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TEN announces zeebox as second-screen platform

TEN announces its upcoming social media platform, to follow from Seven's FANGO and Nine's Jump-In.

TEN has joined with UK social media company zeebox to launch its dedicated second-screen platform in the third quarter of 2012.

It follows from Seven’s FANGO and Nine announcing Jump-In, set to launch shortly.

To be available on iPhone, iPad, Android devices, smartphones, laptops and PCs, zeebox will offer social media engagement and advertising opportunities with TV viewing.

TEN Chief Operating Officer, Jon Marquard, said: “The launch of zeebox in Australia is a key part of Network TEN’s digital media strategy.

“We know viewer behaviour is changing and audiences are multi-tasking.

“About 70% of TV viewers use a second screen while they are watching TV. This creates an enormous opportunity for zeebox, a free, network-agnostic app that offers consumers a much broader and deeper experience than other second-screen apps,” he said.

“Zeebox’s research shows people want an app that gives them a better way to find TV programs, a better way to know what TV programs their friends are watching, and a better way to find information on what they are watching. Zeebox delivers all that, and more.”

TEN says zeebox will allow viewers to “Connect with friends around TV shows. See what people are sharing about TV shows on Twitter and Facebook. Find more information about what’s on TV. Find out information relating to the TV show I am watching. Buy products related to TV programs, such as DVDs, CDs, music downloads, books, and so on.”

Its features include:
• Discovery: zeebox helps people choose what to watch.
• Social: zeebox allows viewers to see what people are tweeting about and/or discussing on Facebook about a given show, and to share their own comments with friends and followers.
• Information: zeebox’s “zeetags” or links lead viewers to a world of information about the programs they are watching, the actors, and so on, via Google, Wikipedia and other sources.
• Participation: zeebox offers interactivity, added content and two-way TV.
• Shopping: zeebox offers an easy-to-click shopping service, to buy products related to TV programs, such as DVDs, CDs, music downloads, books, and so on.

Zeebox will be usable with all free-to-air channels and Foxtel.

In Australia zeebox will feature its OpenBox toolkit, which allows broadcasters and program makers to publish show-specific content through zeebox. OpenBox is designed to make efficient use of content already created by the show’s rights-holder: fan pages, cast bios, backstage videos, custom Twitter streams, interactive widgets, and more.

zeebox Australia will be run by internet investor and entrepreneur Craig Blair, previously a principal at netus, a News Ltd-backed technology investment company.

8 Responses

  1. I’d say 70% of people have probably used a second screen while watching TV …. at some point. Doesn’t mean 70% do it all the time or even regularly, though. Also, I can’t speak for everyone else but when I have my phone or laptop in front of me and the TV is on, what I’m doing on my “second screen” is totally unrelated to what’s on the TV. I’m just multitasking during the ads because they’re annoying.

  2. I don’t want to interact with others and tweet about shows that are airing. When I’m watching TV, I generally have my iPhone, iPad or notebook on hand so I can play games during the commercials or if the show gets boring. Who really wants to chat with strangers about what is happening in an episode of a TV show?

  3. “About 70% of TV viewers use a second screen while they are watching TV.”

    Yeah, reminds me of the statement ‘98% of all statistics are made up’!!

    Where do they get 70% from??

  4. I can’t help but think attempts like this overlook /why/ people are using other devices while watching TV.

    Sometimes it’s so they can ‘connect’ with friends and other viewers via social media (or make some inane semi-witty comment in the hope it gets shown on-screen, a la Q&A). But I suspect it’s mostly so they can get away from the ads.

    So why will people chose to use something that “will offer … advertising opportunities with TV viewing”?

  5. I haven’t tried the 7 and 9 ones but I assumed they were limited to shows on their own network, this one does all of them so I might actually bother to get it even though I never watch live.

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