Originally presented at Screen DIgest's Future of Digital Media event in London, this deck is the next salvo from KIT digital's Alan Wolk in his attempt to infuse common sense into the discussion around second screen.

1. 7 Things You Need To Know
About 2nd Screen Interaction
Alan Wolk
Global Lead Analyst @ KIT digital
October 18, 2012

2. #1

3. Q:
THIS IS THE ONE THING WE OFTEN
DON’T DO WHEN THE TV IS ON

4. A: WATCH IT

5. Having the TV as background noise is a purposeful
decision:

6. Having the TV as background noise is a purposeful
decision:
The viewer has set this time aside specifically for
the primary non-TV watching activity and any
attempt to engage them further will be
unsuccessful

7. Having the TV as background noise is a purposeful
decision:
The viewer has set this time aside specifically for
the primary non-TV watching activity and any
attempt to engage them further will be
unsuccessful
This viewer will focus fully on TV at another time
with different content

8. 3 STAGES OF TV VIEWING

9. DISCOVERY
3 STAGES OF TV VIEWING

10. DISCOVERY VIEWING
3 STAGES OF TV VIEWING

11. DISCOVERY VIEWING REVIEWING
3 STAGES OF TV VIEWING

12. DISCOVERY VIEWING REVIEWING
3 STAGES OF TV VIEWING
•DISCOVERY may take place prior to sitting down in front of the TV

13. DISCOVERY VIEWING REVIEWING
3 STAGES OF TV VIEWING
•DISCOVERY may take place prior to sitting down in front of the TV
•VIEWING can be purposeful or a form of background noise

14. DISCOVERY VIEWING REVIEWING
3 STAGES OF TV VIEWING
•DISCOVERY may take place prior to sitting down in front of the TV
•VIEWING can be purposeful or a form of background noise
•REVIEWING informs DISCOVERY, making the system circular

15. HIGH, MID AND LOW SOCIAL
• The amount of interactivity a show produces is directly related to the type of programming

16. TAKEAWAY #1
SECOND SCREEN INTERACTIONS ONLY MATTER
WHEN WATCHING TV IS OUR PRIMARY FOCUS

17. #2

18. Q:
IT’S THE FIRST THING WE DO WHEN
WE PICK UP THE REMOTE

19. A: FIND SOMETHING TO WATCH

20. Discovery is the primary use case for second screen apps

21. Discovery is the primary use case for second screen apps
The most common interaction will be along the lines of
“Most people in my town are watching Downton
Abbey... I think I’ll watch too. CLICK.”

22. Discovery is the primary use case for second screen apps
The most common interaction will be along the lines of
“Most people in my town are watching Downton
Abbey... I think I’ll watch too. CLICK.”
Second screen apps need to function as a mash-up of the
remote control and EPG, with an overlay of social
functionality

23. Discovery is the primary use case for second screen apps
The most common interaction will be along the lines of
“Most people in my town are watching Downton
Abbey... I think I’ll watch too. CLICK.”
Second screen apps need to function as a mash-up of the
remote control and EPG, with an overlay of social
functionality
Viewers need to be able to act on what they learn from
the second screen app

24. TAKEAWAY #2
VIEWERS NEED AN APP THAT
LETS THEM CHANGE THE CHANNEL

25. #3

26. Q:
THESE FOLKS CARE WHAT ALL THEIR
SOCIAL MEDIA CONTACTS ARE SAYING
ABOUT BRITAIN’S GOT TALENT

27. A: NO ONE

28. Our social graphs are an odd amalgamation of family,
childhood friends, neighbors, co-workers and our actual
mates

29. Our social graphs are an odd amalgamation of family,
childhood friends, neighbors, co-workers and our actual
mates
Their taste in TV shows rarely (if ever) overlaps with
our own

30. Our social graphs are an odd amalgamation of family,
childhood friends, neighbors, co-workers and our actual
mates
Their taste in TV shows rarely (if ever) overlaps with
our own
Data points such as what’s popular in my town/age
cohort, what’s popular with other fans of my favorite
actor/sports team/politician, etc. are far better
indicators of what I might like

31. TAKEAWAY #3A
OUR SOCIAL GRAPHS ARE RANDOM AND RARELY
CONSIST OF PEOPLE WHOSE OPINIONS WE CARE ABOUT

32. There are over 1 billion people on Facebook, only 150
million or so active users* on Twitter
*SOURCE: Twitter’s own blog, March 21, 2012

33. There are over 1 billion people on Facebook, only 150
million or so active users* on Twitter
Twitter’s demographics are in no way representative
of the mass of viewers and thus are useless as an
indication of anything other than what is being said on
Twitter
*SOURCE: Twitter’s own blog, March 21, 2012

34. There are over 1 billion people on Facebook, only 150
million or so active users* on Twitter
Twitter’s demographics are in no way representative
of the mass of viewers and thus are useless as an
indication of anything other than what is being said on
Twitter
Facebook conversations are private and the platform
is mostly useful for check-in rather than real-time
conversation
*SOURCE: Twitter’s own blog, March 21, 2012

