Facebook is always looking to build its presence in new markets. Their latest target is the TV. “The social media network wants to make the TV more social by improving how you find your content and how you connect your friends around that content,”said a ZDNet post.
According to Adweek, Mitchell said, “If you look at the program guide as it is now, you are trying to figure out what to watch from among 500 channels. It’s really hard. But think of a program guide where you see what your friends are watching, that changes the experience. I think the real opportunity is creating a experience in which your friends share their viewing experiences which gets people to become recruiters for your show.
In other words, Facebook would provide a real-time feed to broadcasters based on their friends’ TV show Likes and check ins. Facebook says its users have ‘Liked’ various TV shows over 1.65 billion times. Earlier this year, the company noted that it has spoken with broadcasters about the idea of putting their full Electronic Programming Guide (EPG) on Facebook as Events so that users could RSVP and check in to the shows.
Emil Protalinski of ZDNet opines, “I would say that a very small subset of my Facebook friends watch the same shows as I do. That being said, seeing which TV shows are popular amongst my friends may push me towards checking them out.”
Two weeks ago, cable giant Comcast unveiled its next-generation Xfinity TV interface that includes Facebook integration. One of the features is called “Friend Trends,” which shows the content that is most popular among the viewer’s Facebook friends on Hulu, Netflix, the Web, and TV. Comcast even built the Like button into its new cable experience, so viewers can Like a show straight from their remote control.”
However, Alexander Grundner of eHomeupgrade has a different take on the matter. He says in the blog, “Mitchel may be right… but he might also be wrong. With all the Social TV apps available, I haven’t once been compelled to watch a show that a friend liked or rated in my Twitter stream. TV is personal. And like most things, your interests vary from someone else’s — even if they are your “friends.” However, seeing which shows are popular in my TV program guide amongst my friends may, in fact, get me to check out a show or movie that I’m not familiar with.”