Thursday’s Social TV Must-Reads (Feb. 21)
We can’t wait for Feb. 28 to see who wins the Latin Social TV Awards. Check out our announcement of the finalists in nearly 20 categories in the first awards that honor excellence in social TV for the fast-growing Latin market.
Last night, news came out that Nielsen is expanding its definition of TV viewing.
Today, check out what the critics are saying about tonight’s TV highlights, see how Twitter is providing a parallel experience that may be better than just the Oscars TV feed, and how social has helped “Scandal” connect with an audience.
Sony rolled out PlayStation 4 last night, adding social sharing to a much-needed update to its game console. Meantime, we wait to see what Samsung’s TV Discovery Service will bring. We also found articles about how social is making it hard for TV folks in trouble to come back, and how social media comments are really miffed about characters deaths. We’re looking at you, “Downton.”
In sports, the NBA midseason ratings are out and Oklahoma is rising as is New York.
Check out our daily report, share the URL and tell us what you think!
TV Tonight
What are the critics picking on TV tonight? Here are the recommendations from LA Times, USA Today and NY Times:
- ‘Elementary’ at 10 on CBS via LA Times http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/showtracker/la-et-st-thursdays-tv-highlights-elementary-on-cbs-20130220,0,1730363.story
- ’Community,’ on NBC at 8, ‘Parks and Recreation,’ on NBC at 8:30, ‘Scandal’ on ABC at 10, via USA Today http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/tv/2013/02/20/bianco-critics-corner-feb-21/1932751/
- “Community” on NBC, “The Big Bang Theory” on CBS at 8, and “Scandal” at 10 on ABC, NYTimes via Seattle Times. http://seattletimes.com/html/television/2020393740_tvpicks21xml.html
TV Ratings
‘Body of Proof’ and ‘Smash’ Hit Lows, ‘Cult’ Premiere Finds No Following
Tuesday night wasn’t particularly pretty for any of the broadcast networks, but it did give a decisive victory to CBS in both the key adults 18-49 demo (2.6 rating) and total viewers (15.6 million).
Read more http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/tv-ratings-body-proof-smash-422640
Oscars
Twitter provides riotous counter-narrative to Academy Awards glamour, pomp
The second-screen experience is never better than on Oscar night, when a separate (and some might say superior) entertainment experience plays out on social media.
Read the article by The AP http://www.cleveland.com/movies/index.ssf/2013/02/oscars_2013_twitter_now_provid.html
Hardware
- Sony shows PlayStation 4 capabilities, but no box
Sony has an updated controller that adds a touchpad and a “share” button. The controller also features a light bar, which means a new PlayStation camera can more easily track the device for motion control.
Read more http://www.wnem.com/story/21293417/sony-shows-playstation-4-capabilities-but-no-box
- Samsung’s TV Discovery Service Learns Your Viewing Preference
Samsung is set to unveil TV Discovery, a service that aims to personalize users’ viewing experience, at the Mobile World Congress, the company announced Thursday. The service, which can be used on Samsung’s mobile devices and smart TVs, searches for programming from various sources, including traditional live television, video-on-demand or online sites such as YouTube, according to a release. It can also transfer and mirror content between connected devices.
Read more http://mashable.com/2013/02/21/samsung-tv-discovery/
Second screen
Flemish TV broadcasters unveil Stievie second screen app
Flemish television broadcasters VRT, VMMa and SBS Belgium have unveiled an iOS app for live television and catch-up TV: the Stievie app.
Read more http://www.telecompaper.com/news/flemish-tv-broadcasters-unveil-stievie-second-screen-app–926297
Research
Cord-cutting will have minimum impact, says PwC
PwC said that broadcasters were increasingly investing in second screen applications and noted that social TV activity nearly tripled to 95 million interactions on major social network in the second quarter of 2012.
http://www.digitaltveurope.net/32851/cord-cutting-will-have-minimum-impact-says-pwc/
Social Media
How Social Media Made Scandal a Hit in Season 2
During last week’s episode alone, Scandal generated roughly 197,000 tweets, making it the No. 1 most talked about show on Twitter that day. The season total for tweets is close to a whopping 2.07 million.
Read more http://www.mtshastanews.com/article/20130220/NEWS/302209935
People
- TV personalities caught up in criminal scandals have tough time making comebacks
Tom Taylor, editor of the newsletter “Tom Taylor Now,” says social media magnify the impact of high-profile cases these days. “We follow cases them like chapters of a reality show,” he says. “We wait to see what happens next.”
- Written Off: From Downton Abbey to M*A*S*H, killing off characters is a tricky business
Heartbroken and irate viewers have been taking to social media to excoriate the “Downton Abbey” creator’s decision to kill the beloved Matthew Crawley in the closing seconds of Season 3′s finale, which aired Sunday on PBS.
Read more here
Content
HuffPost Live’s Super Social Show Has 27 Million Monthly Video Views
In the six months since HuffPost Live launched, this team, along with one like it in Los Angeles, has created about 3,900 segments covering everything from the presidential election to Kate Middleton’s baby bump. After being chopped into about 10,000 video clips and redistributed throughout the Huffington Post, those segments have drawn more than 149 million views.
Sports
Thunder making noise with its RSN ratings
As the NBA heads into the second half of its season, the Oklahoma City Thunder, residing in the nation’s 41st-largest TV market, is posting some of the highest local NBA ratings in at least two years.
Read more http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2013/02/18/Media/NBA-RSNs.aspx
Latin Market
Post Foods Ups Univision ‘Premio’ Support
Univision will also get major off-line marketing exposure for its upcoming youth music show “Premios Juventud” on some 4 million boxes of Post Foods cereals, featuring Aarón Díaz, who stars in Univision’s novelas “Teresa” and “El Talismán.”
Social TV Daily publishes this daily roundup of news articles across the Internet. Excerpts are drawn from the content and full URLs are included.