Panel: Watercooler TV, Now Twitter, Facebook TV

Mike Farrell — Tue, 30 Sep 2014 16:30:00 +0000

Television fans that used to gather around the office watercooler to talk about the previous night’s shows are now tweeting and messaging friends during live broadcasts, a shift that has programmers, advertisers and content developers looking for new ways to present content, panelists at the Business of Live Television Summit said.

But where once TV viewers used to gather together for big events, whether it be the Super Bowl or the finale of The Sopranos, they are siting at home and interacting with friends and strangers via social media like Twitter and Facebook.

“That ability to capture people interacting with their social group while watching is a powerful way to reach consumers,” said Horizon Media senior vice president and director of national broadcast Dave Campanelli at the Multichannel News/B&C-sponsored event in New York City Tuesday.

That level of engagement is not lost on those that measure viewership. Nielsen vice president of analytics Peter Katsingris noted that sporting events account for only 2% of all telecasts during a year, but more than 50% of the TV tweets generated are during sporting events.

“We know that everyone is connected when watching TV,” Katsingris said.

While Twitter’s impact on television viewership is well known to anyone who has heard of Sharknado, Facebook is becoming a force in driving viewership to live events as well. According to Facebook manager of public solutions Bob Morgan, live events like the Academy Awards, The MTV Video Music Awards and the FIFA World Cup not only attract the biggest audiences, they also drive the most social media traffic. Morgan estimated that unique engagements to the platform were about 11 million during his year’s Oscars, 13 million for the VMAs and 350 million for the World Cup. He added that the FIFA World Cup audience during the tournament also generated about 3 billion likes and shares.

Facebook, he said, is starting to investigate ways to bring TV networks, shows and personalities into the fold, with products like a mentions app, which allows verifiable public figures to engage in discussions about them or their shows. So in a Facebook thread after a National Football League game when users are talking about Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald’s future with the team, Fitzgerald himself can chime in.

That level of engagement can help drive viewership to shows, even replacing traditional ads that promote programs before they air, said Anthem Media Group CEO Leonard Asper.

“If somebody says they are going to be on a show [via facebook or Twitter], that is something that people are going to tune into,” Asper said. He added that while live sports programming is a huge driver of engagement, networks and programmers also can gain audiences through shoulder programming or content associated with those live events.

Asper pointed to his own Fight Network, which may offer a marathon of past Manny Pacquiao fights prior to one of the boxer’s pay-per-view events.

Asper added that partnering with athletes and leagues to help drive the social discussion, especially with fantasy sports leagues. Asper’s company also owns The Fantasy Sports Network.

Fantasy Sports has built a series of partnerships with players and organizations like the NFL Hall of Fame, where athletes will weigh in themselves about injuries and the like.

“Why do people watch the Cleveland Browns vs. the Buffalo Bills? Because they have fantasy players in that game,” Asper said. He added that the gambling aspect of fantasy leagues and sports in general also drives intense engagement.

“The betting side of it is a massive side that is going to keep driving live sports,” Asper said. “People in the UK are watching tennis matches and betting on whether Roger Federer is going to double fault.”

Cohen, Licht, King, Espinoza Head Live Television Summit

MCN Staff — Thu, 25 Sep 2014 20:30:00 +0000

Executives from late-night, news and sports will be discussing the challenges, complexities and opportunities of operating in the realm of live television at NewBay Media’s conference in Manhattan next week.

NewBay Media, producer of the first-ever Business of Live Television Summit and publisher of Multichannel News, Broadcasting & Cable and TV Technology, will welcome such notables as Andy Cohen, the host and executive producer of Bravo’s Watch What Happens Live, and Chris Licht, vice president of programming, CBS News, executive producer of CBS This Morning.

They will be joined on Sept. 30 at Convene 32 Old Slip in New York City’s financial district by Stephen Espinoza, executive vice president, general manager, of Showtime Sports and Event Programming, Showtime Networks, Inc., and Don Roy King, director of NBC's venerable Saturday Night Live.

Moreover, there will be a number of panels addressing such other genres as games, spectacles and musicals and how the value of live fare has surged among programmers, advertisers and viewers. The live category has been fueled by advances in production technology and the proliferation of social media.

“This is the first event of its kind for us,” said Louis Hillelson, vice president/group publisher of NewBay Media’s Television Group, “and we’ve attracted a stellar lineup of major players who will identify best practices being developed around live events, as well as tackle such critical questions as, What new technologies are improving workflows, reducing costs and increasing the production value of live broadcasts?”

