Civolution, the leading provider of technology and solutions for identifying, managing and monetizing content, today announced that Talpa has licensed its SyncNow® Automatic Content Recognition (ACR) technology and can now use SyncNow in all its TV formats requiring a synchronized second screen experience and deliver it along with the format and app to its broadcaster clients.
The first deployment taking advantage of the agreement is the “What Do I Know” (“Weet ik veel”) format licensed to multiple territories. “What Do I Know” is a dynamic and fast-paced quiz show where three national celebrities battle each other in a wide range of general knowledge questions to win a cash prize for deserving individuals. The show, which lends itself perfectly to engaging second screen interactions, enables viewers to play along by answering a number of questions via the show’s second screen app, developed by Amsterdam-based second screen specialist ExMachina. The synchronization is fully leveraging Civolution’s SyncNow ACR solution, allowing for real-time and precise interaction with the live broadcast.
Talpa’s “What Do I Know” has already proven to be a major hit for national media groups RTL in the Netherlands and M6 in France. Belgian and Slovakian versions of the program also leveraging Civolution’s SyncNow are in the production stage, demonstrating the popularity of the quiz show.
“What Do I Know” was originally launched in 2013 without real-time sync. The new format, relying on Civolution’s market-proven and widely deployed solution, aims at increasing TV ratings and building a deeper relationship with viewers by ensuring they can now be part of the live action. In France, the new, fully synchronized program has become one of the most popular on M6, with a reported nearly 500,000 users taking part in the game when it launched a few weeks ago, a record breaking online participation for any TV show. Using SyncNow in the app creates a direct, personalized relationship with the consumer, effectively enabling a cross-media experience. Civolution’s ACR solution is based on its robust audio watermarking technology, which provides a real-time link between the broadband and broadcast world, overturns latency issues and perfectly syncs questions and answers between the TV screen and the viewer at home.
“At Talpa we want to be able to offer the full package to our broadcaster customers, the show format and the synchronized companion app,” said Igor Milder, Managing Director of Talpa Connect. “When we started looking for an ACR solution it turned out that Civolution’s SyncNow technology was already the technology of choice by many broadcasters, which made it a really easy choice for us. By enabling true integration of the second screen with TV programming, we are offering the chance for the public to be part of the show and for us and broadcasters to be at the forefront of the second screen TV revolution. We are now looking forward to developing further formats with second screens in mind.”
“We are constantly striving to help the media industry to anticipate and meet consumer demand for more and better interaction with the TV,” said Alex Terpstra, CEO of Civolution. “We are now able to deliver truly synchronized and immersive TV experiences. Viewers are no longer just watching, they are becoming an integral part of the game or show. Talpa develops some of the world’s most compelling program formats, such as the hugely popular talent show “The Voice”, enabling broadcasters to reach audiences in an innovative way and create a more intimate relationship. For broadcasters, advertisers and brands, this is great news.”
The synchronization between the content and the companion device relies on Civolution’s widely deployed SyncNow® ACR solution. SyncNow enables real-time identification and second-accurate synchronization between broadcast, on-demand or recorded content and interactive applications on companion devices - tablets, smartphones and laptops - to present compelling synchronized interactive user experiences. SyncNow already powers a range of cross-screen consumer applications for movie and show producers, broadcasters, second screen platform providers and advertisers worldwide.
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