Want to watch Got To Dance in a whole new way? Power up Zeebox on your iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch or on the web for the next six weeks every Sunday night at 6pm and you’ll see that Got To Dance has become super-social! Everything you’ll need to know about the judges, the acts, and the dancing – in one place. The fruits of Sky's investment into Zeebox - at a rumoured 15 million dollars for a ten percent stake (valuation at 150 million dollars) are already starting to bear - mere weeks from the announcement of their investment.

Connect Four Productions, IMImobile, BskyB, Princess Productions, Cat & Mouse, and Zeebox teamed up on the project to create the social fusion and second screen experience... and are aiming to improve the social alignment in the show itself and to drive engagement numbers. The project was received extremely well by all the stakeholders at Sky according to one industry source.

MD for Connect Four Productions Tom Bowers who Sky has brought in as a senior engagement consultant told Appmarket.tv:

"Implementing social media and viewer engagement to this scale with an established format such as Got To Dance has proven that viewer interaction can enhance the format brand rather than detract from it."

The project came together through Connect Four Productions relationship with all the above companies and harnessing the best technical solutions to ensure that the social media narrative was woven into the show smoothly.

Here's how it works:

• The live semi-final shows of Got to Dance engage with its live audience through a new 'Social wall', a huge video display located in the studio.
• The social wall carries moderated comments from Facebook, Twitter & a 'live chat' facility on the show's website. After each semi finalist performs, a snapshot of the real-time social media activity is displayed on the video wall, with one message being read out live by host Davina McCall after each performance.
• The messages which appear on the Social Wall are available via the show's page on Zeebox.
• The integration of social media into the show has come about as a result of close collaboration between Sky & Connect Four Productions (who have previously worked on Million Pound Drop & The Bank Job) and Princess Productions, the makers of the show.
• The social media message is moderated by IMImobile before they appear on the wall, and converted into live studio graphics by Cat & Mouse
• The messages for each act are then pushed to Zeebox so users in the Got to Dance Zeebox page can see which messages are chosen to feature on the wall.

 

Zeebox is a social, immersive and interactive way to watch Got To Dance where you can chat, share and tweet about the latest acts’ performance, or how much you love our judges, or how excited you are to find out who gets crowned Got To Dance champion 2012 as well as Plus, scenes from backstage, act interviews, profile videos and hints!

Get the Zeebox Got To Dance experience online at zeebox.com or download the Zeebox app from the app store.

As of January 4th 2011, the Connected TV Marketing Association (CTVMA) activities across Central Eastern Europe, Russia, CIS and Turkey will get an immediate boost with formulation of CEE CTVMA Board and appointment of its first regional Executive Board Members.

Mirek Smyk, Managing Director of Mirek Smyk Consulting Group (MSCG), a renowned regional pay-tv, telecom and social media consulting boutique has been appointed Executive President CTVMA Central and Eastern Europe with an objective to roll-out CTVMA organization across the region.

Today he is joined on the newly formulated CTVMA CEE Board by regional key thought leaders in broadcast, pay-TV, over-the-top and connected TV space including:

• Mr. Tomasz Sieniutycz, former Director of New Media and TVP HD at Polish National Broadcaster TVP and former President of Supervisory Board of Polish Radio,
• Mr. Lukasz Skrzypek, Vice — President of iplex.pl the leading video — on — demand service in Poland,
• Mr. Petr Horak, Head of Voyo, the fastest growing online video platform by Central European Media Enterprises,
• Mr. Albert Szybiński, Product Director – ipla, Redefine, provider of the most popular multiscreen video platform in Poland, owned by Polsat Group.

The CTVMA CEE Board will consist initially of 10 Executive Members from all countries in the region including Russia and Turkey and local CTVMA Boards will be created in each country during next weeks, while membership, volunteer and other cooperation opportunities will be announced accordingly.

The CTVMA CEE Board has also appointed its two Honorary Board Members:

• Mr Marcin Pery, CEO of Redefine (owner of ipla)
• Mr Arkadiusz Świerczewski, CEO of iplex.pl and Partner at Warsaw Equity Holding
  

Welcoming the announcement from New York, USA, the Co-founder and CTVMA President of North America Zach Weiner said:

"We are incredibly excited to see Mirek in charge of CTVMA CEE activities.

