Second screen TV app Zeebox has relaunched itself as Beamly, a social TV network app aimed at young women.
The app, which has slowly been adding more social media features since it launched, will allow users to follow TV programmes and celebrities to get personalised news. Users can also follow other fans to chat to in TV rooms for specific shows.
Ernesto Schmitt, chief executive and co-founder, said: “The rebrand to Beamly is a celebration of the huge development our app has been through since launching two years ago, originally as a simple program guide and synch experience.”
“The initial phase of social television and second screen was limited to apps providing a companion experience for audiences while watching TV. However, people’s emotional engagement with TV spans the whole day. They want to read up on stories about the shows and stars they love in the morning, discuss plotlines over the watercooler in the afternoon, and carefully plan what to watch in the evening – long before ever switching on the TV itself.”
Simon Miller, chief of product and content development, blogged: “As our users asked us for more than just second screen features, we began to evolve beyond second screen experiences into what you might call a social network for TV, and our original name just didn’t match that evolution. We needed a new brand.”
The app has also signed up over 100 TV and pop culture influencers who are hosting their own live, vibrant TV Rooms and profiles in the app. Among these are star Kandi Burruss of Real Housewives of Atlanta fame and YouTube sensations like Tyler Oakley, Sawyer Hartman and Kalel Cullen.
Beamly is available for free from iTunes App Store for iPhone and iPad, Google Play for Android devices and at the Beamly website.
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