comment