VH1 is setting out to conquer television thanks to a renewed focus on social TV and second screen viewing. The network is debuting a new second screen viewing experience to launch with the 17th Annual Critics' Choice Movie Awards (CCMAs), airing Jan. 12.
"Somewhere around three-quarters of our viewers are engaged with a second screen while they're watching," says Dan Sacher, VH1's VP of digital. The network's core demographic, "women in their upper 20's, contribute more content to social platforms than any other demographic, so it's right in our wheelhouse."
The integration will provide a livestream of experts and critics at the same time that the show is broadcast live. The experts will help give context to the proceedings while also chatting with VH1's audience. The feature will live on VH1's website for the awards and will include up to four webcam feeds playing simultaneously. There will be special guests and interviews featured throughout the show. A VH1 moderator will be able to overlay links to the experts' Twitter feeds, show live feeds of the red carpet or backstage action, and showcase breaking news.
VH1 is making the experience social by allowing users to ask questions or post comments to the experts using their social profiles. They'll also be able to post comments and clips straight from the viewer and conversation feed.
"It's not unlike watching a show with a group of friends but they're coming to you from a webcam and they really know what they're talking about," Sacher says. "So it's a really good group of friends to watch with."
That community element has helped VH1 put social at the heart of all of its programs. The network recently launched a smartphone app, called Co-Star, that is meant as a companion to VH1 programming. Viewers can use the app to see and post live comments as shows are broadcast as well as interact with cast members who often join chats for their own shows.
While the app has received some poor reviews, Sacher says Co-Star was downloaded 30,000 times when it was promoted alongside just one episode of Mob Wives. The app has helped VH1 shows top social chatter charts. Love & Hip Hop and Basketball Wives ranked as two of the most social shows of 2011 according to Bluefin Lab's year-end roundup.
The second screen Awards experience is powered by technology from Spreecast, a social video platform. If it's successful, Sacher says VH1 will look into bringing it into more shows. Major events like the awards show, however, are a different animal: "We have three or four tent pole events here at VH1 and these events, more than reality shows, have a lot more space to engage. We have a lot more room to engage our users," Sacher says. "There's an element of experimentation and there is an element of figuring out what the ideal implementation is."
With a stable of bloggers and experts drawn from sites such as Gawker, GQ, Vulture, Slate, the Daily Beast and more, VH1's Critic's Choice Movie Awards have a strong chance at nailing the second screen and social experience. Regardless, Sacher says the team is committed to making VH1 more social: "Merging social and video and updating the Co-Star experience with more real time video is definitely where I'd say we're headed."