The Flaming Lips’ Wayne Coyne on social TV and OMAs [video]

At #MashCon, MTV’s Dermot McCormack announced the new O Music Awards (OMAs), a 24-hour live streamed bus tour at the end of June. One of the big goals of the social media infused extravaganza would be an attempt to break Jay-Z’s record for most concerts performed in 24-hours. Today, the OMAs announced that The Flaming Lips will be the band on the bus partaking in the most un-traditional awards show ever. Before the announcement, we spoke with frontrunner Wayne Coyne at MTV’s Times Square office about how he uses social media and his favorite TV shows.

Inside one of the biggest social TV ad campaigns ever

Last week news broke that Unilever would be launching their new Clear Scalp & Hair Therapy product in a massive launch across NBCU’s linear, digital and social properties. This past year, Unilever has been extremely daring in their TV spends. In January, they enabled Fox to launch “Touch” globally on TV and the social web. Now, their U.S. Hair Care division is leveraging social TV to change the a way a thirty second spot is created and implemented during programming.

Is ‘hate watching’ a new social TV sport?

Watching spectacularly bad TV shows for the sheer pleasure of mocking them with your friends is not new — remember Mystery Science Theater 3000 mocking bad movies? — but the advent of social media may have turned it into a sport for a small group of TV viewers. Now there’s a term for it, “hate watching” and the occasional #hatewatching hashtag, to boot.

Crowdfunding the next hit TV show, meet Mobcaster

Upfront season, the busiest time of the TV industry just concluded last week. BET, MTV, E!, A+E Networks, NBCU, Fox, Univision, CBS, ABC and USA Network‘s upfronts all used social TV to tell their advertisers why they should invest in their programming and initiatives. While social is going to play a bigger role in the business of TV than ever before, the way programming is green-lit for pilots and funded couldn’t be more traditional…

Inventor of TV remote, Eugene Polley dies at 96

Ever since LostRemote.com launched over a dozen years ago, it’s been a search engine favorite for people looking for remote controls (and for couple seasons, fans of the “Lost” TV show, too). So it goes without saying that we should report that Eugene Polley, the brilliant engineer who invented the wireless remote control, has passed away at 96.

Comcast unveils new TV platform with apps, social home screen

Comcast has taken the wraps off a new cloud-based platform that turns the TV set into an interactive experience with third-party apps and the iPhone or iPad into a multi-gesture remote control. “I think of it as taking all our learnings from the web and all our learnings from video and tying them together,” explained Comcast Cable President and CEO Neil Smit, who demonstrated the new products at the Cable Show.

How the MLB Fan Cave became the league’s social strategy

Live TV has enabled sports leagues to provide for fans via the social web like never before. Major League Baseball has been at the forefront of this social TV innovation. Last summer Stephen Colbert took over its Twitter account. In December MLB added a brand new social media layer to one of its studios, and last month they recorded three million downloads to their app in just eight days. With a 162-game season and playoffs, the MLB decided to do more than just create a social TV strategy. They created an entire Fan Cave, now in its second season.

How artists and sponsors performed in social media at ABC’s Billboard Music Awards

Modern Family’s Phil and Claire Dunphy, who in real life are Ty Burrell and Julie Bowen, hosted the 2012 Billboard Music Awards last night kicking the night off with an hilarious opening act. With Bieber, LMFAO and more descending upon Vegas for performances, it’s no surprise that high social TV buzz was in the air. Bluefin Labs tracked this buzz and provided Lost Remote with an infographic to detail the highlights…

Twitter announces editorial partnership with NASCAR to complement broadcast

It appears to be the season for new kinds of Twitter deals. Just after their major announcement with ESPN, for the first time, Twitter will partner with a sports league to curate and editorialize tweets. Starting with NASCAR’s Pocono 400 race, which will air on TNT, Twitter will be curating #NASCAR to capture the buzz around the game. We spoke with Twitter spokesperson Rachael Horwitz.

YouToo extends to Facebook with ‘Be on TV’ app

The social TV network YouToo — which Mark Burnett invested in earlier this year — has launched a Facebook app to encourage people to submit video, get on TV and then tell their friends about it. “Naturally, you want to be seen by your friends and family on TV,” CEO Chris Wyatt told Lost Remote, explaining how getting on TV and then sharing the experience go hand in hand….

