ABC News Digital Launches Social Soundtracker: A Simple Way To Make What You Watch More Social
Innovative New Way to Experience the Video You Love
Social Soundtracker Launches in Connection with ABCNews.com's Live Stream Coverage of the White House Correspondents Dinner on Saturday, April 27 th
April 25 th, 2013 - Today ABC News announced the launch of Social Soundtracker, an innovative new way to experience the video you love online and on TV. Social Soundtracker is an easy way to interact with others watching video - from a live stream on a desktop computer to a live television program - wherever they are, just as if they were sitting on a couch with you. With one click you can laugh, gasp, clap, boo or awww, immediately expressing how you feel about what you just saw and sharing it with friends. When you click on a Social Soundtracker emoticon, you'll hear a corresponding sound for that feeling. When others feel the same way, you'll hear their reaction, too - just like watching a movie in a crowded theater or a show in your living room with your family.
WATCH DEMO VIDEO: www.socialsoundtracker.com
Social Soundtracker will launch on Saturday, April 27 th during ABCNews.com's live stream coverage of the White House Correspondents Dinner in Washington, D.C. Complete live stream coverage and access to ABC News' Social Soundtracker will be available from 8:00 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. ET at www.abcnews.com/live.
In May a mobile version of Social Soundtracker will be available for free in the iTunes App store, enabling users to engage with live TV programs via their iPhone device.
READ: http://abcn.ws/14S0MEs
"We hope viewers find Social Soundtracker to be a personal and interactive way to engage with their friends while watching their favorite video online or on TV," said Joe Ruffolo, Senior Vice President, ABC News Digital. "It is a completely new way to watch video and engage with content, and we're excited to learn more about how people use it. Social Soundtracker will evolve to best suit viewers' needs - the possibilities are truly limitless. It's clear people want to be connected to their social networks while watching the video they love."
A new report from eMarketer reveals a growing convergence between social media and TV. More than 83% of Facebook users and roughly 66% of Twitter users engage with their social networks while watching television. In another study from IAB, 64% of viewers with four screens, a smart phone, TV, computer and tablet, were likely to use social media while watching television. Among 18-44 year olds, that number spikes, increasing to 74%.
At launch Social Soundtracker will sync with select live stream and live TV programming. "As it evolves, it will be available with a broader array of news, entertainment or even sports content, and it's not hard to see how this product could even have applications outside of what people watch," said Doug Vance, Vice President of Product Development, ABC News Digital. "Social Soundtracker virtually brings people together. It could turn everyday events like playing a video game or watching a high school basketball game into social, immersive experiences with your friends, even when you can't be in the same place at the same time," he added.
"What we watch is more meaningful when we feel connected through it," said Maya Baratz, Head of New Products, ABC News. "This dynamic is why we huddle around water coolers and share our reactions to TV and live stream events on social media. Social Soundtracker is the next step in that evolution, translating sentiment into an experience as sensory as what we're watching. It is the modern day TV laugh track, except it's authentic, immediate and created by viewers based on their emotional responses to content."
Future Social Soundtracker live stream events will be available at www.socialsoundtracker.com. More events will be announced in the weeks ahead.
-ABC-