For more information about the Business of Live Television Summit, including speaker bios, visit http://livetelevisionsummit.com/

To register to attend, visit http://livetelevisionsummit.com/?page_id=22

The following is the agenda for the event as of September 24:

8:45 a.m.-9:35 a.m.—Registration/Continental Breakfast

9:35 a.m.-9:40 a.m.—Opening Remarks: Louis Hillelson, VP/Group Publisher,Broadcasting & CableandMultichannel News

9:40 a.m.-10:05 a.m.—Keynote: Don Roy King, Director,Saturday Night Live

Moderator: Kent Gibbons, Executive Editor, Multichannel News

10:05 a.m.-10:50 a.m.—The Value of Live TV

From sports to award shows to newscasts and special events, the emphasis on live programming across the TV landscape is clear. This panel of stakeholders in real-time viewing zeroes in on why live viewership is crucial to networks’ and brands’ business strategies and how to keep the live viewing opportunities coming.

· Leonard Asper, CEO, Anthem Media Group

· Dave Campanelli, SVP, Director of National Broadcast, Horizon Media

· Peter Katsingris, Vice President, Media Analytics, Nielsen

· Bob Morgan, Manager of Public Solutions, Facebook

Moderator: Jon Lafayette, Business Editor, Broadcasting & Cable

10:50 a.m.-11:05 a.m.—Morning Break

11:05 a.m.-11:30 a.m.—Chris Licht, VP of Programming, CBS News, Executive Producer, CBS THIS MORNING

Moderator: Melissa Grego, Editor-in-Chief, Broadcasting & Cable

11:30 a.m.-12:15 p.m.—Streaming Live Productions Online

As bandwidth has increased, so has the ability to provide streaming coverage of live events online. We are seeing an explosion of live streaming possibilities, from Discovery’s online coverage of Felix Baumgartner’s space jump on YouTube to NBC’s record-breaking Olympic streaming coverage. But how is the technology and production demands for producing live events for online different than live production on TV? This panel will look at how media companies are adapting to this growing trend.

· Eric Black, VP, Technology, NBC Sports Group

· Clark Pierce, Senior Vice President, Mobile and Advanced Platforms, FOX Sports

· Chris Wagner, Executive Vice President & Co-founder, NeuLion

Moderator: Tom Butts, Editor-in-Chief, TV Technology

12:15 p.m.-1:30 p.m.—Buffet Lunch

1:30 p.m.-2:00 p.m.—Keynote: Stephen Espinoza, EVP, General Manager, Showtime Sports and Event Programming, Showtime Networks, Inc.

Moderator: Tom Umstead, Programming Editor, Multimedia Editor, Multichannel.com

2:00 p.m.-2:30 p.m.—Social TV Case Study: Twitter and USTA Play Doubles

Nothing drives the social conversation more than a live TV event. And nothing enhances the live TV viewing experience more than social platforms. What does this experience look like, how are rights holders monetizing and what work is involved to pull it all off? Join this session to see how the USTA and Twitter partnered to bring sports fans an amazing US Open experience, and drive incremental revenue and distribution of videos and photos from @USOpen

· Nicole Jeter West, Senior Director, Ticketing and Digital Strategy, United States Tennis Association

· Mike Park, Product & Content Partnerships, Twitter Amplify

Moderator: Dade Hayes, Executive Editor, Broadcasting & Cable

2:30 p.m.-2:55 p.m.—Andy Cohen, Host and Executive Producer, Bravo’s “Watch What Happens Live”

Moderator, Mark Robichaux, Multichannel News

2:55 p.m.-3:40 p.m.—Technology Trends in Live Production Environments

This panel will look at the latest trends in technology that help broadcasters and producers optimize the quality and reliability of their live productions. We’ll examine several different markets for live production, including sports and entertainment and what distinguishes those markets from each other. We’ll look at the latest technologies, including the increasing popularity of bonded cellular systems and new developments in multiplatform delivery, as well as new audio and imaging technologies, including slo-mo and 4K/UHD.

· Jason Cohen, Director of Sports Production, HBO

· Efi Dilmoni, Broadcast Technology Consultant, Orad

· Larry Estrin, Director, Clear-Com Global Rental Group

· John Hamlin, Senior VP of Music Events & Talent, CMT

· James Stellpflug, VP, Sports Products—Americas, EVS

Moderator: Tom Butts, Editor-in-Chief, TV Technology

3:40 p.m.-4:45 p.m.—Cocktail Reception

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Panel: Watercooler TV, Now Twitter, Facebook TV

Cohen, Licht, King, Espinoza Head Live Television Summit