TORONTO – A new Canadian company called TapCast.TV wants to make that television show more social, interactive, personalized, and connected – all with just one tap.
The company is behind a proprietary technology platform that it says offers second screen promotional and monetization opportunities to broadcasters, TV advertisers, and content producers. By synching iPhones and iPads with live television, TapCast’s platform lets viewers interact with shows via live polls and contests, buy what they see on TV, discover new shows based on what their friends like on Facebook, view the schedules of their favourite shows, and post messages related to the show they are watching via Twitter and Facebook.
Thanks to an alliance with Rovi, TapCast receives television metadata through Rovi’s cloud services to power its website and to help display metadata related to shows and specific episodes currently airing or upcoming.
“Our turnkey solution makes it easy for broadcasters to boost their social influence by offering second screen experiences to engage and broaden their mobile audience base”, said TapCast CEO and co-founder Saroop Bharwani.
Quoting Nielsen research, Bharwani added that two-thirds of smart phone and tablet owners already use their gadgets to do things like text, post, interact, "Like", or chat about what they are watching on TV.
