Posted by Richard Kastelein in Breaking News on May 16, 2012  |  0 Comments More from this author  |    |  Follow Richard Kastelein on: Facebook | LinkedIn | Twitter | YouTube

Visiware, Inc., a global leader in the interactive television industry, announced today it has reached a milestone of 700 interactive TV shows aired across 10 countries using its second-screen PlayAlong product.

PlayAlong provides TV viewers with the ability to interact real-time from their second-screen devices during their favorite programs.

"Today, up to 80% of television viewers regularly use their smartphones, tablets and PCs when watching TV," said Harris Larney, Visiware's General Manager of North America. "Our PlayAlong product allows viewers to use their devices with the content they are watching on TV to interact with friends, learn more about the show, and engage in game play specifically tailored for each program. Our products also support TV networks' and production companies' efforts to leverage the latest technology and monetize the second-screen's growing usage in the marketplace."

PlayAlong is a cloud-based and fully integrated content platform, enhancing viewers' television watching experience by integrating new social features. PlayAlong offers a new approach to the Social TV market that goes well beyond basic Twitter posting and show check-in by providing: synchronized and enriched content; extended experiences that support game shows, reality shows, sporting events, and scripted content; as well as monetization tools such as 24/7 gaming, T-Commerce, and advertising.

Visiware has seen an increase of 28% in audience viewership for shows that aired using its PlayAlong platform**. The company works closely with TV networks and production companies to develop a customized Social TV solution that supports their business objectives.

• The benefits of PlayAlong are designed to:
• Create a new and innovative experience for the TV viewer while increasing fan loyalty
• Support new forms of revenue and monetization streams
• Allow for additional viewer data collection and CRM

"PlayAlong is pushing the boundaries of what's possible for the networks and production companies to offer with their social programming initiatives," said Laurant Weill, Visiware's Founder and Executive Chairman. "Our approach is to provide a better product than what's in the Social TV market today, at a critical time when TV viewing behaviors are changing rapidly. We are offering viewers a TV experience adapted to user behaviors while providing networks and operators with a very profitable opportunity to interact with their audience."

Posted by Richard Kastelein in Breaking News on May 16, 2012  |  1 Comment More from this author  |    |  Follow Richard Kastelein on: Facebook | LinkedIn | Twitter | YouTube

Peel, the company dedicated to revolutionizing the way you watch TV, today launched an enhanced version of the popular Peel app for Android. With millions of recommended shows viewed, Peel is excited to bring its personalized discovery and social TV experience to the Android platform. Users can find and follow friends, see what their friends are watching, view Favorite Programs and Guilty Pleasures, get great TV recommendations and comment on posts – all within the free Peel app for Android devices available at the Google Play Store.

The Peel app eliminates the need for complicated TV listings and brings you closer to the shows you love. Peel makes it easy to discover your next favorite show with customized programming recommendations, and connect with a like-minded TV community in an elegant and intuitive application. In addition to the new Social TV features, Peel has added two new sections for users to input their favorite shows and favorite channels. Once a user has selected a favorite show or channel, they can easily see what is on TV from their customized menus. Touch one of the thumbnails and the app displays a brief description of the episode or movie that is playing.

"We worked closely with our Android community to develop a compelling social TV experience while further enhancing app speed and reliability," said Greg Lindley, chief experience officer for Peel. "We have seen incredible reception this year with Android users enjoying the Peel app on the Samsung Galaxy Tab line. With this launch, Peel is combining the best of social curation with its world class recommendation engine to deliver the complete TV discovery and social sharing experience."

The Peel app for Android enables users to sign up within the app or create an account with their Facebook login. When users log into Peel's new Social TV experience, they will see an activity feed of recommendations from people they follow as well as responses to recommendations. Users can share why a show is worth watching (or not) as well as their thoughts on news, sports and movies. When users list a new Favorite Program or Guilty Pleasure, activity is posted to their feed. Users can see when they have a new follower, enabling them to share Guilty Pleasures, Favorite Programs, Recommendations, Last 5 Shows Watched and Most Watched Shows.

Availability The Peel app is free and available for Android users on the 2.0 operating system or higher. To download Peel visit the Google Play Store.

