Second screen interactivity opens up opportunities for broadcasters and advertisers

The second screen revolution has begun and the results are here for everyone to see. One of the key trends in 2017 and 2018 has been the increased use of second screen interactivity by broadcasters as a means to engage more with their TV audiences. With more than 300 million smartphones present in India, broadcasters are increasingly using mobile phones/tablets/laptops as devices to engage with their viewers while they are watching TV. From a ‘lean back’ to a ‘lean forward’ change in the TV consumption, several cases show that linear television is building program loyalty.

Ernst and Young, an audit and consulting firm, recently released a white paper on how second screen interactivity is changing the television viewing experience in India. Enabling audience engagement, second screen interactivity provides its audiences the ability to interact more with TV content, stories and celebrities. 30% of the time spent on the mobile device is on entertainment. Interactivity enables broadcasters to provide escapism, knowledge, social acceptance to their audiences and to directly connect with television audiences in a non-intrusive manner.

With the demonstration of the power of the medium, broadcasters are building their viewer database, which can be monetised with advertisers and help in understanding consumption patterns and increase the time spent on TV by up to 50%.

Interactivity is becoming more prevalent across all the genres such as music, films, fiction, and not just game shows, benefitting viewers. In case of KBC Play-Along, Jio along with Sony Entertainment Television developed a play-along game for the ninth season of KBC. As a result, viewership went up by 73% when compared to the previous season. As the show garnered 9.2 million impressions per episode, the play along engaged 3.5 million players on an average daily with a peak of  4+ million players.

In case of Hotstar Watch’N Play, Star decided to simulcast IPL on TV and Hotstar and introduced an interactive play-along app on Hotstar. It witnessed 10.3 million simultaneous viewers taking the interactivity to a new level with 2.1 billion trivia and predictive questions answered and 2.4 billion Hotstar emojis shared. Indian Idol on Sony Liv app and Rising Star on Colors TV app are many such cases.

Mini Gupta, Partner, Media and Entertainment, EY India, said, “Brand collaboration through quizzes, puzzles, and many more methods is possible through second screen interactivity which helps TV broadcasters connect with the new generation of the digital consumers.”

Globally, leading content providers are finding newer ways to engage with audience via second screen interactivity. Facebook is all set to venture into TV shows and is looking to reinvent it with new interactive shows. Facebook Watch will launch a slate of new shows with interactive features like polls and quizzes to make good on the social platform’s intent to foster a greater sense of community between creators and users.

With its potential to generate revenue and cut marketing costs, second screen has to the power to create its very own loyal viewers who can continue to engage even after the end of the show. Interactivity presents broadcasters with an opportunity to provide advertisers with a TV plus digital offering and enable transaction opportunities with their customers.

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