Why This MattersParticipation makes audiences more engaged - and better targets for sponsors.
Local stations are getting into the interactive game. And technology company iPowow, which has helped TV networks develop segments that allow viewers to participate in live on-air programming, says it's finding that station groups want to play.
Those groups are airing segments that make viewers more engaged and generate revenue through sponsorships.
Gavin Douglas, iPowow's CEO, said the company is working with Sinclair Broadcast Group, Tribune Broadcasting, Raycom Media, Univision, Fox Television Stations and Graham Media Group. The relationships range from testing iPowow's technology to airing segments every day and making money. It is also in discussion with another half-dozen groups, he said.
At a time when smartphones are making it harder for TV to get people's attention, iPowow aims to capitalize on those ubiquitous mobile devices.
The whole premise here is that 85% of people watching a show are on their phone already, clicking through Facebook, doing emails, on Pornhub, Twitter, Instagram, you name it, Douglas said. We want to get them to interact with their phone with what's on television because not only can you then bring a sponsor to bear on it and everybody makes money, but also then you start getting great analytics and metrics on the back end about who's watching your show. And then you can retarget them.
In New York, Tribune station WPIX recently started airing interactive segments that will be part of its broadcasts of Yankees baseball games over the next three months.
During games, a graphic pops up asking viewers a question, such as whether the Yankees ought to trade for more pitching or more hitting. The announcers talk about the question and urge viewers to vote. Later in the game, the voting closes and another graphic with the results is displayed on the screen, and those results get discussed during the broadcast.
Interactivity Made Easy
As far as we're concerned, it's really dead simple interactive television, Douglas said. For sponsors, it offers an in-show presence, not just a 30-second spot, he said.
What's even more groundbreaking is that WPIX managed to generate mid-six figures over a three-month flight in terms of new revenue, he added.
The sponsor for the segment during Yankees games is the Tri-Honda Dealer group in the New York market. Before viewers could vote, they had to answer a few questions, including whether they were in the market for a car. So, in addition to exposure on the broadcast, the sponsorship generated a list of qualified prospects.
We have implemented iPowow's polling features during baseball broadcasts on PIX11 in New York, and we have seen success with viewer engagement, station general manager Chris Wayland said. The technology also allows us to create unique ways to bring in additional revenue for the station.
In Los Angeles, Fox's KTTV runs iPowow segments as part of the sports reports in its newscasts. In the mornings, the sponsor is Carl's Jr.; at lunchtime, it's Jack in the Box; and in the evening, it's the local Honda dealers.
iPowow also works with agencies, such as Horizon Media. In one case that led to Bob Evans Restaurants doing segments on some Sinclair stations, Douglas said.
Rich Goldfarb, the former head of ad sales for National Geographic Channel who now works with iPowow, said the company's approach isn't one-size-fits-all. iPowow usual gets a license fee for its technology, but one thing we're talking about is a hybrid model, which involved both the license fee and some sort of revenue share, Goldfarb said.
Receptive Station Groups
Recently, it has been easier to get deals done with stations than with networks. There's a nimbleness to the local station or even station group hierarchy, Goldfarb said.
On the national side, iPowow is working with ABC on its series Boy Band and with CMT on Hot 20 Countdown. It also allows viewers of Fox's syndicated Punchline to vote their funny bones.
iPowow has also launched its system to put segments on Facebook Live streams from TV stations. This is the same back end for the TV producer and the ad-sales guy, Douglas said.
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
When Canada qualified for the FIFA World Cup 2026, OneSoccer knew this wasn'...
04/07/2026
Celebrates company's 80th anniversary
Rhodes have recently revealed that they will be producing a limited run of electric pianos in celebration of their...
04/07/2026
Blackmagic Design Cameras Empower Youth Broadcasting Program
Brie Clayton July 3, 2026
0 Comments
Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro and Blackmagi...
04/07/2026
iZotope Joins Boris FX
Boris Yamnitsky July 3, 2026
0 Comments
iZotope, the team behind RX and Ozone, is joining Boris FX. A letter from founder Boris...
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...
Why This MattersParticipation makes audiences more engaged - and better targets for sponsors.
