Social TV startup Philo tells me user numbers are a4‚¬Athrough the roofa4‚¬¯ right now, thanks in large part to copying a strategy from traditional TV &8212' bring in the stars.
What kind of stars Well, basketball star Shaquille Oa4‚¬a4„Neal, for one. Philo hosted one of its a4‚¬Avirtual viewing partiesa4‚¬¯ for the NBAa4‚¬a4„s Sprite Slam Dunk Contest this weekend, where Oa4‚¬a4„Neal posted play-by-play comments on the contest while viewers could check-in and interact on the Philo website, its smartphone apps, or a Philo widget hosted on the NBA.com website.
When Philo told me about the promotion, I noted that the company had announced a number of similar partnerships over the last few months &8212' including official viewing parties for Spikea4‚¬a4„s Video Game Awards, AMCa4‚¬a4„s The Walking Dead, and BBC Americaa4‚¬a4„s Doctor Who. So I wondered: Do these promotions actually pay off in increased user numbers
Herea4‚¬a4„s what a company spokesperson told me:
User numbers are through the roof right [now] on Philo, and each of our partners is benefiting from an engaged and socially active audience. We completed a recent partnerships with AMC around THE WALKING DEAD, where a cast member chatted live on Philo with fans during an episode. This generated millions [of] real-time Facebook profile updates for the network, and wea4‚¬a4„re seeing similar numbers across the board.
All of our promotions with networks and online destinations have been huge successes, with each of our viewing parties producing millions of real-time Facebook profile updates during one episode of a show.
The most successful promotions, like The Walking Dead one, involve interactions with a star from the show, as well as some kind of real-world prize, the spokesperson told me.
Philo isna4‚¬a4„t the only social TV company to experiment with these kinds of promotions. Miso, for example, has announced a number of show partnerships, including one with the Oprah Winfrey Network. (Disclosure: Miso investor Georges Harik is also an investor in VentureBeat.) But Philo is the only one Ia4‚¬a4„ve heard of thata4‚¬a4„s incorporated this kind of behind-the-scenes chat with stars.
Of course, you can already find many of those stars on social networks like Facebook and Twitter, which are an increasingly important way for TV shows to interact with their fans. (In fact, one of the main ways Philo said it would promote the chat was by having Oa4‚¬a4„Neal tweet about it.) Apps like Philo dona4‚¬a4„t have the same reach, but they do allow stars and networks to reach the specific audience that&'s watching a show at the moment it&'s being aired.
New York-based Philo has raised an undisclosed amount of funding from North Bridge Venture Partners, DFJ Gotham Ventures, Eniac Ventures, and TV producer Stephen Lambert.
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Companies: Philo
People: Shaquille O&'Neal
Companies: Philo
People: Shaquille O&'Neal
Anthony is a senior editor at VentureBeat, as well as its reporter on media, advertising, and social networks. Before joining the site in 2008, Anthony worked at the Hollister Free Lance, where he won awards from the California Newspaper Publishers Association for breaking news coverage and writing. He attended Stanford University and now lives in San Francisco. Reach him at anthony@venturebeat.com. (All story pitches should also be sent to tips@venturebeat.com) You can also follow Anthony on Twitter.
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