Quantifying TV’s social surge
A new study by Toronto’s Solutions Research Group (SRG) has found that more than a quarter (27%) of all online Canadians now talk online about the TV shows they’re watching.
This can include posting about the show on Twitter and/or Facebook, as well as engaging in conversations on mobile apps that enable people to watch TV and connect with other fans that have identified the same TV preferences.
SRG identifies this emerging group as “social TV viewers.” The study found that the percentage of Facebook users who have posted a comment about a TV show rose to 31% from 25% a year ago. In addition, 29% of respondents said they had “liked” a TV show in the past year, up from 26%. Fourteen per cent have also “liked” a TV channel, up from 9%.
The study also found that 17% of online Canadians have posted a link to a video or clip from a TV show on Twitter, up from 14% in 2011. About 25% have posted a comment about a TV show.
Twitter, the study said, has become a “legitimate vehicle” for broadcasters to connect with audiences. About a quarter of Canadian Twitter users now follow a TV show on the micro-blogging network, up from 21% in 2011. In addition, 15% said they have tuned into a TV show after a tweet reminded them it was on, up from 11% the previous year.
The study found that 27% of online Canadians posting on social networks were talking about the content of the show, while 16% were expressing their like/love for a particular show and 8% were commenting about a particular character or reality show contestant. Only 5% of respondents said a post was personal and unrelated to specific content they were watching.
While social TV viewers encompass all demographics, the vast majority (88%) are between the ages of 12-49, with an average age of 33 years. They are also more likely to be female (54% versus 46% for males).
Ontario accounts for about 40% of all social TV viewers, followed by Western Canada (31%) and the Atlantic provinces (10%).
“Social TV is a real opportunity for marketers on two levels,” said Kaan Yigit, SRG president. “One, they can create better ads and target them better as they have access to unprecedented real-time access to audience reactions to shows and characters they are associated with. Two, by listening to social TV interactions, they can inform their own social media strategies on Facebook and Twitter.”
Several inroads have been made in this space. This year, for example, Bell Media introduced “fingerprinting technology” for its CTV and Discovery Channel apps that serve up an ad unit on an iOS device when the app detects a commercial airing during the TV broadcast.
The study says that apps enabling users to simultaneously watch TV and connect with friends and fans are still in their infancy, with only single-digit usage in Canada. GetGlue, an app that enables viewers to “check in” to a TV program they are watching, has awareness of 10% among the study’s representational participants. Only 3% said they had used the app. GetGlue was the top mobile app in the category, followed by iPeel with 8% brand awareness and 3% brand usage.
The findings are based on a survey of 1,000 online Canadians conducted in late summer 2012 as part of SRG’s quarterly Digital Life Canada tracking study.
