Pinewood Studios hosted 150 TV industry executives today for a discussion on The Future of Augmented Television led by zeebox
zeebox led the discussion with the UK TV industry on the advent of social or ’augmented’ TV and on the implications of the second-screen for broadcasters and production companies alike.
This unique event, taking place at the world-famous Pinewood Studios, brought together 150 executives from UK broadcasters and TV production companies to debate how content owners can take advantage of the second-screen to make broadcast TV relevant again.
zeebox showcased its next-generation ’Showtime’ tools for broadcasters and programme makers, using recent trials with Channel 4 and Sky as case studies. In addition, the event featured live demonstrations of programme enhancements created inside zeebox by leading second-screen technology providers BT Agilemedia, Ex Machina, IMImobile, Monterosa, Visiware, MIG and Tellybug.
'Showtime' is a simple toolkit that allows broadcasters and programme-makers to publish show-specific content through zeebox. When the show starts, users automatically see the normal zeebox content plus premium features delivered by the broadcaster. 'Showtime' is designed to make efficient use of content already created by the show’s rights-holder: fan pages, cast bios, backstage videos, custom Twitter streams, interactive widgets, etc.
"With Showtime, broadcasters and programme-makers can engage closely with fans, create a lively, engaging, social distribution point for additional content, and obtain insightful analytics about their customers", said Simon Miller, Chief of Product & Content Development, zeebox.
Zeebox CTO Anthony Rose added: "The future of broadcast TV is about synchronicity between the TV and the second-screen. zeebox’s platform connects TV context with users and content owners, enabling a deeper connection between broadcast TV and its fans."
Since launching in October 2011, zeebox has led innovation in the market of social TV apps, uniquely enabling consumers to discover TV content through their extended social graph, to follow their favourite celebrities’ TV viewing, and to automatically get more information about the programmes they’re watching. zeebox knows what consumers are watching, and engages them with relevant content and ecommerce opportunities in synch with live TV.
Zeebox is available in the UK free to users at zeebox.com, and as an app for iPad and iPhone here.
Press enquires:
hello [at] zeebox [dot] com
NOTES TO EDITORS
ABOUT ZEEBOX
zeebox is the new, social, interactive and immersive way to watch TV. It turns your iPad, iPhone or laptop into an interactive companion that enhances whatever you watch on your main TV screen. zeebox turns TV into a social event: it knows what you and your friends are watching, and it lets you all share, chat and tweet about whatever’s on. It also understands what's on screen and helps you find out more about anything you’re watching, in real-time. It even acts as a remote control for connected TVs.
zeebox is currently available in the UK on the Web, iPhone and iPad, with Android versions to follow later this year. zeebox is currently preparing to roll out its service in other countries across the world.
zeebox was founded in 2011 by Anthony Rose and Ernesto Schmitt. The company is headquartered in CoventGarden, London. In January 2012, zeebox announced a strategic partnership with Sky to jointly launch a unique second-screen experience under the Sky+ banner, integrating the ability to search for, discover and record TV content, withzeebox’s unique ’augmented’ TV viewing features.
ABOUT PINEWOOD STUDIOS GROUP
The Pinewood Studios Group is a leading provider of studio and related services to the global television and film industry. Synonymous with world class British and international productions, the impressive heritage of itsUK-based Pinewood, Shepperton and Teddington Studios date back to the early20th Century and are home to some of the most successful TV shows and featurefilms ever made.
The facilities comprise state of the art TV studios, sound stages, aglobally unique underwater filming stage, a wealth of specialist productionresources, post production and digital content services. The studios also offer easy access to the world's most experienced crews as well as the expertise of hundreds of complimentary media companies based at its Pinewood and Shepperton Media Parks.
Pinewood and Teddington have between them eight dedicated televisionstudios with dedicated HD lines, full production galleries, offices, accommodation and edit suites. For larger light entertainment formats, Pinewood and Shepperton can offer up to 60,000 sqft of stage space accommodating large sets and capacity for audiences of over 2000.
Pinewood is also able to offer complete picture and sound post production solutions for television, delivering our services in a FACT accredited environment through bespoke digital storage systems, workflow management and tracking tools. The Studios can also provide links to Pinewood’s onsite Data Centre which offers secure, controlled, versatile storage with streaming and meta-tagging capabilities.
Recent TV productions that have used the Studios’ facilities include: Would I Lie To You; The Rob Brydon Show; Piers Morgan Life Stories,Don’t Stop Me Now; Love Machine; The Magicians; and Got to Dance. Visit www.pinewoodgroup.com for more info.
ABOUT OUR DEMO PARTNERS
BT AGILEMEDIA
BT Agilemedia's services enable millions of TV viewers to vote and enter competitions on the UK's most popular TV shows.
www.btagilemedia.com
EX MACHINA
Ex Machina has its roots in three domains: games, social media and TV. Headquartered in Amsterdam with offices in London and San Francisco. Our product is called PlayToTV. PlayToTV is the world’s most versatile, proven and international platform for second screen interactivity.
www.exmachinagames.com
IMIMOBILE
IMImobile is a global solutions provider to media companies, operators and enterprises, enabling audience interaction and monetisation across mobile and social media. We provide services to 950 million subscribers around theworld, and worked with Sky and Zeebox to provide enhanced user experience for Got to Dance.
www.imimobile.com
MONTEROSA
Monterosa is a BAFTA award-winning pioneer of 2-screen TV, whose trusted technology and creativity is behind some of the world's most innovative andsuccessful 2-screen shows, including The Bank Job, Red or Black, Style The Nation and Million Pound Drop.
www.monterosa.co.uk
VISIWARE
Visiware is creating custom TV user experiences for gaming and new gen. TV interfaces. World leader in PlayAlong with 400 shows deployed in 10 countries, the company is made of 80 talented creative and engineers.
www.visiware.com
MOBILE INTERACTIVE GROUP
MIG powers social interactivity and participation services to global broadcast and production companies. Our mVoy Engage platform delivers multiple revenue streams and monetisation opportunities via Facebook, mobile apps and mobile web.
www.migcan.com
Tellybug
We make apps that people use to make watching TV more entertaining. Used by millions of viewers of shows including The X Factor, Dancing on ice and Britain's Got Talent our platform is trusted by TV producers to deliver simple, fun social entertainment alongside the TV.
www.tellybug.com