Watching television has always been a social experience. Traditionally, family and friends would gather around the TV set to watch and discuss what they were viewing together. In today's digital world it's clear that TV continues to drive conversation, the difference being that there are now millions of viewers flocking to social media to share thoughts about the content they're consuming.
There is great potential for broadcasters and brands to tap into what their audiences are sharing and incorporate that content as part of their programming or advertising. It could be in the form of social commentary in a lower third, contextually-relevant Instagram photos, social video, or a live Twitter or Facebook poll where you can get real-time audience feedback and display the results live in your segment.
At never.no we are often asked Why?'. Why should networks invest in a solution to integrate user-generated-content into their workflow? There are many benefits from increased viewership and dwell time to commercialisation.
Here are just some of the ways broadcasters are benefitting from making their programming and advertising interactive.
TV Fosters Emotional Connections that Lead to Social Engagement A report by the Video Advertising Bureau (VAB) explores the close relationship between TV and social engagement. The report, appropriately named #TVisSocial, found that ad-supported TV programs make up 84% of the top trending Twitter topics during primetime.
Why is it that people are compelled to engage socially about the content they're watching? VAB puts it well:
Because TV consistently creates and captures moments that are exciting, entertaining, humorous, enlightening, uplifting, aspirational, inspirational and educational...moments that people almost immediately share and talk about online.
With the vast majority of TV viewing being watched live,' the scale and engagement of ad-supported TV creates and captures real-time' moments in a way that no other platform can. These moments are further amplified by passionate viewers through social media communities.
Regardless of whether a show is live or pre-recorded, there's a desire to watch as live'/non-time-shift. Particularly certain programs like sporting events, entertainment programs or popular reality shows that people wouldn't dare miss tuning in to for risk of encountering spoilers.
TV content fosters emotional connections that encourage audiences to engage. Online conversations are often driven by the shared experiences viewers have around relatable topics. By rewarding viewers and including some of that social feedback in programming, or having it influence the editorial, it can further boost the relationship and loyalty of the audience.
Drive Viewership Encouraging your audience to share content with you through Tweets, Instagram photos, live polls etc. is a great way to add interactivity to your programming. People appreciate having the opportunity to have their voices heard or have their few seconds of fame. We've also seen that it can drive viewership - for example, Irish broadcaster RTE asked the audience to help them decide on Ireland's Greatest Sporting Moment. The format was driven by votes and comments shared live across social platforms and resulted in the show trending on social media and an increase in viewing share.
Increase Dwell Time If viewers know they could see their message or photo on air they'll be more likely to stay tuned in. A project with USA Network involved fans submitting a photo via Instagram or Twitter for a chance to appear in show promos. The socially-enhanced promos attracted more viewers and extended dwell time by 4 minutes compared to traditional spots.
Grow Social Audiences A TV ad campaign for Oykos yoghurt is a great example of how capturing an audience with a call-to-action to participate can increase social audience and activity. Viewers were enthusiastic to share photos of themselves and a message about why they should feature in the campaign to Facebook for chance to be on TV. As a result, the brand saw thousands of entries, shares and likes. The interactive campaign also resulted in them growing their Facebook audience by 30%.
Bridge the Gap Between TV & Digital Audience interactivity bridges the gap between traditional TV and digital. Networks have the opportunity to leverage the power of both to reach audiences across platforms. For example, UKTV drove social audiences to the TV broadcast with Twitter Reminders. Using program handles or hashtags can create awareness and encourage social users to tune in to the TV broadcasters.
Social TV Activity Drives Ad Response Multitasking and social interactivity isn't a distraction to your audience. Giving viewers the chance to participate in discussions, influence the show's editorial or have their content showcased can be powerful for commercial partnerships.
Researchers from Indiana University and Emory University have addressed the question Does live Tweeting while watching TV distract from the ads?'. Their findings show that advertisers can see a boost in online shopping and ad responsiveness when TV audiences engage in social media activity while watching certain programs.
Benefits for Advertisers As well generating incremental revenue, there are exciting opportunities for sponsors to get on board with interactive campaigns.
Channel 4 and PlayStation ran a live social ad competition during Gogglebox. Viewers were shown game footage then asked to answer a question by Tweeting their response with the hashtag #PlayStationLive. There was a huge flurry of entries as people Tweeted their answers in the 5-minute window, making #PlayStationLive a trending hashtag across Europe that night.
Another example is how Lexus increased their brand favourability by 22% with socia
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
03/07/2026
New bundle & three Single Packs
Continuing to expand their already sizeable orchestral collection, VSL's latest release introduces three new Single Pack...
03/07/2026
Venue installs new ATC-equipped control room
LSO St Luke's, a unique music venue that also serves as the home of the London Symphony Orchestra, have rec...
03/07/2026
Caden Pearson appointed new Commissioning Editor for NITV
3 July, 2026
Media releases
National Indigenous Television (NITV) has strengthened its commitment...
03/07/2026
1 February 2023
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
Munich, Germany, 1st February 2023: Cinegy GmbH, the premier provider of software technology for digit...
03/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/07/2026
Death Star
Andy Marken July 2, 2026
0 Comments
Look, I can't get involved. I've got work to do. It's not that I like the Empire; I hate i...
