The second-screen loyalty app Viggle announced today that it’s now encouraging developers to build their own custom TV experiences on the Viggle platform. For example, a show producer could enhance the second-screen experience with polls, prediction cards, mood-o-meters, trivia and quizzes. Or a network could create a game that rewards users with the same redeemable points viewers receive while using the Viggle app.
Viggle has quietly become a significant competitor in the second-screen space. It announced today that it’s surpassed one million registered users in just over six months, “faster than any other TV check-in application.” Viggle says users spend an average of 86 minutes within the app per session. “Viggle is the only service aside from Twitter with the ability to completely dominate the total social activity occurring for a show,” explained Trendrr’s white paper for June. “Viggle activity accounted for 92% of all social activity accounting for ‘Around the World in 80 Plates’ and was responsible for a majority of social activity in several other programs.”
Those metrics could entice TV developers to build on Viggle’s platform. “Opening the Viggle platform to networks, cable operators and producers allows our partners to optimize the in-show experience for Viggle users,” said Chris Stephenson, president of Viggle Inc. “Partners will benefit from the power of our rewards ecosystem while creating their own unique programming enhancements.”
To demonstrate the platform, Viggle created the MyGuy gaming experience during the NBA Finals. “75 percent of Viggle users who had checked into the games used MyGuy to play along live,” explained the company. Viggle said one of the big benefits of the platform is enabling TV partners to launch second-screen products quickly. For example, apps developed with HTML5 can be seamlessly integrated into both the iOs and Android versions of Viggle.