'Second screen' apps turn digital distractions into TV companions

Disney and Yahoo design 'second screen' apps for phones and tablets that help viewers stay invested in a TV show or movie – even when they're ignoring that TV show or movie.

|
Marcellus Hall
Disney pushes 'second screen' apps for multitaskers.

When KC Orcutt watches television, she rarely just watches the television. Her eyes bob between the screen and her phone.

The writer from Albany, N.Y., uses her smart phone to check e-mail, read websites, and comment on movies while she watches them.

"I judge a movie by how often I check my phone," she says.

According to studio executives and advertisers, Ms. Orcutt is part of the problem.

Forty percent of tablet and smart phone owners in the United States use those devices daily while watching TV, according to the research firm Nielsen in New York. More than 85 percent pull double duty at least once a month. And these distracted moments aren't confined to commercial breaks. Nielsen found that multitaskers are just as likely to use their phones or tablets during the program as during the ads.

Rather than compete with these devices, Disney is experimenting with ways to occupy both screens concurrently. It has developed "second screen" applications, software designed to complement television. Part director commentary, part online forum, these apps try to keep people like Orcutt invested in a TV show or movie – even when they're ignoring that TV show or movie.

"People can now interact with features about the making of the movie in ways that have not been possible on DVD or even Blu-ray," says Ole Lutjens, chief creative officer at MX, which creates second-screen apps, in San Francisco. "You can interact with it. You can take it with you. Share it with friends."

MX designed companion software for the Blu-ray releases of Disney's "The Lion King," "Tron: Legacy," and "Real Steel." As viewers watch the movie, their iPads or laptops show bonus features specifically timed to the movie – similar to VH1's "Pop Up Video" but on a separate screen instead of obscuring the primary one.

These Disney apps run through concept art, behind-the-scenes video, 3-D models, and games for kids. If the add-ons pull people in, a single tap will pause the movie or resync the app to match the video.

Disney's second-screen apps are free of charge but require a code that proves viewers purchased the corresponding Blu-ray disc. Once unlocked, the app will work whether or not people watch the movie.

Mr. Lutjens considers MX's approach – turning the iPad into an interactive art book – to be one of three second-screen strategies. Beyond curated extras, there are adaptive apps – where a computer searches the Internet to find related information on whatever viewers might be watching – and social check-in apps – where people announce what they're watching and strike up conversations about those shows.

Several services, including Umami, Yap.tv, and BuddyTV Guide, blend the adaptive and social approaches. For example, Yahoo's IntoNow identifies what people watch on the fly, whether live programming, news broadcasts, recorded shows, or Netflix streaming video. It then pulls up actor profiles, related stories, and discussions with other users.

The free app has racked up 3 million downloads across iPhone, iPad, and Android devices. The company says hundreds of thousands of people load up IntoNow during big events, such as the Academy Awards or a Super Bowl.

Unlike Disney's behind-the-scenes peeks, almost all of the information on IntoNow is available elsewhere. But Adam Cahan, who founded IntoNow and remains at the helm since Yahoo bought the company last year, says that his app better addresses why people turn to second screens.

TV did not get less interesting, boring viewers into fiddling with their phones. Social networking and quick research got more interesting, luring people back to the Web.

"What happens when you start creating one-off applications – one app for each TV show and movie – is you're just fragmenting," says Mr. Cahan. Anyone who gravitates to Facebook while watching TV may still do so while using a curated app. Better to incorporate such features into a single service, he says.

But watching how people use IntoNow may also support Disney-style second-screen apps, if they're compelling enough. Cahan says that user activity rises during big games and award shows, events that do not require constant attention. But there are large dips during well-written dramas, followed by a burst of activity once the show ends. It seems device owners can contain themselves for quality content.

As more data emerges, advertisers are slowly changing their tune about second screens. Nielsen found that 1 in 5 TV two-timers use their devices to look up products that they saw in ads, and people are more likely to remember brands if they appear on multiple screens.

For more on how technology intersect daily life, follow Chris on Twitter @venturenaut.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

QR Code to 'Second screen' apps turn digital distractions into TV companions
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/Technology/Tech/2012/0417/Second-screen-apps-turn-digital-distractions-into-TV-companions
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe