The “Second Screen” experience is something that tech pundits, internet rock stars, and digital prophets alike have been touting for the past few years. Try googling “Second Screen Olympics” and you’ll find a lot of articles about how the second screen industry is going to use the Olympics as a Launchpad for going mainstream… in 2012.
You would think that 18 days of “must see” Olympic broadcasts would have second screen services salivating over subscribers, and offering up new features to win over already distracted eyes from their (dwindling) competitors. But alas, that’s not the case.
Maybe it’s a national sports hangover from the lackluster Superbowl less than two weeks ago, or perhaps it’s NBC’s human-interest highlights show coverage of the Winter Games, but whatever the case, it’s not looking good for the Second Screen.
I suffered through using a few of the last remaining “popular” SS apps so you don’t have to.
TVTag (formerly GetGlue)
So i.TV bought everybody’s favorite sticker factory, GetGlue a few months ago and rebranded it into a new product called TVTag. Here’s what happened: I tuned in to NBC’s primetime coverage around halfway through and instead of offering me the ability to check in through audio discovery (like Viggle and Shazaam), I had to choose which specific sport I was watching. This proved difficult given NBC’s hack and slash cobbling together of specific athletes from different sports into a 4-hour program. Luckily it seemed that regardless of which sport you picked, the stream included updates for all of the sports included in that evening’s broadcast.
Throughout the games, TV Tag would update with stills images from the broadcast and polls asking viewers their thoughts on the results from the previous run etc. Here’s a helpful hint for TV Tag: when you’re showing poll results, use percentages instead of the number of voters. That way the few users that you have don’t realize how truly alone they are.
ZeeBox
I didn’t use ZeeBox during the actual broadcast, but I did take a look at their “Official Olympics Room” where users can chat and post pictures while watching the games. While the ZeeBox room has 239 participants (a whopping 231 more participants than most TVTag polls), that number is still a fraction of a fraction of the total number of people watching the Olympics.
Another interesting thing about ZeeBox, if you look at the chat log from the Olympics room you’ll notice that almost all of the pictures posted have an “IntoNow” watermark. The most popular feature in ZeeBox is actually just people copy/pasting images from a competing product that is in the process of being shut down (as of January 24th IntoNow was no longer available for download and the service will officially be terminated in March.) That doesn’t bode well for ZeeBox.
Viggle
Viggle is arguably the most established Second Screen app at this point. If you thought they would pull out the stops for the Olympics, you’d be wrong. While checking-in is still super easy, thanks to the ability to essentially Shazaam a broadcast and have it be recognized, the problem is after you check in, there’s very little for you to do.
During the NFL and NBA seasons, Viggle had a pretty neat app called MyGuy that combines Second Screen with Fantasy Sports, but they seem to have chosen to forego an Olympic version. Instead, you’re able to compete in Viggle Live, a halfhearted trivia/polling game that awards you Viggle Points. If you check-in to 10 of 17 primetime broadcasts you will get 500 bonus points, courtesy of the fine folks at Lexus. But considering the fact that you can earn 1000 points a night for playing Viggle Live, that prize seems kind of lackluster. This is only really valuable if you’re already invested in the Viggle ecosystem and are trying to rack up points to get a Sephora gift card, or something of the like. The questions are pretty generic, and it’s likely that if your screen shuts off in between questions (like during a 5 minute commercial break) that you’d be unlikely to load the app back up.
NBC Sports Live Extra
Here’s the thing about NBC’s Second Screen app… it isn’t one.
The value of NBC’s app is that theoretically, you’ll be able to watch clips and stream events. I say theoretically because unless you’re a cable subscriber, chances are you’re going to be very frustrated by NBC’s ad supported streaming, which according to the reviews on iTunes, works intermittently. Crappy product aside, an app that only streams video is not a Second Screen app, it’s a first screen app on a teeny tiny screen. Second Screen apps are supposed to add value to your viewing experience, not provide you with an alternative, worse viewing experience.
Yes there are some features, like the total medal count that are kind of useful, but you know what’s quicker than waiting for a poorly made app to load? Google.
All in all things aren’t looking good for the Second Screen industry. Here they had a chance to really prove their value over a sustained period of time, but it seems like either they’re all out of ideas, or NBC (or any of the 1,500 Olympic sponsors) wasn’t willing to pony up the cash for any of them to develop new features.
If I had to award a gold medal to a Second Screen experience for the 2014 Sochi Olympics, it would go to Flappy Bird, which like most great Olympians, retired young.
RIP the Second Screen industry.
Go Team USA!
