Second Screen Superhighway

This week in Second Screen news, we learned that the much anticipated Zeebox launch in the US will be augmented by a partnership with Comcast (http://techcrunch.com/2012/08/20/zeebox-comcast-us-launch/). The presumption is that Comcast will incorporate Zeebox features into its apps.

We also learned that the updated Syfy network app will enable synchronized interactive content through its Syfy Sync feature powered by Watchwith (http://www.itvt.com/story/9224/exclusive-watchwith-powers-second-screen-interactive-tv-syfy).  The Syfy app is one of a small handful of network apps that synchronizes content to the main feature.

Each of these developments is significant on its own, but their juxtaposition in the same week raises interesting questions about what results when networks and carriers each pursue parallel paths to the second screen. Take this to its logical conclusion, where every network (let alone every program) has its own app, as does every carrier. As a viewer/subscriber, which app do you choose as your companion to a specific program? To any program?

Of course, there’s much work to be done before such a scenario comes into play.

As a consumer, the best proposition would have to be:

• Synchronization of deep, program-specific multimedia content that further immerses the viewer into the program experience; and
• The convenience of a single app to deliver that deep content across channels

And by deep content, I have in mind the kind of content that cannot be scraped from public sources or completely automated; rather, this is the type of content that springs from the same creative source as the primary content: bonus audio and video, scene-based metadata, images and the like.

Studios, networks and producers are awash in this material, and the more second screen takes off, the greater the demand for this content. The day will come very soon when producers develop material specifically for the second screen, similar to the placement of bonus materials (deleted/extended scenes, script-to-screen and storyboards, location stills, commentaries) on DVD and Blu-ray.

But there is a pretty significant logistical hurdle. First, we’ll need a clearinghouse that can warehouse, index and manage this kind of unstructured data – and do so on a scale that deepens the experience for 80,000+ hours of programming per week.

This clearinghouse – the mother of all CMS – is essentially a superhighway to move second screen content along multiple paths to reach any of a number of destination apps at the right time to sync with the main program.  

Without this comprehensive, intelligent and flexible infrastructure, the industry won’t truly be able to offer the most immersive second screen experiences at any scale.