Peel is also available for iPhone® and iPod touch® and can be downloaded from the iTunes® App Store.

Posted by Richard Kastelein in Breaking News on May 16, 2012  |  0 Comments More from this author  |    |  Follow Richard Kastelein on: Facebook | LinkedIn | Twitter | YouTube

The 2012 UEFA Champions Festival is taken to a larger global audience than ever before through innovative digital activity, including live streaming of the Ultimate Champions match for the first time.

During the free four-day football celebration leading up to the UEFA Champions League final, UEFA will use key digital platforms such as Google+, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Foursquare as well as a free Android smartphone application to share unique content from the UEFA Champions Festival in Munich with fans around the world.

In a world-first for UEFA, the Ultimate Champions match will be streamed live across UEFA.com, Google+ and YouTube. The match will feature European footballing legends such as Cafu, Fabio Cannavaro, Patrick Vieira, Samuel Eto’o, Gianfranco Zola and Roy Makaay.

In addition, UEFA is launching a groundbreaking global Foursquare campaign. This global activation will engage fans at the festival and around the world. Additionally, fans can ‘check in’ anywhere they are watching the 2012 UEFA Champions League final by using the phrase ‘UEFA Champions League’ as a shout and can unlock the official Foursquare UEFA Champions League final badge.

Alexandre Fourtoy, UEFA’s Director of Communications, said: 

“This is going to be a true digital festival. Our goal is to engage fans in Munich, as well as those around the world, in the UEFA Champions League final festivities by using a range of digital platforms that are easy to use and interact with. We hope that the new Foursquare activation coupled with Google+ hangouts will bring the finals of the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Women’s Champions League to life for those fans who can’t attend the event.”

The UEFA Champions Festival takes place in Munich’s Olympiapark from 16-19 May and features a host of activities that are free for all to enjoy. The schedule includes the UEFA Women’s Champions League final on Thursday 17 May, free live music entertainment from acts such as Aloe Blacc, Sunrise Avenue and Jose Padilla, creator of Café del Mar compilations, throughout the week and the official UEFA public viewing of the UEFA Champions League final which kicks off at 20.45CET on Saturday 19 May.

UEFA has teamed up with Google+ to engage fans with numerous interactive activities throughout this four-day festival, including giant photo booths with a direct link to Google+, enabling fans to share photos with their friends. In addition, ex-Chelsea FC defenders Graeme Le Saux and Celestine Babayaro will both be dropping in for Google+ hangouts, as will ambassador Steffi Jones for the inside track on the UEFA Women’s Champions League final.

Posted by Richard Kastelein in Breaking News on May 15, 2012  |  0 Comments More from this author  |    |  Follow Richard Kastelein on: Facebook | LinkedIn | Twitter | YouTube

2011 was a year of stabilisation at the European box office as the marked upward trend of GBO of the past two years slowed down significantly, resulting nevertheless in an overall year-on-year increase. Based on provisional data the European Audiovisual Observatory estimates that EU gross box office returns increased marginally by 0.7% from EUR 6.37 billion to EUR 6.4 billion, still the highest level on record. Cinema attendance remained stable with an estimated 962 million tickets sold.

Though the number of 3D releases as well as 3D screens increased notably in 2011, the format seemed to be maturing in some markets like the UK, where, despite an increasing number of 3D releases - from 28 in 2010 to 47 in 2011 - 3D share dropped from 24% to 20% of total GBO. As a result 3D failed to further swell average ticket prices as had been the case in 2009 and 2010, with the EU-wide average ticket price increasing by only 0.5% to EUR 6.6.

On the level of individual European markets, 2011 cinema-going trends varied significantly, with admissions decreasing in 11 and increasing in 15 EU markets for which data were available, while GBO increased in 14 and decreased in 12 markets. Theatrical markets which performed particularly well were France (GBO record up 4.7%), the UK (+5.2%) and Germany (+4.1%) while Spain and Italy experienced a significant decline in both admissions as well as GBO.

More detailed information on European as well as international theatrical markets can be found inFOCUS 2012 World Film Market Trends prepared by the European Audiovisual Observatory for the Cannes Film Market.