--Is Tapped by NBC to Provide Two-Screen Application for the Olympics
--Develops Social TV Application for Facebook Users
LiveHive Systems, an Ontario-based company that specializes in
two-screen interactive TV solutions, is partnering with automaker,
Nissan, on a two-screen ITV application to accompany CFL telecasts
(note: the company has also been tapped by NBC to provide a
two-screen ITV application to accompany its coverage of the Beijing
Olympics--see article in this issue). The application, which is entitled
"Nissan Make the Call" and which launched in late June, will be
available with 72 regular-season games, as well as with playoff games,
including the Grey Cup. This represents the first time that LiveHive has
partnered directly with a major brand (its two-screen ITV partnerships
have previously been with broadcasters). "This is the first time we have
brought our interactive NanoGaming technology to a live sports
telecast by partnering directly with a major brand," LiveHive president,
Dave Bullock, said in a prepared statement. "Advertisers and brands
alike have seen the value of NanoGaming as an effective digital ad
platform where they associate their brand with a compelling event such
a live sports telecast or a reality TV series. As an advertiser, Nissan
wants to be part of the vibrant fan dialogue that surrounds sports.
NanoGaming allows the company to become part of that fan
conversation. It offers a creative way for them to connect with viewers
and get their brand in front of a target audience for an extended period
of time."
"Nissan Make the Call," which is available free of charge at
cfl.nissan.ca, allows viewers to make predictions about coming plays,
answer trivia questions, take part in polls, chat with other viewers, and
organize competitions with their own groups of friends. They can win a
range of prizes, including gift certificates and custom football jerseys,
as well as a grand prize: four tickets to the Grey Cup and $4,000 in
spending money. The application is also integrated with a Facebook
application, which, LiveHive says, together with the app's chat and
group-play functionality, "moves the sponsor, Nissan, into a new area
of marketing, namely real-time social networking." According to
LiveHive, this type of integrated functionality, by enabling
broadcasters and sponsors to create communities of viewers around a
program, where the latter can watch, play, chat and compete, produces
"prolonged exposure to the brand, and builds positive association with
those who are watching and playing." In addition, the company claims,
integrated social networking extends audience engagement beyond the
broadcast, as players can compare their results with friends after the
football game is over.
In other LiveHive news:
- The company has been tapped by NBC to provide a two-screen
interactive TV application that will accompany the broadcaster's
coverage of the Beijing Olympics. Dubbed "NBCOlympics
Primetime Challenge," the broadcast-synchronized app will invite
viewers to score points and win prizes by predicting the outcomes
of live events, participating in real-time polls, answering trivia
questions, and playing Olympics-themed mini-games. Viewers will
also be able to chat with and compete against their friends. "We've
brought our interactive technology to sports, reality TV, and
awards shows, and we're excited to work on the Beijing Olympic
Games," Robert Riopelle, LiveHive's VP of new business
development, said in a prepared statement. "Our NanoGaming
platform offers Olympic viewers a new way to connect with the
athletes, and compete with their friends for points and prizes. This
will be an opportunity to watch the Olympics like never before."
- The company has launched a social TV application called the
tvClickr that lets Facebook users interact with primetime TV
shows and with one another in real time. According to the
company, the application--which is available at
apps.facebook.com/tvclickr--allows viewers to chat with their
online social network of friends while watching a TV show, and to
play along with a show by making predictions (e.g. "Which house
guest will win HOH?" or "Whose performance did you think was
the best?"), answering trivia questions, and taking part in polls.
Viewers receive points for answering the application's questions
correctly, and are rewarded by moving to what LiveHive describes
as "different levels of achievement." "There are other destinations
on the Web where TV fans can access editorial, spoilers, and show
information, but something like this has never been done before,"
LiveHive president, Dave Bullock, said in a prepared statement.
"tvClickr lets them play along with whatever they're watching, and
they do it live. Young viewers crave social interaction with
everything they do, and that includes watching television. Facebook
provides the perfect destination to tie viewers and their friends
directly into primetime TV in a fun, engaging and social way that
spurs competition. This will definitely change how people watch
TV." Primetime shows currently supported by the new application
include "American Gladiators," "America's Got Talent," "Are
You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?," "Big Brother 10," "Canadian
Idol," "Cops," "Dog the Bounty Hunter," "Extreme Makeover:
Home Edition," "High School Musical," "Intervention," "Last
Comic Standing," "Monday Night RAW," "Nashville Star,"
"Numb3rs," "So You Think You Can Dance?," "Trading Spaces,"
"Wanna Bet, "WWE Friday Night Smackdown," and various
sporting events, including--LiveHive says--"key playoff games and
all-star competitions."
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