Strategy Analytics: social media use unrelated to TV content

Diane O’Neill

Use of social media while watching TV is high, but use in relation to what is on the TV is low, according to a new study by Strategy Analytics.

The research firm’s Connected Home UX (CHX) group said that, based on consumer surveys in the UK and US, social TV services were appealing to some, but “distracting” and “intrusive” to others’ TV viewing experience.

Strategy Analytics said that social TV services like Stevie and RelayTV have the potential to bring social TV to the TV itself. However, it claimed that “participants found social TV concepts more suitable for a personal device and the individual, rather than for a collective viewing experience.”

Diane O’Neill, director of Strategy Analytics’ user experience innovation practice, said: “Ultimately social networks and companion app developers have and should continue to integrate new features to account for evolving social TV behaviours as TV networks themselves are attempting to utilise such behaviours to their benefit – free advertising.”

Strategy Analytics senior analyst, Taryn Tulay, said that many viewers still use ‘offline’ communications like SMS to talk privately to friends and family about what they’re watching on TV.

“However, utilising social media to see what others are posting about a TV show is the top most frequent social TV behaviour performed by survey respondents in all regions,” she added.