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The Upside Opportunities for Social Participation TV

Mobile Interactive Group (MIG)  released the results of a recent market study about the trends and opportunities in participation TV (P-TV) services -- in particular, interactive social channels across global broadcast television markets.

Their research uncovered key technological and behavioural insights into the entire P-TV value chain -- from the types of devices that consumers use to interact with TV shows -- such as media tablet, internet, mobile, apps, SMS and fixedline broadband -- how they multi-task with them while watching TV and over which payment channels they prefer to purchase participation services such as voting and competitions.

The study considered the role of mash-ups between established social media channels, in particular Twitter and Facebook, with broadcast TV interactivity -- concluding that there's a potential new business model. MIG calls that model "Social Participation TV."

Key findings from the recent MIG market study include:

Mobile will become the main vehicle for interaction between viewer and broadcaster.
  • 40 percent of mobile users are most likely to be multi-tasking using their phone while watching TV.
Smartphone adoption will drive TV and mobile multi-tasking in UK and U.S. markets, creating a more engaged audience, and significantly increasing program interaction.
  • The majority of multi-tasking occurs during the evenings and weekends during peak TV times when online browsing declines and mobile browsing grows.
Facebook will drive a shift in interactive audience behavior away from phone calls and text with these channels becoming peripheral in the long term.
  • Facebook mobile now accounts for 50 percent of its 700 million users globally. Moreover, 67 percent of all respondents indicated that the internet is the ideal way to interact with TV shows, with 50 percent of those indicating that Facebook would be their preferred channel to purchase and use participation TV services such as voting.
Interactive events via Facebook are expected to generate $51.7 million (£32.04 million) in the UK by 2012 and $2.9 billion globally by 2016.
  • MIG's global research into the Social Participation TV sector, incorporated qualitative and quantitative insights from The IAB and PhonePay Plus and Adfonic, also drew conclusions from interviews conducted with 3,000 consumers in the UK.
Barry Houlihan, the CEO of  Mobile Interactive Group said, "Social participation TV is a huge opportunity for MIG and our broadcast partners, with mobile featuring as the key enabler and engagement tool. The mobile device is ingrained in our daily lives, and is rapidly becoming a core component in the ability to create an interaction between the viewer and the TV."

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