Last year, ABC launched an iPad app companion to the new show, My Generation (below), that displayed additional content and interactivity in sync with the TV broadcast, even if it was recorded on your DVR. But alas, ABC canceled the show after two low-rated episodes.
Now ABC is relaunching the app but with the popular show, Grey’s Anatomy. Similar to the first app, it will be powered by Nielsen’s Media-Sync Platform, which listens to the TV audio to synchronize the app experience. It’s due to roll out in the iTunes store any day now, says Rick Mandler, VP of Digital Media at ABC.
“I think we’ll have a better sense of synchronous applications on an iPad when we roll out the Grey’s Anatomy version,” Mandler said, adding that the My Generation app — with only two episodes — had very modest use. He said the effort so far is largely an experiment.
“We like the idea of building complementary content for our shows and engaging audiences in new ways, but it has to have a business model for it work for it to ultimately succeed, and that has yet to be seen,” he said at the TVNext conference in Boston (video). “Television is the big dog. All of these additional screens are in support of that television experience . We don’t want to interrupt people’s television experience. We want to enhance people’s television experience. That’s really key.”
