Viggle Continues Adding to Social TV Patent Portfolio

By Adam Flomenbaum 

screenshots_304x200Viggle last week announced that it received a Notice of Allowance from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) for “Portfolio Optimization for Media Merchandising.” The patent is for the company’s proprietary technology that “analyzes content distribution patterns over time to recommend the most optimal time and channel for distributing content to achieve higher levels of engagement.”

While the news may not have an immediate impact, the patent is a major victory for the company, and it will give marketers another tool to better engage with TV fans.

The Viggle portfolio includes the company’s eponymous mobile app, which listens to what is on TV and rewards users with points for watching, and the recently-acquired Wetpaint, an entertainment and social media platform.

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“This patent furthers our ability to work with partners to launch campaigns that achieve higher response rates,” said Greg Consiglio, President and COO of Viggle. “Our technology helps networks and brands more effectively share their content across web, social and in-app channels while utilizing actionable audience engagement data to improve targeting and engagement rates.”

Viggle has been adding to its growing patent portfolio. According to the release:

Viggle has recently been awarded another patent, U.S. Patent No. 8,732,739, titled “System and Method for Tracking and Rewarding Media and Entertainment Usage Including Substantially Real Time Rewards.” The patent is directed to Viggle Inc.’s proprietary technology that compares known audio segments to audio captured by a viewer’s activation of Viggle’s mobile app on their smartphone or tablet to identify the entertainment the viewer is experiencing and assigns loyalty points to the viewer associated with the identified entertainment. By doing so, Viggle users earn points that can be redeemed for real rewards such as music downloads, headphones, electronics, major brand discounts and gift cards.

Viggle’s technology will become more important to networks, advertisers, and marketers alike as social TV measurement becomes more accurate and standardized. With its recent acquisitions, patent awards, and its forward-thinking approach when it comes to check-ins and fan engagement, Viggle – as opposed to other check-in companies that have failed in the past – is well-positioned to capitalize on the emerging social TV market.

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