Almost a fifth of TV viewers use social networks to discover new TV programmes to watch.
The report, released by PR and social media agency Diffusion, found that 17% of viewers use social media to find new TV shows. The percentage has risen to 39% for 18-24 year olds, possibly due to being the target audience for UK station Channel 4.
The Social TV Trends report was released the same day as Channel 4’s announcement of it launching a a new TV channel called 4seven, enabling people to catch up on television shows that have been widely discussed and trending online during the past week.
David Abraham, chief executive of Channel 4, said: “It will schedule the main channel content that is creating noise – amongst social media, bloggers, commentators and of course via contact our viewers have directly with us – and incorporate this buzz into the look and feel of the channel.”
It’s said that the new channel will help converge traditional TV and digital experiences, offering an alternative to catch-up TV by broadcasting shows from the previous seven days to viewers that missed it first time round.
Tom Malcolm from Diffusion said: “These real-time, online discussions of TV shows on social media mark the end of the water-cooler effect and a fundamental change in the way Brits watch, share and interact with TV.”
According to the report, an extra 17% of British viewers would talk about a televsision show if their friends were. Online competitions or promoted social messages were found to be less likely to get viewers involved.
“Advertising alone is no longer enough; the social television viewer is increasingly looking for third party endorsement and it’s vital that broadcasters get their audiences talking about their shows positively online.”
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