Although TV watchers will get a great kick out of all of the great things second screen apps can do and all of the great ways in which TV watching will be improved, it is the TV shows that will benefit the most from this fresh approach to entertainment. They will be able to turn flat images into real activities, not to mention the fact that calls to action for people to join in will be something that requires only the click of a button.
The face of TV entertainment could change completely. They can start by changing the name of “TV viewers” into “TV participants”. This means that, without being put on the spot, viewers can step in at any time as if they were in the studio. Without having to be seen by millions of people and without having to face all of the lights and the cameras (in case this is a problem for some), they can still have a say in what goes on in from of them. We can even say that second screen apps turn TV from flat images into an interactive, dynamic spectacle, similar to interactive theater but with more and better props and special effects.
When they are not involved in playing TV games along with millions of other people, they can browse through carefully selected information on the actors and behind the scenes footage, also with the help of the second screen apps. Instead of having the viewers look for the information themselves and risk losing their interest and attention to something else they find on the Internet or among their other laptop or smartphone applications, the second screen platform keeps them better connected with what they had started doing in the first place.
The whole concept of TV commercials can change as well. Via second screen apps, the sponsors of TV shows have access to information from the viewers. They can get real time reactions and they can also benefit from their peak moments of excitement to send vouchers and special offers. This is all of the information usually obtained with great difficulty through surveys.
Connecting through social networks means securing a hallway to the clients through second screen platforms. Instead of having all of them looking at the same screen and getting the same message, each of them is getting a company message on their own screen. Given how computers and Internet connections first became exciting by offering a better means of communication, most people are wired to read with fair interest the messages on their screens. Even if they dismiss them afterwards, you cannot get this kind of attention and focus with TV commercials because they feel less personal.
As far as the viewers are concerned, they will no longer be bothered by commercials at the worst possible times, when their shows get interesting or during a great movie. It will almost be like enjoying the program/movie on their laptops. Second screen platforms could just do this great favor for TV: they could allow viewers to keep what interests them from the TV selection, instead of having to accept whatever is scheduled, along with the full package of interruptions.
People nowadays have very short attention spans. You can catch their attention with the newest, shiniest thing out there, but they can only keep focused for so long. Redirecting their attention back to TV seems a difficult task, but second screen apps are ingenious enough to do that in a very subtle way.
