Social TV – a game changer?

Speaking at a conference earlier this week, Endemol’s CEO Ynon Kreiz said social television is “going to be huge”.

He is not the only one to predict a rise in social TV this year, with David Rowan, the editor of Wired, naming social TV as his third most likely trend to gain traction in 2011.

IPTV services are expected be driven by social media: “TV is inherently social – and social media is a conduit. Put them together in a workable, ergonomic way and the convergence will have impact,” reads an article on appmarket.tv.

Last year, research from Intel said almost half (45%) of Brits use social networking sites to discuss a programme such as The X Factor while it is on air.

This supports Thinkbox and Decipher’s Tellyport study, which found that 44% of viewers claimed to have used social networks such as Facebook and Twitter while watching TV.

Viewers enjoy checking their accounts and ‘chatting’ about TV content using a second screen, such as a laptop or mobile.

The research said the rise of two-screen viewing has created a ‘virtual sofa’ that enhances viewers’ enjoyment of TV. 37% claimed to have chatted online about TV content – programmes or advertising – with one in five (19%) claiming to have shared TV content on a social network (Thinkbox: November 2010).

However, when it comes to interacting with social media on the main TV screen, viewers are less keen – mainly because social networks are seen as a personal experience, rather than a shared experience.

appmarket.tv quotes Cory Bergman saying: “We think that social media meets television is the next big thing. The ability to create content that will enable people to interface with each other, to connect, to recommend, to share and experience over television, is going to change the landscape of the industry.”

However, this trend varies significantly by genre and age. A Deloitte report says: “The phenomenal pace at which social media and social networks have become entrenched within our everyday lives raises the question of their possible long-term impacts on television. The current relationship can be characterised as predominantly complementary, but limited in reach.

“While social networks and media do support each other, the synergy varies by genre and age. Programmes aimed at younger age groups tend to experience the greatest symbiosis: a few programmes and commercials become greater successes or are plucked from obscurity thanks to online peer recommendation.

“Among UK viewers it is still the exception rather than the rule to comment on a programme currently being watched on the web. However among 18-24 year olds the practice is more widespread and it is now becoming standard for programmes targeted at this age group to incorporate a social media and social network element. However while two fifths of this age group comments, of those who comment, almost all do this only ‘occasionally’.”

This year will no doubt see developments in the social TV world, with apps on TV screens, and an increasing demand for IPTV services. However, let’s not get ahead of ourselves – even if Facebook launches a ‘John Smith is watching The Inbetweeners’ function, the appeal of social networking on a TV set will be limited (probably to the younger / early-adopter generation) AND the take-up of connected TV still needs to gain traction.

Last year, Kantar Media’s futurePROOF study found that awareness of IPTV had still not reached mainstream levels, with less than half the population understanding the connected TV proposition. YouView could have potentially changed that – it was set to be a catalyst for internet-TV in the same way BBC iPlayer was the catch-up TV. However, with a launch date closer to 2012 now, it will be down to other services to push connected services to the mainstream audience.

There are plenty of players hoping to give it a go, many with exciting propositions for the year ahead, although the chances of mainstream adoption in 2011 are probably slim.

There is no doubt connected TV will change the TV landscape in the future and the links between social media and television will become stronger as a result, but whether it will be “huge” this year remains questionable.

A day will come when all TV sets are connected, including the one in each teenager’s bedroom. When this happens, social TV is likely to be huge (as well as completely normal).