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The Big Brother & Survivors: Live TV Visual Audience Voting

Entered in Integration with Live Television

Objectives

Mediaset brings real-time votes to TV audiences in an exciting new way. Unlike before, the audience gets to be part of the set and the show, and an important part of the plot. By utilizing Applicaster's in-studio integration, hit formats 'Big Brother' (Gran Hermano) and 'Survivor' (Supervivientes) aired on Spain's leading channel Telecinco, reinvented as collaboration between production and audience at home.

Through the Mitele TV app (for Supervivientes), viewers get a realtime backstage pass to every live telecast. Twice a week during primetime, users are invited behind the scene during the show. But moreover - once a week, a live primetime program takes place in the studio, during which the host reaches out to viewers and invites them into the studio, to express opinions or make key decisions. The technology platform immediately and automatically renders the photos of all individual users participating, and after quick moderation by Mediaset's digital team, the audience is brought live into the studio on a huge LED wall. These experiences were deeply tied into Facebook & Twitter, engaging the huge audiences of these shows.

The introduction of the live votes and social interactivity for The Big Brother and Survivor created an emotional connection and huge hype around the show in general, and around the primetime programs in particular. The visual audience feedback creates amplified excitement about the show and viewers stay tuned throughout the whole season.

Strategy and Execution

This year Mediaset España, one of the most successful and adored television groups in Europe, launched the hit Spanish version of the formats: 'Survivor' and 'The Big Brother'. The innovative TV app solution was used with Survivors in March-June 2014. The first implementation was so successful, that the Spanish broadcaster employed it once again for 'The Big Brother' in September-December 2014. The shows included live visual audience votes, and primetime social FEED by Applicaster.

Objectives:

- Encourage audience participation through the second screen.

- Incentivize action for viewers at home, and offer a dynamic viewing experience.

- Open up a new channel for viewers to have their say about how the show develops.

- Create an even stronger emotional connection to the popular shows and brands.

- Generate a huge hype and excitement around the show in general, especially around the primetime programs

- Boost ratings and viewership

Key Features:

The key features for both formats functioned in the same way. Through Mediaset's TV apps, viewers follow their favourite contestants and during the whole week get daily summaries, pictures and exclusive content. The live primetime program takes place in the studio once a week, during which viewers cast their votes for their favourite contestant. Voting, in-context and poll questions and other broadcaster second screen activities, are accessible via the primetime social Feed. Applicaster's second screen primetime Feed offers an aggregated timeline of show-associated broadcaster activities combined with social elements, such as viewer Facebook comments, photos, tweets, replies and more.

Our platform is integrated with various on screen graphics systems, which provide viewers with impressive visual features that usually appear on the TV screen. We took this to the next level by introducing the on-screen graphics live in the studio, in a social and interactive way.

After the viewers cast their votes, the voting data is delivered back to the studio triggering the LED display on the live set to feature the viewers' Facebook profile pictures, according to their vote. Applicaster has created a moderation to be able to monitor the users profile pictures as to not show any inappropriate material on live TV.

Results:

The introduction of the live votes and social interactivity into the popular TV formats, have created new incentives for viewers and excitement around the shows.

The innovative TV app-studio broadcast workflow delivers a powerful live interactive TV event, driving viewer participation and engagement with the show.

Applicaster supported one of the first TV players who opened up the studio for visual audience feedback and offered viewers intuitive means for interacting with programs and sharing their experience with their friends.

This interactive TV experience offered to viewers is magnified by the immediate feedback they receive in the form of votes coming to life on the TV screen, tightening their emotional connection to the show.

- Gran Hermano 15 App wins 'People's choice award for Best app in Spain'

- The Mitele.es App, Mediaset España´s TV content platform has reached over 2 Million downloads for mobile phones and tablets between iOS, Apple and Android devices.

- The Big Brother 15 TV app received 1.4 Million cumulative downloads

- Massive social media buzz about Gran Hermano 15, they recorded 47 comments/per min about the show.

Media

Video for The Big Brother & Survivors: Live TV Visual Audience Voting

Entrant Company / Organization Name

Mediaset Espana & Applicaster

Links

Entry Credits