In what may be its largest acquisition to date, micro-blog network Twitter is taking direct aim at the social TV and second-screen segment. According to a report at Business Insider, Twitter will buy one of the leading social TV metrics firms Bluefin Labs. Bluefin is a widely used metrics company measuring and analyzing the impact of TV properties on social media. Twitter has not publicly confirmed the story, and Bluefin representatives have not responded to requests for comment.
In making the purchase, Twitter would appear to be arming itself for a continued push to grab TV advertisers and promote itself as the primary social TV tool. As the company touted after the Super Bowl, about half of advertisers during Sunday’s game displayed a Twitter hashtag in their spots. The network claims 24.1 million Tweets occurred during the game’s telecast.
Bluefin would give Twitter both metrics that tie TV and its service together as well as a B2B product it can sell to TV networks, advertisers and agencies looking to gauge their social media impact. Bluefin does not just measure Twitter but also includes Facebook in its metrics.