PHILADELPHIA – Comcast Corporation said Wednesday it plans to add new partners to SEEiT, the cableco’s platform that connects conversations on Twitter and promotion around content to the actual viewership of TV shows, movies and sports.
These partnerships (ABC Entertainment Group, A+E Networks Group, AMC Networks Inc., Cablevision’s Optimum TV, Charter Communications, Crown Media Family Networks, Discovery Communications, Fox Networks Group and Time Warner Cable are expected to join in 2014) will extend the SEEiT experience to reach millions of new viewers of popular shows on these channels and users of these networks.
SEEiT lets people tune into or record their favorite shows – directly from the conversations happening on Twitter. At the moment, SEEiT is a feature on Twitter that gives Comcast’s Xfinity TV customers the ability to control their TV directly from a tweet.
Customers on Twitter who read tweets from SEEiT-tagged shows (even ones on at the same time) can act on the SEEiT button in a show’s tweet to change the channel on their TV set, record it or pull it onto their mobile device,.
"When we developed SEEiT, we always intended to share it with other video distribution partners, television networks, apps and websites," said Sam Schwartz, chief business development officer, Comcast Cable, in a press release. "Twitter was an ideal launch partner for us given the number of TV-related conversations happening there, and we’re encouraged by the early results during our ‘preview’ period. These new partners will help enhance the experience by allowing more consumers to conveniently tune, record, or watch their favorite shows and movies from the places they’re discovering them."
"Millions of conversations around television occur on Twitter and SEEiT can turn that conversation into action," said Jana Messerschmidt, vice-president of business development and platform at Twitter. "We’re excited to see the continuing growth and momentum for the SEEiT platform and to welcome more network and distributor partners on board."
That includes, potentially, Canadian distributors, When contacted by Cartt.ca for comment on whether or not any BDUs on this side of the border might be coming on board, the company wouldn’t say, but did confirm it wants to take the platform beyond the United States.
“SEEiT is developed and operated by Comcast and is not licensed to third-parties,” a Comcast spokesman told us in an e-mail. “However, we are in discussions with several international distributors about including them on the SEEiT platform.”
