The social TV startup ClipSync powers the community conversation around the CBS Big Brother experience on RealNetwork’s paid “SuperPass” service. And now, RealNetworks has decided to invest in the company to expand the integrated service to more TV shows.
Like it’s been for years, Big Brother fans can log into SuperPass and watch behind-the-scenes streams and other exclusive content for $14.99 a month. Last year, ClipSync added community viewing and conversation, voting, sharing, trivia and games. Viewers stay for hours, chatting with others about the show. Now RealNetworks and ClipSync are hoping other TV shows will want to take advantage of the integrated paid platform.
“We both share a very clear vision for the future of video content and television. Immersing the viewer as part of the content is as big as moving from black and white to color” said Itzik Cohen, CEO and founder of ClipSync. “SuperPass combined with our social TV platform provides an incredible foundation to generate incremental views to on-air programming, increased audience engagement and user retention – all while delivering new and incremental revenue streams for the content owners.”
While it’s clear viewers love to interact with TV, the bigger question is will they pay for additional content around a TV show? The Big Brother SuperPass service has been successful largely because of the nature of the show: it runs around the clock, and the live streams are largely uncensored. And the pay model works for major league sports, as well. But it will be interesting to see how it can extend to other TV content.
The amount of investment was not disclosed.