Happy Friday! Welcome to Issue 19 of Rerun, your weekly digest of digital storytelling, interactive media and the future of TV curated by Axonista.
Lots of fantastic reading this week. Our own Daragh Ward writes a mantra to TV UX, research reports from GfK and Miner & Co. indicate a definite swing towards TV viewing via digital streaming and mobile in the US, VR is set to take centre stage at Comic-Con, Meerkat adds Facebook sign up, we get the first glimpse of the new X-Files series ... and a forgotten sitcom from David Lynch. Wait, what?
Top Pick
TV UX - A Mantra : Rerun Original
TV is an undisputed wonder of technology. With TV being viewed more and more on touch screen devices and the democratization of the technology required to make and deliver TV content, comes a myriad of possibilities for the future of our wonderful medium. With so many possibilities available to us, we sometimes have to remind ourselves of a mantra that all TV technologists should adhere to.
Features
Meerkat Now Allows Users to Sign Up With Facebook
In an interesting development in the streaming app wars, Meerkat has enabled new users to sign up to the app with Facebook, in a clever move to widen its audience reach. Live streams won't actually take place on the Facebook platform, at least not yet.
Hulu pays record-breaking $192 million to keep South Park through 2019
Hulu will pay a whopping $192 million to continue being the exclusive streaming service for South Park for 4 more years. It's the biggest deal yet for Hulu, passing the $160 million it paid for Seinfeld in April.
Future of TV
Televisions Are No Longer the Screen of Choice for Kids
In a new research report from Miner & Co. Studio, more than half of 800 parents surveyed said their children now prefer to watch video on a handheld device rather than on TV. 41% said when presented with a choice between spending time with the tablet or dessert their child would choose the tablet. Call them iGen, Plurals, or Gen Z, these little guys are already having an impact on TV Network ratings, and are definitely shaping the future of TV.
The BBC to distribute computer learning devices to school children
Later this year, as part of their Make it Digital campaign, the BBC will distribute 1 million Micro Bit devices to 11-12 year old British school children. The idea behind the Micro Bit is for the children to take their first steps towards learning how computers work, rather than simply being users of devices. The Micro Bit will include television and radio programs and online content to support the physical device. The BBC are putting their content conveniently into the hands of digital natives, readying themselves for the much coveted audience of the future.
TV viewing in the US is now 28% streamed
Part 1 of 4 Future of TV reports by market research company GfK finds that 4 in 10 US TV viewers are enthusiastically embracing new ways to watch TV and subscribing to 3 or more online video services in addition to their cable TV subscription. More than a quarter of all US TV viewing is now digitally streamed. Interesting times.
Storytelling
USA hacks into Netflix Formula with Mr Robot
USA network's launch of multi-touch campaign for new series 'Mr Robot', followed in Netflix's footsteps, and stepped a little further.
What’s notable about [the interactive campaign] that they didn’t run on TV, but rather online or as guerrilla tactics - Alan Wolk
Alan Wolk takes us through the 7 main beats of the interactive campaign that reflect the story of 'Mr Robot'. From the network's 'hack' of WiFi users at Austin airport, with full-screen takeovers targeting SXSW attendees, to inviting people to decipher binary code, nontraditional screenings of the pilot for audiences at Facebook, Google, Twitter, Stanford, and Harvard, 'hacking' the Twitch livestream of the E3 Expo, and for the pièce de résistance, choosing Twitch to be the site of an early release of the pilot episode. For more of Alan Wolk's TV insight, Rerun wholeheartedly recommends adding Alan's new book Over The Top to your collection.
I’ve Seen The Future Of Twitter And It’s Apple Music
Lucas Matney with an interesting post on TechCrunch sharing his opinion on what Twitter should do to become a truly relevant media player. The inspiration came to him while using Apple’s updated Music app, noting that Apple’s strategy of tapping the talent to curate a music experience is exactly what Twitter should be doing with its own slate of highly popular artists and creators.
Twitter needs to grow smarter, they have my evolving interests from every follow and retweet I make. [Apple Music's] For You hosts playlists of oldies and new tunes alike that fit into my evolving tastes based on me just following a few artists. If Twitter can better capitalize on my distinct interests and curate how I process the latest happenings accordingly, I’m only going to grow more engaged with the app.
We agree that Twitter needs to take some big risks to truly elevate itself from microblogging platform to indispensable part of the media landscape and this is an interesting direction.
The secret history of David Lynch’s forgotten sitcom
It’s been summed up neatly as 'David Lynch does 30 Rock'
TV Guide ranked the first episode as number 57 on its 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time.
Wait... why did we forget this?
Virtual Reality
Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s ‘The Walk’ Virtual Reality Project
As virtual reality platforms like Project Morpheus begin to roll out in the coming year or two at a price point attractive to consumers, the applications for this extraordinary new technology, especially among our entertainment, branding and gaming clients, will continue to grow. - Jake Black, CreateVR
Robert Zemeckis‘ 3D film 'The Walk' is among the stream of early adapters of VR for movie marketing. To promote the film, they have released the VR experience 'Can You Walk the Walk?', which allows users to simulate high-wire artist Philippe Petit’s historic stunt between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Centre in 1974.
Syfy Brings The Expanse Virtual Reality Experience to Comic-Con
Announcements at Comic-Con include an abundance of TV networks that are launching VR experiences to promote their upcoming TV series at this year's conference.
Syfy will hand out 13,000 Google Cardboard headsets to Comic-Con attendees in promotion of their new space drama 'The Expanse'.
The 'Expanse VR' app for iOS and Android allows the audience to explore a massive freighter spaceship, with new content planned for release in the coming months.
Watch: Mulder & Scully Reunite in First Footage from ‘The X-Files’ Revival Series
Things are getting strange, I'm starting to worry, this could be a case for Mulder and Scully
The X-Files is back on Jan. 24, 2016, and to celebrate, Fox is giving viewers one episode of the much-loved sci-fi drama per day until then to get us back up to speed and a teaser of what we might expect in the new series.
That's a 201 day X-Files marathon everybody, flashlights at the ready!