Vetrya on second screen and interactive opportunities
Given the ubiquity of smartphones and tablets throughout Italy, it’s to be expected that the broadcasting industry is increasingly looking to exploit commercial opportunities related to the so-called ‘second screen’. Fortunately, there is no shortage of companies developing innovative solutions aimed at addressing precisely this issue.
In Italy, these second screen pioneers include Vetrya, a specialist in multi-screen platforms, media asset management, mobile entertainment, internet TV and broadcast services whose recent projects have included work on new DTT TV channel Super!. “The basic idea is to open up various new marketing opportunities,” says Vetrya CEO Luca Tomassini of the channel.
Launched on 9 December 2013 by De Agostini, the channel’s main application has been an instant success, registering 125,000 downloads in the first month alone. The basic concept is quite simple since many viewers can ‘play’ with the TV channel through fun quizzes, win exclusive gadgets and be updated in real-time on the schedules of the various activities.
The data relating to the users of this service is interesting indeed, with the new channel involving more than 10,000 people a day connected via the applications. The interaction is achieved via smartphones and tablets even if the traditional TV channel is in full development. The concept is that rather than ‘second screen’ it is more correct to speak of ‘multi-screen’ where each device is considered an extension of the main entertainment opportunities provided by the high quality TV channel.
There are many opportunities here for interaction, and it’s something that’s also recognised by the advertising community, which can find out more about customer preferences and therefore tailor the ads to more readily stimulate the purchasing impulse. On the viewer side, there is an opportunity to be less passive and to engage with a variety of content in addition to the standard linear TV programme.
The interactive platform that Vetrya utilises to make all this possible is called Tivin and provides a CMS that manages all content and services related to the transmission broadcast live and on-demand. After listening to the television audio it automatically operates by synchronising the transmission with the interactive application via the return channel of the Internet.
As a result the publisher or broadcaster may combine a number of interactive services that can be monetised, such as interaction with the world of social networks, personal comments and sharing, providing a rating of each programme in real-time, and so on. It is also possible to augment the linear content with additional camera angles, live polls and voting, bonus content, interactive advertising and purchase of related products.