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Future of TV Telescope Canvs

VH1 'Hits the floor' with Canvs and Telescope partnerships

By Benjamin Lichtman, Contributor

February 11, 2016 | 3 min read

Earlier this year, The Drum reported on a partnership between the media conglomerate, Viacom, and emotion technology firm, Canvs. The two partnered to better decode social medial, especially among millennials, in an effort to “deliver deeper insights to marketing partners.” Now, one of Viacom’s brands has partnered with Canvs, along with another firm, Telescope, to help put the effort into action.

VH1 initially began in the 1980s as a channel focused on music (VH1 stands for Video Hits 1). You’ll remember its early days doing video countdowns and for shows like, Behind the Music, which featured short music documentaries. Since, VH1 has branched out quite a bit. You’ll find an eclectic range of shows from “Mob Wives” and “Basketball Wives” to “Dating Naked” and “Love & Hip Hop.”

One of their newer shoes is the very popular, “Hit the Floor,” which debuted in 2013 and is currently in its third season. The show follows the Los Angeles Devil Girls, a dance team for the professional basketball franchise in the city, as the show’s characters weave their way around the drama that follows. The show is working with Canvs, along with Telescope, a leader in “real-time audience and consumer engagement technology,” to increase fan interaction.

The partnership has created a “Best of Social” experience, which will allow fans to discover and share their favorite moments from each week’s show. Canvs will also find the moments that elicited the highest levels of social discussion, enabling fans to share those moments.

On the site, fans can vote for their favorite, and least favorite characters, along with sharing moments based on emotions like “Love,” “OMG,” and “Oh Hell No.” As VH1 explained, “this partnership continues VH1’s commitment and leadership in engaging with and rewarding fans through social and digital activations…”

The partnership is another example of content providers, and Viacom in particular, working with technology companies to better connect with fans on social media. As the programs become more adept at recognizing fan reactions, they will invariably increase their engagement and be better suited to meet the needs and expectations of their viewers. Content providers have always tried to determine what fans want to see; i.e., how can we create shows that people want to watch. Now, that problem is become easier to solve.

Future of TV Telescope Canvs

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