Social TV Hits South America - Argentina's Comenta.tv Launched

written by: Richard Kastelein

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Published on Monday, 06 June 2011 14:58

The Next Web Latin America has published an interesting article on Social TV development going on in Argentina with a startup called Comenta.TV. Brazil-based writer Anna Heim notes they are currently a Direct to Consumer (D2C) most similar to SocialGuide in the US... and that GetGlue and Miso are also close, but currently seem to be more focused on the check-in dimension than Comenta.TV.

According to the report, it seems they focus more on advanced interactivity using game mechanics and honing in social media algorithms that can create advanced user experiences and provide metrics for commercial clients. Tellybug in the UK is the most prominent player in a similar vein. 

Launched only a couple weeks ago, Comenta.TV is a web platform that aggregates and organizes in real time all comments made on social networks around live Argentine TV programs, thanks to a tailored algorithm. For users who sign up via Twitter and Facebook, it includes social, check-in and gamification elements: they can connect with their online friends, share what they are viewing and earn badges.

According to its CEO Juan Melano, his team had been working on Comenta.TV for five months before it launched, and was determined to make its product available as soon as possible in order to be the first player in Latin America: it doesn’t have any local competitors yet.

The South American company is not yet aligned with Argentinian broadcasters or major media players, like we see in Europe with The Application Store (tapp and ScreenToo), Monterosa (Million Pound Drop UK), Live Talkback, , Ex Machina (PlayToTV), Screach (ScreachXML), and a few other companies making more of a B2B move.

But they hope to:

Partnerships will be crucial to Comenta.TV: its business model is based on data analytics, rather than page views. Knowing what people think of a show in real time and who they are could be highly valuable for production companies, networks and advertisers – Comenta.TV sees all of these as potential clients.