Is IntoNow’s new app a social TV game-changer?
IntoNow launched an iPad app and updated its iPhone and Android apps today with an entirely new experience that goes beyond identifying TV shows to powering a real-time, second-screen experience that’s synchronized with what you’re watching. And it’s impressive.
Up until this point, IntoNow — which was acquired by Yahoo in April — used audio-identification software to allow viewers to identify and “tag” TV shows. With this new release, IntoNow is offering synchronized news headlines, in-depth sports stats, recommendations and social discussions that correlate with what’s on TV.
Panasonic bundles social TV app with Viera TVs
New connected Viera HDTV sets from Panasonic will now feature a built-in Social TV app that allows viewers to watch TV while interacting with Facebook and Twitter. “Our thorough research pointed to a desire to be able to watch content on the TV, while at the same time being able to tweet on Twitter or update your status on Facebook,” explained Panasonic VP Merwan Mereby. Here are some screen grabs of the app in action, including a ticker mode:
‘WSJ Live’ coming to Google TV, Roku and more
The Wall Street Journal’s video service, WSJ Live, has expanded aggressively beyond its iPad debut in September. This week, WSJ announced it has inked distribution deals with Google TV, Roku, Apple TV and Daily Motion. Earlier, it expanded to Boxee and a variety of internet-connected TV sets including Samsung and Yahoo’s Connected TV platform.
And last week, WSJ announced it would help power a new YouTube content channel. To date, the WSJ Live iPad app has been downloaded 125,000 times.
NBC uses tweets for critic quotes in TV promo
The gushing critic quote has been a staple in TV promos for new shows and movies for years. First, they highlighted newspaper columnists and TV critics. Then they expanded to bloggers, some of which cranked up the positive reviews in the hope their quote would get a little screen time. And now, NBC has included tweets.
After all, everyone’s a critic on social media, and why not glean the best tweets for some splashy TV quotes? NBC did just that with its promo of Grimm that began airing after the show’s premiere on Friday night.
Where the NBA lives on TV when there’s no NBA season
Now that November has arrived, there’s a big void on TV as a result of the unfortunate NBA lockout. Games are cancelled at least through the end of the month. The most action the NBA is currently getting on TV, besides SportsCenter updates on the lockout, is Kris Humphries sudden divorce from uber-celeb Kim Kardashian, which is already being memeified on the social web. In an attempt to understand how the NBA lives on TV and through conversations about TV online, we took a look at some of the reality TV shows NBA players have popped up in.
Social Guide set to launch ‘Intelligence’ analytics tool
Brooklyn-based Social Guide, the social TV data startup that raised $1.5 million this past summer, is set to begin rolling out an analytics platform this month. “I think it’s going to be very different than what Trendrr and Bluefin have,” says Founder/CEO Sean Casey, who added that “networks need to start recognizing and rewarding,” based on the linear programming they’re already using.
The company, whose data focuses “mostly on Twitter,” received a nice shout out from Twitter themselves in the new guide for Producers for TV they published. Their approach to social TV data differs from Trendrr, Bluefin Labs and Networked Insights because they track social solely against Electronic Program Guide (EPG) data the company licenses from Tribune Media Services.
