A migration to the second screen...
Nothing warms the cockles of one's heart more than a technology company that understands that content needs to be the driving force behind the market and not little black boxes made of ticky tacky. Anyone can build a box these days, but that doesn't mean that consumers are necessarily going to buy it.
Apple figured this out early with the iPod and turned iTunes into the Godzilla of the music world. Now that it has solidified its position at the top of the television food chain, Samsung has decided to put its money where its mouth is with a rather generous prize for creative types looking to make a splash in the world of television. Just how large of a prize? How about $300,000 for the creation of 3 episodes of an original short series with accompanying second screen content.
Second screen content was not on anyone's radar until a few years ago; primarily because the app market had yet to mature, mobile devices were fairly basic and SmartTV technology was really in its infancy. The growth of the tablet and smartphone markets; and to a lesser extent, the laptop market, created an enormous opportunity for television which both manufacturers and content developers could no longer ignore. Not only do consumers no longer watch programming based on the traditional broadcast schedule, but they demand something extra for their commitment; Interactivity and second screen content that they can only view on their phone or tablet.
Granted, not every show cries out for second screen content; I can't imagine that lessons from Walt White on how to perfect crystal-meth would go over well with parents during an episode of Breaking Bad.
Much to Samsung's amazement, they were flooded with more than 120 entries in less than seven weeks. The final five were shown yesterday at an event in New York City; the winner is going to be announced tomorrow (Friday, October 26) at the New York Television Festival.
Samsung's Vice President of Content and Product Solutions, Eric Anderson, moderated the event and was extremely enthusiastic about both the entries and the future of second screen technology.
"We know that increasingly, consumers watch TV with a tablet, laptop, or smartphone in hand - yet these experiences are still generally disconnected. To ensure a great second screen experience, we went straight to the storytellers and our goal with the Second Screen Storytellers contest was to see how the experience can be improved when content is produced with a second screen in mind from inception, rather than in the post-production process."
With a base of tens of millions of TVs, and mobile devices, Samsung has decided to utilize its position to help spur on this new evolution in content production.
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