Not surprisingly, that quip came from CBS research chief Dave Poltrack, who was talking about the role of so-called “second screen” and “social TV” experiences with me and
New York Times ad columnist Stuart Elliott during the coffee break this morning at the ANA’s TV & Everything Video Forum.
Poltrack’s point, is that that it all begins with the
original experiences consumers go to their TV/video screens for. You know, content.
That said, Poltrack recognizes that people are beginning to interact with that content in new and different,
and increasingly, simultaneous ways. And that’s where the second- (and maybe even third-, fourth-, etc.) screens come in.
According to Poltrack, they are coming in every day… to
pitch CBS executives on why the Tiffany Network should be partnering with them and their platforms.
Poltrack noted that there’s a big “Second Screen TV conference” coming up
in the Midwest and there already are more than 50 exhibitors expected to present.
So far, Poltrack has not be shazamafied, meaning he’s not so sanguine about the prospects for all these
promising technology start-ups. Recalling a recent tech forum in New York City, Poltrack said there were “2,500 attendees… representing 5,000 companies.” You know what he means,
right – that each of those companies were likely in the process of “pivoting” into a new version of their company, if not another one altogether. “And every one [of those
representatives] was the CEO,” Poltrack quipped. “And they’re probably all 20-years-old,” I added.
That said, Poltrack recognizes that the consumers actually are
changing because of the technology. He cites research showing that among “digitally-connected” households (homes that subscribe to both broadband Internet and digital TV services), 60%
have simultaneously interacted with a second screen while watching the first.
In other words, who's on first?