Content owners have been attracted to social media and its potential for engaging viewers and firming up their connection with them, building loyalty--and buzz--in the process.
While Facebook and Twitter offer easy access solutions, CBS Interactive Entertainment (NYSE: CBS) this week decided to launch its own social platform--CBS Connect--to allow it to make that connection a little more network specific.
The new CBS hub, which can be accessed here, will allow fans to interact with each other, and, on occasion, also will allow fans access to stars and creative talent through live chat events. (The first live event is with select members from the cast of NCIS: Los Angels during the East Coast airing of the May 15, two-hour season finale.)
The broadcaster said it had seen a strong response from fans during other social events it sponsored in the past year.
"Instead of continuing to confine our social initiatives to special event weeks, we wanted to recognize and take advantage of the fact that every CBS program is an ongoing social experience," said Marc DeBevoise, SVP and GM of Entertainment at CBS Interactive. "The goal is to give fans an easy way to find and interact with not only each other, but with CBS talent as well, and to do it cross-platform."
CBS also is employing Skype's video-calling technology to allow fans to add video to their posts.
For more:
- see this release
Download this IPTV eBook: The Coming Age of Social TV
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