Speaking from Bucharest, Romania, Mirek Smyk said:

"I am honored to be able to contribute to this exciting industry transition across Central and Eastern Europe region.

For many years Smyk has been one of the key regional opinion-makers and leaders in the interactive TV space in the region and he will play a pivotal role in opening up dialogue between content creators, CE manufactures, pay-TV and telecom operators as well as the leaders of advertising and entertainment in local markets."

The Connected TV revolution is rapdily sticking in the region according to Smyk and he adds that consumers' feedback is extremely positive.

Is the golden age of TV already long gone? Today all major TV services stream their content online and viewers have more power to choose from than ever. Acorrding to the creators of this infographic from Freemake.com, the death warrant of TV was signed with the emergence of the Internet, in particular with the flourishing of one company that was the embodiment of its destruction: YouTube.

At appmarket.tv we have talked for years about the future disruption of the broadcast industry and new gatekeepers in the living room. For half a century, not much has changed - scarcity is the control lever, the value chain has been static, and the industry has been top heavy. Print media was slammed by the Internet. Music was too. Publisher and record labels have been trying to reinvent themselves with a fervor that the broadcast and pay TV industries will be shaking with in the next five years. And fighting against the intersection of the web and TV is like putting a bandaid on an ax wound. 

And Jake Coyle from the Huffington Post opens the wound further:

After years of experimenting, the top video destinations on the Web are suddenly flush with original programming: documentaries, reality shows and scripted series.

Over the next few months, YouTube, Netflix and Hulu will roll out their most ambitious original programming yet – a digital push into a traditional television business that has money, a bevy of stars and a bold attitude of reinvention.

The long-predicted collision between Internet video and broadcast television is finally under way. No one is suggesting that the quality on the Internet is close to that of broadcast TV, but it's becoming easy to imagine a day when it will be.

And even though critics question whether new media can rival a business that's been around for about 70 years, the video sites have sought partnerships with seasoned professionals. And they benefit from the different economics of global Web-based entertainment.

Either way, what's happening now is just the first wave.

 

Full image available for download here.

 

Samsung Electronics has announced British retailer, Marks & Spencer (M&S), as the first UK retail partner to create an App for Samsung Smart TVs.

The new App which is available to download from Samsung's Smart TV App store, Samsung Apps today and developed in collaboration with the multichannel video agency Adjust Your Set, will give viewers access to the latest in high street trends as well as tips on lifestyle, food, fashion and technology all from the comfort of their living room.

Viewers interested in fashion and home trends, advice on selecting the perfect wine, beauty tips or recipes, will be able to switch straight to the M&S Smart TV App on the biggest and brightest screen in the house.

Guy Kinnell, Marketing Director for TV, Samsung UK comments:

"The development of the M&S Smart TV App highlights the popularity of Smart TV as the most immersive and interactive format for consumers.

The M&S Smart TV App brings new lifestyle content from a trusted consumer brand, as well as give people a snapshot of how consumers will be able to shop in the future.''

Susan Aubrey-Cound, Director for New Channels Marks & Spencer commented:

"We're continually exploring innovative, new ways to engage and interact with our customers. This app enables customers to discover more about our products and innovations from the comfort of their living rooms, whilst supporting our broader marketing channels. "

 

M&S will join an ever-growing collection of services available on Samsung Smart TVs such as BBC iPlayer, LOVEFiLM, Netflix, YouTube, Teletext Holidays, Rightmove, Thomson Local, Facebook and Twitter giving viewers a huge choice of content for the television. 'Samsung Apps' is the first and biggest App store available for TVs, with over 10 million Apps already downloaded worldwide, proof that consumers are rapidly embracing the Smart TV format.

Samsung Smart TVs have a Smart Hub that opens up content from specially designed Apps, the internet and other access points directly from the TV. The Smart TV also acts as the entertainment hub for the home as it connects wirelessly to other devices such as smartphones, laptops or tablets so users can show photos or stream music on the big screen.