App Developers Are Geting Personal; WILL FOCUS MULTIPLATFORM STRATEGIES ON CHOOSY CONSUMERS

With TV channels now ofering thousands of apps where consumers can view TV programming, developers will be focking to the International CES in Las Vegas from Jan. 5-9 to survey the newest devices and features in app development.
TAKEAWAY
With tv ratings down, networks must boost multiplatform usage by improving apps and digital products.
To better engage consumers that frequently have scores of apps on their phones, developers working for programmers and operators said they are focusing on personalization, social-media tools, improved TV everywhere oferings and tools to help with better understanding of how consumers use various devices.
“Every platform is slightly diferent,” David Wertheimer, president of digital at Fox Broadcasting, said. “The Xbox viewer watches a different mix than the iOS tablet user. It creates a great opportunity to think about how we can better program, promote and design those products.”
“Every platform is slightly different. … It creates a great opportunity to think about how we can better program, promote and design those products.”
DAVID WERTHEIMER, FOX
That makes tools to understand consumer behavior increasingly important. “Better measurement is at the top of our list, as well as improved video-content discovery, personalization and the ability to improve engagement by allowing users to interact and share content,” Tamara Franklin, executive vice president of digital, Scripps Networks Interactive, said.
These tools are also crucial for the ongoing attempts to boost digital ad revenues. “Mobile is a big driver for growing consumption of video because everyone has a smartphone and a lot of people have a tablet,” Colleen Fahey Rush, executive vice president and chief research officer, Viacom Media Networks, said. “But as you’ve seen on the earnings calls this fall, a lot of people are frustrated that Nielsen is not keeping up with measuring how consumers are watching TV programming.” Ashley Stull, senior director of product management, Adobe Primetime, added: “There really is a need to get a good currency in place.” Adobe recently formed an alliance with Nielsen to offer cross-platform measurement, she noted. “The intention is to provide publishers with the flexibility to use C3 or dynamic ad insertion or a mix of them.”
BEYOND THE SECOND SCREEN
In developing new products for digital platforms, some of the hype around second-screen experiences synced to live television has dissipated. “A lot of the attempts have been forced or manufactured, and haven’t really added value in terms of the consumer experience,” Franklin said.
But others stress the importance of second-screen efforts, at least for some types of programming, particularly sports and reality. “We haven’t really changed our strategy for second screen,” Wertheimer said. “We continue to believe it is a great place for supporting content in the digital space and continue to invest heavily around our unscripted shows like American Idol that we will be bringing back in a big way in January.” Added Ryan Spoon, senior vice president of digital product development at ESPN: “Fantasy football is probably the largest second-screen experience,” and the growing popularity of connected televisions will allow them to further improve.
Much of the focus on second-screen continues to revolve around mobile and social media. “Programmers are making a much bigger efort to integrate social conversations into their apps and to ofer shareable content on the second screen that will help activate the frst screen so that the mobile app will help drive engagement and tune-in on the TV set,” said Jonathan Weitz, partner at IBB Consulting, which works with a number of major companies on their apps.
SOCIAL AT THE HUB
Given the widespread availability of mobile devices, a number of companies are placing mobile at the center of their eforts. “I have a sign in my ofce that says there are 1.4 billion smartphones in the world,” Josh Cogswell, Viacom senior vice president of multiplatform product, said. “Mobile devices are really at the core of what our consumers and fans are doing. They have really become the digital hub of their lives.”

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