In case you had any doubt about Twitter’s push to become the leading social network in the TV space, last week’s announcement from Microsoft may lay that doubt to rest.

For that matter, Microsoft is clearly looking to be a television leader of its own. That same announcement, posted on the Xbox Wire blog on June 4, touted plans for the release of more than 45 entertainment-related applications by year’s end, including HBO GO, Showtime Anytime, Comedy Central, NBA and Vine. Major players all of them, and yet the first one to appear in the release – and the one that by far received the most attention in the release – was Xbox One’s new “optimized-for-TV Twitter integration.”

From that first mention of Twitter, Yusuf Mehdi, corporate VP of devices and studios at Microsoft, proceeded to mention the social network two more times in the span of a single quote:

“Today as we announce new commitments from dozens of our partners,” said Mehdi, “including deep integration with experiences like Twitter and Vine, we hit an important milestone in our journey to deliver unique experiences on Xbox. We’re thrilled to break new ground in social TV experiences like we’re doing with Twitter on Xbox One.”

Xbox One is facilitating TV-watching with Twitter by directly integrating the service into the screen’s content, “offering the ability to see Tweets related to the cable or satellite TV shows you’re watching as they’re happening,” according to the post.

The Twitter experience will also derive from the TV listings section of the console’s OneGuide, where viewers will see shows that people are tweeting about in real-time. Those same shows will also be highlighted in a new “trending” section within OneGuide, turning a commercial break into a quick and easy opportunity to see what other viewers are tweeting about without deviating from the screen to pick up a phone, tablet or other Twitter-enabling advice.

“It will now be easier to discover what shows are trending in real-time on Twitter, tune in and follow the conversation right from within the Xbox One interface,” said Jana Messerschmidt, VP of business development and platform at Twitter.

Some Internet pundits predict being forced to watch endless scrolling tweets beneath a show will be annoying for viewers, but it’s unlikely viewers will have to turn the app on if they don’t like it. And even then, viewers are increasingly accustomed to a busy screen – it doesn’t seem like the greatest of leaps to focus that activity on a data stream that is at least directly relevant to the given content. What’s noticeably absent from last week’s announcement is the ability to participate in the Twitter conversation. What’s the fun of reading what people are saying about a show if you can’t chime in yourself?

For Twitter, partnering with Xbox is a huge step forward in its interactive TV ambitions. It is now poised to dominate the entire TV watching experience on a console used by tens of millions. The fact the displayed tweets automatically customize to whatever program is being watched could be a goldmine for increased targeted advertising opportunities. Meanwhile, the more Xbox One pulls users away from their mobile devices, the more its other offerings – namely, games – maintain relevance.

“We are excited to work with the Xbox One team and continue to deliver unique entertainment experiences,” concluded Messerschmidt.

Tags:


  Save as PDF