Ever see a tweet for a TV show while wandering the Twitter-verse and thought, “Gee, why isn’t there a way I could just click on a link and watch that show, or set my DVR to record it right now?” Well then, visionary of the social media broadcast horizon, your wish has come true, as Twitter announced the launch last week of an anticipated new platform developed by Comcast called See It, which does exactly that.
A blog post Friday by Twitter’s VP of Business Development & Platform, Jana Messershmidt, announced a preview release for iOS users of the new See It platform, beginning with a roll-out of two NBCUniversal shows from the SyFy network, Haven, and Naked Vegas.
Clicking on the See It link that accompanies a tweet about the programs will take Xfinity subscribers to a menu that will allow them to watch the shows on a smartphone or tablet through a TV Everywhere app, set their Comcast DVR to record the show, or call up on-demand programming. The system will also eventually be able to send out text messages to remind you about shows or events, which totally wouldn’t be annoying after a while.
See It, which was unveiled in October, could have huge implications in the way people access TV content. According to a Multichannel news report, Comcast has big plans for See It that may expand to other social media platforms, and could potentially allow for even non-Xfinity subscribers to access programming over third-party apps. The platform could also eventually be licensed by Comcast competitors like Time Warner Cable, Cox, and others, though no concrete plans to expand See It outside of Comcast’s content realm have been set as of yet.
In the short term, Multichannel reports that Comcast plans to unveil a slew of programming from its own NBC stockpile as the platform expands, including popular shows such as The Voice, The Blacklist, The Today Show, and even Sunday Night Football, as well as content from other NBC owned networks like USA.
Just how much content will be available to cord-cutters or subscribers to other cable providers remains to be seen. Further expansion of the platform could depend on its popularity, which may be why Twitter and Comcast are starting small. However, if See It went big, it could create an entirely new way to access content across platforms, connecting shows and events in the zeitgeist with millions of people instantly throughout the social media universe.
For now, it’s an intriguing new venture that takes both Comcast and Twitter into uncharted waters. What do you think about this new connection between TV and social media? Would you click on the See It link if a show popped up in the midst of your Twitter rambling? What uses do you see for this new technology on a broader scale down the line? Let us know in the comments.
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