Yahoo! Launches Fresh Second Screen Social TV Companion App IntoNow 3.0

written by: Richard Kastelein

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Published on Thursday, 02 August 2012 10:48

Yahoo! has unveiled the next evolution of their 20 million dollar 2012 acquisition - IntoNow - promising a more innovative and engaging way for people to capture, communicate and discover television content. In an era where 80 percent of people watching TV now have mobile or tablet devices in-hand, they say IntoNow 3.0 gives fans entirely new ways to share moments on TV, learn more about what they’re watching and engage with friends, social networks and the broader IntoNow community.

“iOS devices are pervasive in our living rooms, and second screen behavior is now commonplace. IntoNow wanted to up the ante and give people a whole new experience,” said Adam Cahan, founder of IntoNow and vice president of Product, Yahoo!. “We’re the first to offer some major technological innovations – like the ability to capture and share moments that happened seconds ago on TV or automatically identify songs playing in the background – all of which gives people watching TV with IntoNow 3.0 a unique, interactive experience.”

IntoNow 3.0 from Yahoo! has been rebuilt and re-designed around three new features:

• TV and Music Sync: Taps into what people are watching to surface the most relevant content, including personalities, sports teams, songs, polls, or trivia, as it’s happening on TV. Music Sync is the first technology to automatically identify “what’s that song?” playing during a show – whether a live performance, featured song or even background music. Songs surfaced by Music Sync can be one-click purchased through iTunes or people can view the music video on YouTube.
• CapIt: Delivers industry-first technology that gives people the ability to capture and caption “did you see that?” TV moments like a breaking news story, a red carpet dazzler or even a funny scene. Simply tap a button and this iOS exclusive app will instantly synchronize and deliver still images of the program that is shown on TV. People can then select the image they want, add a caption, and share with friends on Facebook, Twitter or IntoNow.
• Group Chat: Instantly create private conversations with friends within the IntoNow app, form groups for a particular TV event; or set-up a recurring conversation to talk about favorite shows as the season progresses.

IntoNow 3.0 uses patented audio fingerprinting technology to automatically identify live or previously aired television content spanning more than 2.7 million airings. Over 160 U.S. TV channels are currently being indexed live, creating a rich database to build video discovery and programming experiences.

The IntoNow 3.0 App is available for free from the App Store on iPhone, iPad and iPod touch or at www.iTunes.com/appstore/.

To learn more about the award-winning IntoNow from Yahoo! app, visit the IntoNow website and our company blog, Yodel Anecdotal for more details.