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26 per cent of the UK tweets while watching TV

TV Licensing has revealed that 26 per cent of the UK engage in what its TeleScope 2012 report calls ‘Chatterboxing’, that is, the act of posting on Twitter, Facebook or any social network during a TV programme’s broadcast. We’ve been doing this for a while; it was called ‘two-screen viewing’ back in 2010…

Figures from 2011 reveal that this phenomena is mainly driven by young un’s in the 18-24 bracket – 46 per cent of those who regularly two screen a programme are in this age bracket, followed by 43 per cent of 25 to 34 year olds.

33 per cent of under 25s said that they enjoyed a programme more when talking about it online with 57 per cent of under 35s saying that a social media buzz around a platform would influence their decision watch a programme or switch over.

Two Screen Viewing Chatterboxing

Two screens are better than one

With mobile apps for Sky and Virgin Media’s services that let you set recordings, Zeebox’s tweet-n-buy and universal remote apps like Dijit, we’re increasingly seeing phones and tablets becoming as important as the traditional remote, if not more so.

As well as replacing/augmenting the functions of a traditional remote and letting us tweet along with the X Factor finals, we’d like to see that second screen get more use. 

BBC Vision’s head of Head of IPTV and TV Online Content Victoria Jaye hints at “a number of ambitious projects in development, following dual screen pilots conducted over the past year with Secret Fortune, Frozen Planet and AutumnWatch. Our approach to dual screen will be built on insights into what audiences truly value around the TV viewing experience, drawn from years of offering companion content and functionality on BBC Red Button and BBC Online.” So, is there a BBC Red Button app on the horizon?

Though we couldn’t imagine a future where the humble remote was completely sidelined by our iPhones, the mobile has well and truly earned its place in the living room. Microsoft’s Xbox Companion and the Archos Remote Control app have all but turned our phones into TV, video and gaming remotes – more strings for the modern day Swiss Army knife to add to its bow.

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