Monthly Archives: February 2012
Twitter’s Golden Social TV Opportunity
In the spirit of research and investigation, I tried most of the Oscar oriented apps and several of the general social TV apps during last night’s broadcast. Crickets. At least from my friends, who all seemed to be on Twitter (as they always are for events like the Oscars). The 300 or so people I follow on Twitter provided enough rapid-fire commentary on their own to keep me from even bothering with hashtags. Now while my Twitter friends do not a focus group make, the obvious takeaway here is that critical mass is very, very important to the success of any social TV app. And that Twitter would be mad not to create one of their own. They’ve already got the bulk of the conversation. And they desperately need a way to make money that doesn’t involve sponsored tweets. So why not just create their own Social TV app that looks and feels just like Twitter only with extras like … Continue reading
Back To The Future
So Pandora’s Box creaked open yesterday and out flew HD digital antennas, this time in the form of Aereo, a legally tenuous startup funded by the likes of Barry Diller. Aereo (né BamBoom) offers consumers two lightweight mini-antennas (they’re about the size of a dime and look like doll-sized Silly Bandz bracelets.) With your antennas, Aereo gives you access to all the broadcast channels in your area (all the major networks) and a cloud-based DVR that holds 40 hours of programming (you can even upload from both antennas simultaneously.) For potential cord-cutters, this is huge news. Access to live news and sports has long been the main thing keeping viewers tied to a pay TV provider. With Aereo, they’ll get news and weather. For the most part, anyway. Broadcast-only means no cable networks like ESPN and CNN. But ESPN and CNN have web-based apps that feature live TV. And along with popular cable staples like HBO, Showtime, AMC, USA , … Continue reading
Asia Takes the Lead in Growth of IPTV Services
Global IPTV revenue and subscriber numbers will double within five years, with Asia being the driving force. According to Informa Telecoms & Media, the revenues from IPTV services will reach $11.9 billion by the end of 2016. That’s a $5.7 billion increase from the number recorded for 2011. Additionally, the current global subscriber count of 34.3 million will jump to 76.6 by the end of 2016, which accounts for 5% of homes around the world with television sets, with plenty of room for additional growth. From a regional standpoint, Asia will prove to be the leader in the growth of IPTV, accounting for a little over a quarter million of the number of subscribers in 2016. The US will be a close second, drawing nearly 14 million subscribers by the end of 2016. Both Eastern and Western Europe will show an increase of over 10 million subscribers. France is currently the IPTV leader in Europe, and their numbers will continue … Continue reading
Was the 2012 Super Bowl a Social TV Success?
As we predicted, the 2012 Super Bowl proved to be one of the biggest social TV events of the year. However, it could have been far more impressive if brands had done a better job connecting their commercials with their social media campaigns. Research group Altimeter was disappointed by the fact that 32% of advertisements didn’t include references to brand websites or social media sites. There were also some campaigns that required viewers to spend too much time thinking about how to navigate through processes to activate perks. According to ReadWriteWeb, “…only six ads used hashtags in lieu of a Website or social media site, but those ads were notable because they did not ask viewers to like them on Facebook or follow them on Twitter. Instead, they asked for viewer interaction.” The entertainment check-in service GetGlue claims there were over 160K Super Bowl check-ins on their service alone, which went up 700% compared to the 2011 Super Bowl. Lora … Continue reading
Hands-on KIT digital experience at Cabsat 2012
KIT digital will be participating in the Cabsat show, the established and respected trade platform for the digital media and satellite sectors across the Middle East, Africa, and Southern Asian regions, in Dubai, from February 28th to March 1st, 2012. We are going to Dubai to present our new broader portfolio of services and solutions that we worked so hard to deliver for you. At Cabsat you will have a chance to experience our Broadcast Integration Services (BSI): flexible solutions designed to meet the needs of the world’s biggest broadcasters. We will show how we apply our design and construction expertise to broadband-enabled installed and mobile broadcast facilities such as newsrooms, studios, control rooms, transmission centres, Earth stations, disaster recovery suites, and outside broadcast vehicles. We will also be presenting KIT Socially Enabled TV: a “lean back” experience that transforms viewing by integrating a “second device” such as a tablet or smart phone, into an interactive super-remote synchronised with the … Continue reading
KIT digital’s Employment Growth – 3rd Largest in the U.S. Tech Industry
Bloomberg BusinessWeek reports that KIT digital increased its workforce by a whopping 319% during the most recent two-year period. This represents the third-highest growth rate among large U.S. technology companies (market value > $100 million.) Impressive numbers like this put KIT in the same league as rapidly expanding tech leaders like Apple, Google, and Amazon. To learn more about job opportunities at KIT, please visit our “Careers” page or recruiting section on our LinkedIn Page. http://www.kitd.com/company/careers/ http://www.linkedin.com/company/kit-digital-inc/careers
Don’t Make Me Think: Second Screen Experiences and the Super Bowl
Back in seventh grade, I remember learning about some Renaissance-era British doctor who, in order to study the process of digestion, would swallow food in a linen bag attached to a string that he’d then drag back out of his stomach. So comparatively, my experience using various social TV apps during the Super Bowl in order to report on them, was relatively painless. But still. So few of them were done with any forethought whatsoever. When we are watching TV, it’s generally a pretty immersive experience. We’ll multitask in short bursts, but please do not ask us to decide whether we want it shipped to our home or office, if standard is okay and did we still want to buy it with our American Express card ending in xx-4099? Here’s the deal: E-commerce is best left until the show is over. Ditto getting “more information” on anything. So let me save something for later in a basket, bookcase, coupon book – whatever … Continue reading
Register Now For Our Social Media Week NYC Panel On Social TV
My Social TV App Thinks I’m My Dad: Privacy Issues In The Age of Convergence Thursday, February 16th @ 5PM Edelman Worldwide, 250 Hudson Street, NYC Streaming and VOD details to be announced here shortly Join KIT’s own Alan Wolk, Viggle’s Mike Sommers, Dan Neely from Networked Insights and The Blair Witch Project and Campfire’s Mike Monello as they discuss hot topics in the world of social television. Moderated by Digiday writer Jack Marshall, the event is filling up fast, so register now at http://socialmediaweek.org/event/?event_id=2279 The event is free, but registration is required.
Super Bowl with a Second Screen
The rapid adoption of viewing live TV in tandem with a “second screen” device is bound to make the 2012 Super Bowl the biggest social TV events of the year. As a matter of fact, every major Super Bowl commercial has a social TV component. We think this is the right approach: 30-second commercial slots can’t stand alone, and advertising campaigns should go social. Music app Shazam is making all the right moves for the Super Bowl. They made headlines last year upon the launch of Shazam for TV. This year, they will power nearly a third of all Super Bowl advertisements. With over 175 million users (60 million in the U.S,) Shazam is considered one of the driving forces behind second screen interactive television. TV check-in service GetGlue, in comparison, is 2 million strong. Shazam, along with other major media companies, is relying on viewers to use their phones to interact with commercials for more than catching up with the … Continue reading