TF1 in France Now offering Social TV and VOD on Secondary Screens - Free

written by: Richard Kastelein

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Published on Tuesday, 18 January 2011 12:05

French Mobile website Giiks is reporting and raving about  French broadcaster TF1 move to providing free content on both Smart Phones and Tablets with VOD and Social TV elements.

[Ed: translated from French] After an initial application on iPhone (TF1 Player), French television channel TF1 has simultaneously launched content on both the Apple iPad and iPhone. The broadcasting group is extending the TV experience on new media and we had the chance to test the new TF1 applications.

The application is compatible with the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch from iOS 4.0. and is totally free - but  accessible over Wi-Fi or 3G in France only for rights reasons.

Beyond the web, a companion application called "TF1 & You" is also including elements of Social TV where you see people live tweeting on the TV programs as well as Facebook integration with Facebook Connect, which allows viewers to instantly become a fan of the Facebook pages of many programs TF1 offers, giving viral properties to the offering.  TF1 is the leading European media on Facebook.

image from giiks.com

TF1 has two program schedules, one for the evening and for a larger inventory.  For the first, TF1 has both primetime and late evening.  Under the program, you can find the trailer or provides access all videos available on catch-up. The second, the complete grid lists all the content with twenty days of content available.

Despite a late arrival on this media (vs. competition), TF1 has achieved a very high quality application in terms of design and ergonomics, not to mention the wealth of content and looks to continue its multi-screen stragegy and offer "social TV" in response to consumer demand. The TF1 application is currently avaialble on the iPad and iPhone but will soon be available free on Windows 7 Phone, Android, and Ovi Samsung Bada.