Social TV / Social Networking News

Kast watch party app adds live-engagement for co-viewing
Aug 25, 2020 – Kast has launched Kast TV, an addition to its watch party app that includes visual live-engagement for co-viewing. Kasters are able to talk, hear, and see each other simultaneously as they watch their selected content.
News categories: Kast, Mark Ollila, Digital TV, OTT, Social TV, Worldwide

Linear TV remains dominant form of television viewership in 2019
Jul 28, 2020 – According to Omdia, linear TV accounted for 63% of TV viewing in the U.S. in 2019, compared to 16% for long-form viewing and 12% for PVR time-shifted TV. The fastest-growing segment of the non-linear video market was social media.
News categories: Omdia, Rob Moyser, Digital TV, Europe, Market Research, Social TV, USA

Minerva acquires Live TV social platform, TOK.tv
Sep 3, 2019 – Minerva Networks has announced the acquisition of TOK.tv. TOK.tv, whose mission is to allow people to 'never watch sports alone', enables millions of soccer fans to enjoy their favorite games while interacting with friends.
News categories: Minerva Networks, TOK.tv, Mauro Bonomi, Fabrizio Capobianco, Digital TV, MandA, Social TV, Worldwide

Hisense launches interactive Social TV set in China
Aug 20, 2019 – Hisense has launched its Social TV with Hi Table interactive system in China. Social TV with Hi Table features six-party video chat and cinema sharing to allow real-time chat with family and friends when they are watching TV shows and sports matches together.
News categories: Hisense, China, Digital TV, Smart TV, Social TV

Samba TV measures effectiveness of Twitter in driving TV tune-in
Mar 28, 2019 – Samba TV has announced a partnership with Twitter to measure the effectiveness of Twitter in driving tune-in. In a beta trial, Samba found an average lift of 28% in Verified Tune-in Rate (VTR) for the measured premiere episodes.
News categories: Samba TV, Twitter, Ashwin Navin, Tim Perzyk, Inna Kern, Michael Engleman, Big Data, Digital TV, Social TV, USA

DAZN drives global growth via social video with Grabyo
Jan 17, 2019 – OTT sports platform, DAZN, has been using the power of social video to bolster its brand awareness and drive subscription growth using Grabyo. Grabyo's platform enables DAZN to create, edit and publish video clips to social media moments after they happen.
News categories: Grabyo, DAZN, Gareth Capon, Reda Maher, Digital TV, OTT, Social TV

Conviva acquires social video insights company Delmondo
Nov 28, 2018 – Conviva has announced its acquisition of Delmondo. With the acquisition, Conviva will be able to unify real-time census-level streaming TV intelligence from apps and the web with content and audience intelligence from social media platforms.
News categories: Conviva, Delmondo, Bill Demas, Nick Cicero, Peter Scott, Digital TV, MandA, OTT, Social TV, Worldwide

21st Century Fox invests $100m in social broadcasting platform Caffeine
Sep 5, 2018 – 21st Century Fox (21CF) and Caffeine have announced that 21CF has led a round of funding for social broadcasting platform, Caffeine. 21CF has invested a combined $100 million in Caffeine and a newly formed venture called Caffeine Studios.
News categories: 21st Century Fox, Caffeine, Lachlan Murdoch, Ben Keighran, Digital TV, OTT, Social TV, Venture Capital, Worldwide

Twitter announces over 30 premium video content deals
Apr 30, 2018 – Twitter has returned to the Digital Content NewFronts with an expanded slate of live and original video programming. Over 30 new collaborations and renewals were announced across entertainment, news, sports, gaming and beyond.
News categories: Twitter, Matthew Derella, Kay Madati, Digital TV, OTT, Social TV, USA