M6 hails the era of synchronised second screens

French broadcast group M6 has been outlining how it intends to make itself even more relevant to viewers and advertisers thanks to better integration of social media and the use of second screen synchronisation to generate complementary viewing experiences. Speaking at the IBC conference on Thursday, Christian Bombrun, Deputy MD, M6 Web, said there are huge opportunities for content creators and producers, as well as advertisers, to invent new ways of interacting and declared: “TV is entering into a new era this year. After the move from linear to non-linear and the switch to multi-screen, this year is when we move into the era of the synchronised experience.”

Having launched the first successful French catch-up TV service, M6 Replay, four years ago and quickly embraced multi-screen viewing, M6 has already proven that it is not afraid of change. Bombrun made it clear that the company is already being rewarded for its innovation, with a sell-out on catch-up TV advertising inventory and significant revenues now generated by the service (though this is still dwarfed by linear ad revenues).

But consumers have been pushing for more, telling the broadcaster they want the ability to participate more in programmes and exchange their views with friends. So this year the company has introduced social features that are the result of in-depth integrations with Facebook and Twitter. Now, if you are logged into Facebook you can see what friends have been viewing and equally, your viewing choices can be displayed on your Timeline, whatever screen you are using to view. You can comment about shows and this is published on your wall and automatically shared with friends. “These features are proving an amazing success,” Bombrun reports.

Having moved early and decisively in the multi-screen market, M6 is reaping the rewards in terms of the reach it can now exploit for second screen synchronisation. The M6 app is available on two-thirds of all the Apple iPads in France and half the iPhones and the company is making its various programme-related second screen experiences available through this umbrella app rather than show specific apps.

The rationale for the second screen apps launch is simple: half of the broadcaster’s viewers say they use a secondary device like a tablet or smartphone while watching M6 programming and as far as Bombrun is concerned, it is better that they are engaged with the broadcaster on those devices rather than sending emails or doing other completely unrelated activities.

The ability to synchronise the second screen to the first follows an update on the 3.5 million deployed iPad and iPhone apps. They can now use audio recognition to understand what M6 programming you are watching and allow the broadcaster to push relevant content to the second screen.

“This creates a lot of new opportunities,” says Bombrun. “You can give more information to the user, like a recipe to accompany a cooking show or more technical details with a science show. The viewer does not have to do anything; they are just relaxing with their family watching the main screen and the television remains ‘pure’ because all the extra information appears on the second screen. Viewers can also participate, using voting and the social interaction features.”

Bombrun hails the new opportunities that second screen synchronisation presents for advertising. “This amazing system allows us to transform any linear ad into an interactive ad without the user having to do anything other than launch the M6 app. Advertisers can deliver synchronised events and information on the second screen, giving brands the chance to link deeper into the programme, including outside the ad break.”