TVGuide.com continues to expand its social TV features with the launch this morning of its Social Power Rankings, a continuously-updated list of the most-talked about shows on TV. TVGuide.com combines data from its own users — Watchlists, check-ins, comments and show-related traffic — with activity on Facebook and Twitter to come up with the list.
“We have access to tons of data on how, why, when and where consumers are consuming TV shows,” explains TVGuide.com GM Christy Tanner. “We think this feature is a great way for us to showcase the highlights of the data that we’re gathering day in and day out.”
The Power Rankings also include a highlighted tweet, Facebook update or TVGuide.com comment next to each show, curated by TVGuide.com’s editors, which helps explain why the particular show appeared high in the social rankings. For example, All My Children currently ranks #4, sparked by Susan Lucci ripping ABC over the show’s cancelation.
TVGuide.com joins Trendrr and SocialGuide offering a public social TV ranking. While Trendrr and SocialGuide measure Twitter, Facebook and check-in services, TVGuide’s addition of its own data — some of it tied to editorial content — yields a different result for some shows. All My Children, for example, does not appear on Trendrr and SocialGuide.
Earlier this summer, TVGuide.com rolled out Watchlists, which allow users to follow their favorite TV shows across linear TV, video on demand and online video services like Netflix. “One of the surprising things for me is how many new shows are being added to Watchlists,” Tanner told Lost Remote. “Shows that aren’t even available for preview are being added.”
Watchlist data helps serve “as an indicator of intent to tune in,” Tanner says, which may help explain why TVGuide.com just picked up its second network TV sponsor for the Watchlist service. “I think it’s a sign of American enthusiasm and optimism when [viewers] are adding shows to their watchlists that may or may not stay on the air,” she says.
Over the last few months, TVGuide.com has aggressively ramped up social features as part of its ongoing transformation from a print product to a multiplatform destination for a new generation of TV. “There really is only one TV Guide – and it is social, personalized and mobile,” Tanner told us. “We own the brand, and we innovate continuously while delivering on what the brand stands for…. This is how we have grown from 3 million to 23 million uniques in a few short years, and how we have maintained the #1 engagement metrics in the comScore TV category for 5 years straight.”
As the social TV guide space heats up — with new startups appearing nearly every week — Tanner says TVGuide.com and its mobile apps are “a one-stop entertainment destination incorporating 5 or 6 sites in one” spanning original content, a TV database, social listings, online video, social discussion and syndicated products. “We don’t really see anyone as a one-to-one competitor,” she said.
As for the fall season, Tanner sees an excited few months ahead. “I think it’s going to be a blockbuster season for social innovation,” she said. “We’re really excited and interested ourselves to see what innovative things the networks come up with.”