35. TAKEAWAY #3B

36. TAKEAWAY #3B
TWITTER MAKES NIELSEN LOOK ACCURATE

37. #4

38. Q:
THIS GROWING HABIT INCREASES THE
VALUE OF DISCOVERY WHILE DECREASING
THE LIKELIHOOD OF CHATTER?

39. A: TIME SHIFTING

40. Time-shifted viewing eliminates the value of real-time
conversation as few other viewers will be watching the
show at the exact same time

41. Time-shifted viewing eliminates the value of real-time
conversation as few other viewers will be watching the
show at the exact same time
Time-shifted viewing means both VOD and catch-up
content are available to the viewer, making an app that
helps with discovery even more relevant

42. TAKEAWAY #4
WHEN THE ANSWER TO “WHAT’S ON” IS “EVERYTHING”
AND THE ANSWER TO “WHO’S ON” IS “NO ONE,”
DISCOVERY BECOMES KING

43. #5

44. Q:
THIS FOUR-LETTER WORD GIVES
SECOND SCREEN APPS SEX APPEAL

45. A: DATA

46. £39.99
“JENNIFER ANISTON’S SWEATER” IS A MYTH

47. £39.99
“JENNIFER ANISTON’S SWEATER” IS A MYTH
•Viewers want to watch TV, not purchase what they see on TV as they are watching

48. £39.99
“JENNIFER ANISTON’S SWEATER” IS A MYTH
•Viewers want to watch TV, not purchase what they see on TV as they are watching
• There are too many decisions (size, color, shipping method) to make spontaneous
purchases a viable option

49. THE “AD LOCKER”

50. THE “AD LOCKER”
• All ads and product placements from the show(s) the viewer has watched will be
stored in a second screen “ad locker” that the viewer can return to in order to
make purchases or learn more about the products and services

51. THE “AD LOCKER”
• All ads and product placements from the show(s) the viewer has watched will be
stored in a second screen “ad locker” that the viewer can return to in order to
make purchases or learn more about the products and services
• The experience will feel more like shopping (which is fun) than watching
advertising (which is not.)

52. TAKEAWAY #5
IT’S THE DATA, NOT THE CHATTER

53. #6

54. Q:
WITHOUT THIS, PREDICTIVE TECHNOLOGY
BECOME JUST ANOTHER PARLOR TRICK

55. A: INTERACTION

56. Getting at least one level of input from the viewer (e.g.
Movie or TV Show, Comedy or Drama) dramatically
improves the quality of the recommendation

57. Getting at least one level of input from the viewer (e.g.
Movie or TV Show, Comedy or Drama) dramatically
improves the quality of the recommendation
Involving viewers in the decision-making process also
gives them a sense of control over the accuracy of the
results

58. TAKEAWAY #6
TV VIEWING IS TOO RANDOM FOR A
PURE SUGGESTION ENGINE

59. #7

60. Q:
WHAT’S THE MOST FRUSTRATING
ASPECT OF TODAY’S TV EXPERIENCE?

61. A: THE INTERFACE

62. TVs are dumb terminals and the current HDTVs are well-
made and well-priced

63. TVs are dumb terminals and the current HDTVs are well-
made and well-priced
Current interfaces were designed for 6 channels; they
are being forced to serve 600

64. TVs are dumb terminals and the current HDTVs are well-
made and well-priced
Current interfaces were designed for 6 channels; they
are being forced to serve 600
None of today’s advances (VOD, outside data, user
preferences) are reflected in the current set of interfaces

65. TVs are dumb terminals and the current HDTVs are well-
made and well-priced
Current interfaces were designed for 6 channels; they
are being forced to serve 600
None of today’s advances (VOD, outside data, user
preferences) are reflected in the current set of interfaces
Apple is rumored to be devoting their TV efforts to
creating a better set-top box

66. TAKEAWAY #7
THE NEXT BIG SHAKEUP IN THE TELEVISION
INDUSTRY IS GOING TO BE AROUND INTERFACE

67. BONUS

68. Q:
WHAT’S THE LAST THING MVPDS WANT
TO TAKE THE LEAD ON?

69. A: INNOVATION

70. When no one in an industry is innovating, there’s no
incentive to be the first: consumers have nowhere else to
go

71. When no one in an industry is innovating, there’s no
incentive to be the first: consumers have nowhere else to
go
The TV industry is similar to the pre-iPhone mobile
industry: lots of innovations are technically possible, but
the major players see no real reason to spend money on
introducing them

72. When no one in an industry is innovating, there’s no
incentive to be the first: consumers have nowhere else to
go
The TV industry is similar to the pre-iPhone mobile
industry: lots of innovations are technically possible, but
the major players see no real reason to spend money on
introducing them
The iPhone shook up the mobile industry and
completely changed the rules. Something similar will
happen to the TV industry.

73. BONUS TAKEAWAY
CATCH-UP IS A GAME THAT’S VERY HARD TO WIN

74. T H ER E I S O N E W O RD TO REMEMBER
W H EN P L A N N I NG ANY SORT OF
SE C O ND S C R E E N INTERACTION

75. V I E W E R S
(ALWAYS KEEP THEM IN MIND)

76. THANK YOU
FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION, EMAIL ME: awolk@kitd.com