03/07/2026
Berklee's New Visual Identity: Honoring Our History, Building for What's...
03/07/2026
Scripps Research scientists awarded $2M to advance global disease surveillance Two Gates Foundation grants will expand wastewater surveillance and AI-driven dis...
03/07/2026
Joan Pulupa joins Scripps Research faculty to study the organization of DNA in brain cells and its links to neurodegeneration Using smell-sensing neurons and ad...
02/07/2026
Entering her senior year, this hometown girl is paving a career in live sports production gaining experience in replay and audio and as a TD
In the live-sports...
02/07/2026
In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...
02/07/2026
BLAST, a competitive entertainment company focused on esports, has announced more than $133 million in revenue for 2025, representing more than 40% year-over-ye...
02/07/2026
Riedel Communications has announced official SKAARHOJ panel support for SimplyLive production workflows, enabled through the SimplyLive 2.1 release. The integra...
02/07/2026
The Fire Rescue Service of the Czech Republic has deployed LiveU video-over-bond...
02/07/2026
Gravity Media USA has announced the appointment of Brittney Boston as Head of Business Development, effective July 1, 2026. Based in Nashville, Tennessee, Bosto...
02/07/2026
TwelveLabs, a video intelligence company, has announced $100 million in Series B funding co-led by NEA and NAVER Ventures, with participation from Amazon, Radic...
02/07/2026
The Pro Padel League (PPL) has announced a broadcast partnership with USA Sports that will air five PPL championship matches on CNBC during the 2026 season, the...
02/07/2026
LiveLike, a digital fan engagement platform, has announced eight confirmed FIFA ...
02/07/2026
Cobalt Digital has received Future's Best of Show Award, presented by AV Technology at InfoComm 2026, for its blueCORE family of standalone signal processor...
02/07/2026
Synamedia has announced the appointment of Dr. Tzvi Gerstl as Chief Executive Officer. Paul Segre, who has served as CEO for the past six years, will transition...
02/07/2026
The Esports Foundation (EF) and Sony Group Corporation have announced an expanded collaboration for the Esports World Cup 2026 (EWC), taking place in Paris, Fra...
02/07/2026
Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. ( Z') has announced exclusive broadcast and digital rights for the Bundesliga in India for five years, beginning with the...
02/07/2026
An effort uniting News, Sports, Local, and Telemundo, the 50+-camera live produc...
02/07/2026
Zoey Deutch, John Slattery, Ken Marino, Miles Gutierrez-Riley, and Ben Wang appe...
02/07/2026
Stammering, stuttering, strangulated tones
The Crow Hill Company's latest creation promises to be the most original sound set they've produced to d...
02/07/2026
A new era in unmixing and spectral editing
The latest version of Steinberg's spectral audio-editing software has just arrived, building on the strength...
02/07/2026
Aims to simplify additive synthesis
Sine Machine is the debut launch from Melatonin, a Vienna-based developer who have spent the past six years creating wha...
02/07/2026
Products to remain fully active & supported
Following the news of Native Instruments joining the inMusic brand line-up, Academy and Emmy Award-winning visua...
02/07/2026
What you missed!
Last weekend, Saturday 27 June 2026, saw the debut of Sound On Sounds new GearExpo UK event, the largest dedicated pro-audio event to take ...
02/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02/07/2026
Following the successful launch of its inaugural APAC Mentoring Programme last month, the Rise AV APAC Regional Council will bring the conversation around mento...
02/07/2026
Blackmagic PYXIS 6K Used to Shoot Director Takahisa Zeze's Cry Out
Brie Clayton July 2, 2026
0 Comments
Highly mobile camera supports tense and de...
02/07/2026
Broadcast Solutions acquires BFE, expanding its lead in European broadcast, medi...
02/07/2026
Berklee Alum and Faculty Perform at Boston Public Library's 250th Anniversar...
02/07/2026
Broadcast Solutions GmbH, a leading systems integrator and provider of innovative solutions for the broadcast media industry, is acquiring BFE Studio und Medien...
02/07/2026
Cinegy GmbH, the premier provider of software-defined television technology, has extended the ingest facility at leading Brazilian sports company LiveMode, work...
02/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02/07/2026
Standalone processors acknowledged for the innovation and value they bring to Pro AV
Cobalt Digital, a leading designer and manufacturer of signal processing ...
02/07/2026
Synamedia announced today the appointment of Dr Tzvi Gerstl as Chief Executive Officer. Paul Segre, who has served as CEO for the past six years, will transitio...
02/07/2026
Screen Australia backs audience-led filmmaking with new insight-driven initiativ...
02/07/2026
Screen Australia refines guidelines for Narrative Content Development and Docume...
02/07/2026
Maxon Autograph: Introduction to working with Tables
Simon Ubsdell July 1, 2026
0 Comments
An overview of Autograph's ridiculously powerful tables...
02/07/2026
Boston Conservatory's Soir e Breaks Records to Fund Student Scholarships The event achieved 127 percent of its fundraising goal in an evening celebrating ...
Watching television has always been a social experience. Traditionally, family and friends would gather around the TV set to watch and discuss what they were viewing together. In today's digital world it's clear that TV continues to drive conversation, the difference being that there are now millions of viewers flocking to social media to share thoughts about the content they're consuming.
