Commentary

The Paradox Of Social TV

The DVR phenomenon, followed by VOD, and then the tsunami of OTT, was launched by a universal disdain for appointment-based television viewing.  The notion of watching any video anywhere at any time has been the holy grail of new and emerging technologies and services such as VOD and online video.

Nobody can argue that this trend has been anything but successful. DVR and VOD penetration has continued to rise among cable and satellite subscribers. OTT video continues to be unstoppable

A bigger force that has pervaded our lives since then, though, is social media.  The valuations of social media startups continue to dwarf those of digital media, for example.  The rate of adoption of social media services, whether social networks like FB and Twitter, or social commerce daily deals such as Groupon, also outpaces the use of digital media.

Companion viewing on second screens (such as an iPad or smart phone) is the next big frontier for television (and one that I believe will catapult Apple to its “next big thing” after the iPhone as a key attribute of the next iteration of AppleTV).  While the appeal of the second screen is in its potential for advertising -- and highly targeted, interactive advertising to boot --one of the primary adoption paths of such second screens will be through social features. 

For all the factors against appointment-based viewing of television, one of its main attractions has been the “water cooler phenomenon.” That is now evolving to what can be reasonably called the second-screen phenomenon.  This social integration with video is an interesting fork in the road that seems to lead back to appointment-based viewing. 

Chill.com is trying to capitalize on social behavior by setting up appointment schedules for OTT content so that people can schedule group viewing sessions.  At some point, if this trend catches on, there is no reason why it can’t become a feature in every OTT site’s viewing options.

Traditional linear television programming is also trying to reinforce such second-screen social behavior.  Ten broadcast groups covering 45 of the top 50 markets with 76 million U.S. households have partnered with ConnecTV, a second-screen application tied to live TV.  Some of the broadcasters have invested in the startup as well.

Even in the world of music, the new hot arrival is not Spotify but turntable.fm, which encourages people to listen to the same stream at the same time -- sort of like radio, albeit with additional social features thrown in.

Is there social viewing without appointment-based viewing?  Digital and social media industries are evolving at such a fast pace that it’s conceivable new forms of social interactions may emerge that obviate appointment-based viewing as a core construct for social TV.  But for now it seems that there are limited options to do so, and the attractiveness of social integration with video viewing may take us back to the future of appointment-based viewing. 

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