MTV has led the way with social TV integration during live events, and this Sunday’s Movie Awards will be no different. In fact, MTV believes its Twitter trend use will be a first for TV.
“Twitter’s allowing us to switch the promoted trend in real time,” Kristin Frank, GM of MTV Digital, tells Lost Remote. “So if there is a huge Kanye/Taylor moment, we have the ability to switch the trend up to amplify it directly linking right out to whatever content we have clipped from the show for MTV.com in real-time.”
MTV is starting with the #MovieAwards promoted trend, and we’ll see if a viral moment during the show sparks a new hashtag and a subsequent switch.
The switchable Twitter trend is just the beginning. Like the Video Music Awards, MTV is bringing back the Twitter Tracker (above), working with Stamen Design to show the top Twitter topics and celebrities surrounding the show in real-time. (The Tracker is live now, click the link on this page.) MTV will also surface “fun contextual hashtags” during the show.
MTV has also launched its first Tumblr in time for the event, and staff will be live-blogging there. MTV says it will also be posting photos on its Instagr.am account.
“Social integration is a critical component for both MTV linear programming and our big tentpole events, like the Movie Awards,” explains Frank. “It’s where our audience is spending their time and where we need to be. Our audiences are very vocal and we are eager to listen.”
On Thursday, MTV launched a live stream of the Red Carpet so fans can watch as it’s built from the ground up. As Red Carpet festivities draw closer, MTV correspondents will encourage people to post comments on Facebook, the best of which will get wrapped into the broadcast.
During the show, fans can watch a “second screen” experience online, sponsored by Sprint. MTV’s VIP Pass will offer up several, behind-the-scenes live streams and live polling, chat via Facebook, Twitter and Yahoo! and winners list. The live streams will also be available on the MTV iPhone, Android and iPad apps.
“We strive to provide our audiences with a cross platform conversation that allows for deep engagement with the fans,” says Frank. “This year we’re making a big effort to close the loop even further between the social and television experience.”
The MTV Movie Awards airs Sunday at 9/8c.