MTV have just announced that they are to attempt to breathe life into the phone-in format (TRL was cancelled late last year) by partnering with Twitter & Facebook in a new show due to air in the summer. Interestingly (perhaps) the show will be presented by our very own Alexa Chung.
By being "Powered by" Twitter / Facebook the scope for the audience to feel like a central part of the show certainly increases. With live performances etc planned there should be plenty to get people tweeting - we know that these social platforms often work best when triggered by a broadcast event (Susan Boyle anyone?).
This approach is not without its problems however. The Telegraph recently had a spot of bother with their hosting of a live Twitter feed on their budget coverage homepage (Guardian coverage here). The feed was eventually taken down but not before some rather choice tweets made it through.
Furthermore, there is some debate about who is using Twitter. A good summary by Nick Burcher shows that is really depends on where you look. Quantcast figures show that younger demos dominate, while Nielsen data suggests the userbase is rather older. Will this mechanic therefore connect with MTVs core audience as well as they hope? Perhaps there is more in the partnership for Twitter & Facebook.
More on this: Media Guardian, TechCrunch
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Interesting but do you think MTV are jumping on the digital band wagon after it's gone off up the mountain and around the corner? They need to build a strong and valid presence in these digital territories before they start badging their shows with them. It needs to work both ways.
ReplyDeleteI think there's an element of bandwagon jumping - MTV seem to be going Twitter crazy at the moment with this announcement and another new show The Phone with Justin Timberlake where viewers are encouraged to participate in a kind of twitter-chinesewhispers-treasurehunt-murdermystery (see http://mashable.com/2009/04/29/mtv-twitter-game/) - but the fact remains that viewer engagement has always been central to these kind of shows so its really a minimum requirement for MTV to experiement with these new tools.
ReplyDeleteI think it is important for publishers to be experimenting with new opportunities. Trying to bring viewers directly into live programming is admirable, but other routes should also be explored. Shouldn't just be offering engagement opportunities on your terms around your programme, I think it's important to engage with fans on their terms too. That means being willing to distribute engaging content across social spaces and if this is executed well then it boosts the relationship and helps to promote viewer loyalty in return.
ReplyDeleteWill be interesting to see how MTV approach this (especially given their previous approach to sites like YouTube.)