An interesting article regarding voting methods for reality TV show Big Brother in the UK. SMS is no longer the preferred medium, social media is becoming the primary engagement tool.
Read first NMA article “Channel 5 pioneers Facebook voting for Big brother” below to see how.
For a contrasting perspective read second NMA article “Transparency is core to text voting success for participation TV…”. This article highlights how the UK reality TV show “The X Factor” has after years of research decided to re-implement the SMS voting system.
Channel 5 pioneers Facebook voting for Big Brother
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Channel 5 is to use Facebook as a voting platform for reality show Big Brother for the first time.
The broadcaster is working with show producer Endemol, Facebook and mobile agency Mobile Interactive Group to develop a Facebook app that lets viewers vote for the contestants they want to leave the Big Brother house, using the social network’s Credits payment system.
Viewers can purchase votes using Facebook Credits to use on either their laptops or smartphones. Channel 5, which bought the rights to broadcast Big Brother after ten years at Channel 4, is yet to determine pricing.
Channel 5 digital director James Tatam told new media age that Facebook voting represents only part of the overall social media and digital strategy for the show, which will include video footage on the show’s Facebook page, along with real-time news and video updates.
Previously it had mooted providing live 24-hour streaming via its website, but Tatam said it has shelved this idea in favour of a constant stream of video highlights, which will be available on both the main website and Facebook.
“We want a lot of the content to be on Facebook. Putting real-time news and video updates alongside the ability to vote should be really powerful,” he said.
Facebook won’t be the only voting mechanism, according to Tatam, but will be one of several on devices yet to be confirmed. It’s also in talks with YouTube to extend the use of the platform beyond video content for Big Brother. It has also launched its first Big Brother Twitter feed.
“W want to use the capabilities of the smartphone platforms we’ll be on, so if that includes in-app purchasing we’ll use that,” said Tatam, adding that Channel 5 hasn’t ruled out using SMS voting but the regulations around it are restrictive. “It’s only worth having SMS if there isn’t a better alternative on mobile. We can’t use SMS straight from screen because the regulators don’t permit it, there have been too many problems with latency and lag. So we’d only use it to purchase SMS voting bundles that enable real-time votes via mobile or online apps.”
Channel 5 is also planning to launch mobile apps for the show, which debuts in six weeks’ time, and hopes to have its iPad app for TV catch-up player Demand 5 ready to roll out in time for the show, although it hasn’t confirmed a date.
The broadcaster will provide integrated ad opportunities across Channel 5’s digital portfolios and those of its parent company Northern & Shell, a strategy Tatam is keen to extend to all the broadcaster’s ad tie-ups (nma9 June 2011). It’s currently in talks with media agencies over the potential integrated ad opportunities around Big Brother.
Tatam said social media platforms are the channels best suited to boosting the overall TV viewing experience. “It has become clear over the last year that social media sits side by side with watching TV, more so than traditional websites ever have,” he said.
Channel 5 is the first broadcaster to establish such a tie-up with Facebook, having embedded its TV catch-up player Demand 5 on the social network as part of its syndication strategy (nma 12 August 2010). This brought its entire catalogue of long-form content, including shows such as Home and Away, The Gadget Show and The Hotel Inspector, to the social network for the first time (nma.co.uk 20 December 2010).
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Transparency is core to text voting success for participation TV, says ITV’s interactive director
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ITV has cited closer collaboration and transparency with mobile networks as the key to its revival of mobile text message voting for hit entertainment show X Factor.
The broadcaster has re-introduced mobile text voting for the first time in four years after spending three years examining new ways to approach it.
ITV director of interactive Ann Cook told new media age that collaborating with mobile networks including O2 and Orange, via its partnership with Mobile Interactive Group (MIG), has secured its confidence in re-igniting mobile text message voting for participation TV shows.
“The transparency is much higher now between the different partners; networks must ensure they monitor every micropayment that comes through as a text vote on their platforms, which will ensure there are no blockages or latency issues – that simply wasn’t in place before,” she said.
UK broadcasters came under fire in 2007 following a series of scandals over voting window latency issues, which saw people still buy votes after the time windows had closed. The scandals triggered a crackdown by premium rates regulator PhonepayPlus.
Cook said the spike in traffic that arises during participation TV shows like X Factor are huge for broadcasters, but pale in comparison to the traffic seen by network operators on a daily basis. “Our relationship with MIG has been vital in establishing the necessary transparency with the mobile networks to monitor this and make it work for the consumer.”
Consumer confidence in mobile text voting has been steadily rising since 2007 because, according to ITV, over half of the competitions it runs for shows including Day Break and This Morning come via mobile phones.
The voting window for X Factor show has been extended over a two day period, allowing for a longer window in which votes can be counted. Cook said it is has no intention of introducing SMS text voting for other show brands, as X Factor is currently the only show which has a two-day voting window.
“We have no intention of introducing it for other show brands, unless we can somehow narrow down that vote counting window,” said Cook.
The broadcaster also considered whether to implement Facebook’s Credits payment system for the series. “We reviewed Facebook Credits this summer and decided we would stick to one form of voting so as not to become confusing for viewers. But I’m very interested to see how it will work on Big Brother and am by no means ruling it out.”
