There have been rumblings of this coming for some time, but Twitter is making a major play to be the must-use companion of television watching. In this TechCrunch article, it is stated how the social media platform is “betting big” on television. I would argue there is no reason to state that television is a “bet” at this point, and it is even more clear when you look at the details of the new feature coming from Twitter.

The Silicon Valley giant is currently testing out a new trending aggregator for just television watching. Based on current traffic — mostly hashtags I would guess, but there could be other factors as well — it will list cards of popular shows complete with more information about the particular episode.

Genius of this feature is it can be used on live broadcasts, DVR, and streaming media systems. Regardless of your feelings on cord-cutting, you can have an impact on what is trending in TV on Twitter.

Can you imagine a world where Twitter could replace Nielsen in terms of how shows are rated? It’s coming. Maybe not from Twitter, but the data around what is popular to active, engaged viewers is available for the taking. I would take that over a journal sent to a few hundred thousand four times a year.

This also has mobile implications, because developers are already utilizing devices as “second screens” in unique ways. If the trending data from Twitter is made available, networks could integrate it into their apps for even more engagement with their entrenched fans.

Keep your eye on this, because this is how TV viewing will be changed for the next decade (along with some broadcasters finally sticking it to cable providers). 

Blog Post: Twitter and Your TV

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