BeeTV Launches Mobile Social TV App for iPhone and iPad

written by: Gianluigi Cuccureddu

Details

Published on Monday, 18 July 2011 08:34

BeeTV has integrated TV viewing, social media and check-ins in one app for the iPhone. BeeTV lets users “tune-in” to a show they are currently watching so they can easily join the conversation about that particular show. With just one tap users can see all the relevant tweets and Facebook posts about a show and can instantly jump into the conversation as written by iPad News Tracker.

Yaniv Solnik, BeeTV CEO said:

“BeeTV is different from other social TV apps because we take the experience beyond the check-in. BeeTV is focused on the conversation, in a sense like a Twitter client for TV, that lets users instantly find the discussion about what they are watching on TV and easily take part in it. BeeTV does the hard work for users, matching relevant conversations with shows, so they can start talking with friends and fans immediately.”

Differences between BeeTV and for instance Miso and GetGlue are discussed by AppScout:

Yes, you can check-in to your favorite show, and yes, you can share a tweet or a status update to let you people know what you're watching. You can even chat with others who are watching the same thing. That's pretty much where the similarities stop between BeeTV HD and other apps like Miso, and GetGlue. BeeTV HD kicks it up a notch and shows you all the relevant tweets and status updates about the show you're watching in real-time. People who are updating their timelines or streams, chatting about the show you're checked into on BeeTV will be populated into your view...and you can join the conversation without ever leaving the app.

Significant enhancement and new features are:

Start talking about your show, quickly:
When users open the app they are presented with a very simple question. The “what are you watching now?” screen directs users to find the show they are watching. Users are also offered several options of the most popular shows at that moment. Once a user has tuned-in to the show he is watching, he can instantly share what he’s watching with friends on Facebook or Twitter.

What are you watching?
Additionally, the BeeTV iPad app – taking advantage of the larger screen – provides users with a quick post system that lets them quickly string together messages from commonly used phrases, handles, hashtags and emoticons. Users can even create their own custom messages for a highly personalized experience.

Finding the conversation for you:
Once a user has tuned-in to the show he is watching, BeeTV pulls in all the tweets and posts about that show, all in real-time. Users can filter tweets and posts to see what everybody is saying, or to see just their friend’s comments. BeeTV HD also knows which VIP and celebrity accounts are connected to a show and presents tweets and posts from those VIPs to users as well. So the next time a user watches “How I Met Your Mother” and wants to carry on a bromance with Neil Patrick Harris, BeeTV will make it easy.

Get together with friends:
Everything is better with friends and watching TV is no exception. Inviting friends to watch shows in BeeTV HD is now super simple. Users can simply drag their friends’ pictures onto the invite section to ask them to watch a show. This makes it easier than ever to get together with friends and talk about the shows that users love. Users no longer have to send individual emails, tweets or Facebook invites to invite friends to watch shows together. Once users and their friends are together it’s easy to see comments and to talk about the show.

It will be interesting to learn what users think about the new BeeTV experience and socializing it. Have you used it? What are your thoughts?