How are TV companies reacting to the Facebook IPO?

History was made today as the Facebook IPO hit the market. Eyeballs around the world were glued to cable news today reporting on every move of the stock and the company that began in a Harvard dorm room. So how should TV companies react to the news? “Facebook claims to be an ideal partner for TV companies,” explains the social TV research company Futurescape. “It can help them market their shows and engage their viewers. Yet it competes with broadcasters…

Second screen giving: E! and Shazam partner to raise money for Make-A-Wish Foundation

It’s always nice to see a social TV integration aimed at a social good. USA and Viggle recently raised funds for Characters Unite, and now E! and Shazam have partnered to “Shazam For A Cause,” an initiative to support the Make-A-Wish Foundation. It’s tied to the new E! show, “Mrs. Eastwood & Company,” about the life of Clint Eastwood’s wife, his daughters…

‘Call the Close’ on Facebook IPO in CNBC’s game

Facebook’s big IPO is underway, and CNBC is pulling out all the stops in coverage. “Every story, every angle, every platform,” the promo reads, blazoned across the cover photo on CNBC’s Facebook page. Part of that coverage includes a Facebook game about Facebook’s stock price called, “Call the Close.”

USA Network trends worldwide during upfront

As USA Network announced a ramped up social TV strategy for the summer, its upfront took place at NYC’s Lincoln Center. The event was produced as way more than just an opportunity to announce their new programming. From the red carpet to fan involvement to one of their biggest announcements during the presentation, social TV was part of the production. We spoke with Jesse Redniss, SVP of Digital for USA Network, Jason Hoch, SVP of Digital for WWE and several USA’s “Characters”.

The Weather Channel revamps iPhone app with photo sharing

The Weather Channel, which boasts one of the most downloaded iPhone apps ever, has pushed the biggest update since the app launched in 2008 with new social features (you can download here). The network recently celebrated their 30th birthday, and it launched a brand new site embedded with social. Here are the new social elements to their app.

USA ramps up social TV efforts for summer months

One of the challenges of summer programming is, well, getting people to watch. As a marketing vehicle, social TV is more important than ever during the slower months, and USA is ramping up its efforts with six sponsored campaigns to support its slate of summer original premieres. And the campaigns are coming along with big-name sponsors.

MTV announces nominees for ‘Must Follow Artists on Twitter’ for Online Music Awards

MTV recently announced a massive OMAs that will involve a live streamed 24-hour bus tour. As the June event approaches, the OMAs are beginning to announce nominees across their different categories. They provided Lost Remote exclusively with this year’s nominees for “Must Follow Artists on Twitter.” We spoke with Shannon Connolly, VP of Digital Music Strategy for the Viacom Music & Logo Group about the category.

Briefs: Viacom-TWC, Xbox, Peel, Netflix, Canadian TV

A few more industry stories from around the web today…

- App streaming settlement – Viacom says it has settled a lawsuit with Time Warner Cable over app streaming. Viacom says it will now offer all of its programming to TWC subscribers for in-home viewing on tablets and other devices. No word on the settlement terms.
- Xbox in TV lead? – Forrester Research says “Microsoft is in the lead” in the TV race with the Xbox, spanning content library, engagement path and overall ecosystem.
- Peel on Android – The social TV app Peel launches on Android with a social program guide, recommendations and second-screen community features.
- New Netflix video player – Netflix has updated its browser-based video player, and it looks snazzy. Gizmodo breaks down the new additions.
- Facebook vs. Twitter in Canada – Seevibes looks at Canadian TV and breaks down which social networks broadcasters use to promote various shows.

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Study examines how viewers engage with social TV

When Viacom Media Networks asked people about “social TV” in a new study, the most common responses involved the words “interactive,” “friends” and “Facebook “or “Twitter.” It was part of a research project to understand social TV through the eyes of the viewer. “One of the main goals of this research was to understand how to inspire social TV activity among our audiences,” said Colleen Fahey Rush, who headed up the study. It found the top three social TV activities can be boiled down…

Which new ABC shows will be a hit?

Social TV data company Networked Insights (NI) continues to push out useful information for TV buyers. We reported on their NBC and Fox predictions and now they’ve shared their ABC insights, which had its upfront earlier this week. ABC had one of the most talked about new shows, Revenge. If you know someone that watches Revenge, they are most likely obsessed…