Television and the Second Screen: Interactive TV in the age of social participation

207 Pages·2016·1.51 MB·English

by  James Blake

Television and the Second Screen
Television is changing almost beyond recognition. Smart phones and tablet
computers have become rivals to the traditional TV set in the battle for
consumers. However, audiences and producers are also embracing social
media sites and mobile platforms to enhance TV viewing itself. This book
examines the emerging phenomenon of the second screen: where users are
increasingly engaging with content on two screens concurrently. The practice
is transforming television into an interactive, participatory and social
experience.
This book analyses these new patterns of audience behaviour within the
framework of user agency and discusses recasting the notion of viewer
activity. It studies the impact of the second screen on theoretical models
including audience reception and transmedia storytelling.
In researching this work, James Blake has interviewed more than 25
people in the TV industry – across the major UK broadcasters – including
commissioning editors, digital directors, producers and advertising
executives. In doing so, he has been able to track the evolution of interactive
TV and examine the successes and failures of recent experiments and
innovations in second screen projects.
As the second screen becomes second nature for viewers and producers,
the risks and opportunities for the future of television are slowly beginning
to emerge. Television and the Second Screen offers students and scholars of
television theory and practice an accessible and illuminating guide to this
important cultural shift.
James Blake is the Director of the Centre for Media and Culture at Edinburgh
Napier University where he is a senior lecturer in TV and journalism. He
spent more than 15 years in the TV industry and still works regularly for
Channel 4 News and STV.

Television and the
Second Screen
Interactive TV in the age of
social participation
James Blake
First published 2017
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2017 James Blake
The right of James Blake to be identifi ed as author of this work has
been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or
other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying
and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system,
without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identifi cation and
explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
A catalog record for this book has been requested
ISBN: 978-1-138-91432-2 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-138-91433-9 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-69090-2 (ebk)
Typeset in Sabon
by Saxon Graphics Ltd, Derby
To my amazing family – Gill, Harry and Robyn.
(OK kids: can you put the screens down now?)

Contents
List of fi gures ix
Acknowledgements xi
Introduction 1
1 The evolution of interactive TV 9
2 Recasting the active audience 29
3 Entertaining the interactive user: play-along, voting
and gossip 48
4 Participating in the news agenda 72
5 Factual television: reinventing the digital public space 94
6 Second screen as multi-platform transmedia
storytelling 112
7 Monetising second screen gameplay 130
8 Advertising: ‘Disruption is at a maximum!’ 149
9 The future for social participation in TV 171
Index 188

Figures
3.1 Screen shot from the companion app for Channel 4’s
Million Pound Drop. Image courtesy of Endemol/Shine
group 50
3.2 Screen shot from the companion app for Channel 4’s
Million Pound Drop. Image courtesy of Endemol/Shine
group 50
3.3 Phone screen shot from a companion app for ITV’s The X
Factor. Image courtesy of Fremantle Media 57
3.4 Phone screen shot from the companion app for ITV’s The
X Factor. Image courtesy of Fremantle Media 59
3.5 iPad screen shot from the companion app for Channel 4’s
The Singer Takes It All. Image courtesy of Endemol/Shine
group 65
3.6 Phone screen shot from the companion app for Channel
4’s The Singer Takes It All. Image courtesy of Endemol/
Shine group 66
8.1 iPad screen shot from the companion app for ITV’s The X
Factor. Image courtesy of Fremantle Media 151