Miso offers another version of TV’s second screen
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The Twitterverse is awash in chatter about television, so naturally a number of companies (including Yap.tv and SocialGuide.com) have sought to turn those tweets into a content stream that complements the networks’ programming. Miso has a different approach: It wants to move those conversations onto its own platform. That’s a bigger challenge, although the rewards are potentially greater, too.
The San Francisco start-up, whose backers include Google Ventures and Hearst Interactive Media, offers a site and apps that enable users to check in to TV shows, make and read comments about programs and tell friends what they’re watching. That’s not much different from what its rivals do, and depending on the show, the comment stream can be little more than a parade of check-ins.
Nevertheless, Miso Chief Executive Somrat Niyogi believes the company is poised to take the second screen of entertainment in significant new directions. One reason: Miso announced an integration deal with DirecTV that will enable Miso’s app for the iPhone to synchronize with the pay-TV company’s set-top boxes. In other words, as soon as a Miso user tunes in a show, the Miso app will automatically call up the page dedicated to that program. And the synchronization works regardless of whether the program is live or recorded, Niyogi said.
It’s the first such deal that Miso will be announcing with pay-TV operators and content providers, Niyogi said, and just the beginning of the evolution of the service. Future iterations of the app will include more content to beef up the interactive entertainment that Miso provides.
For example, he said, imagine watching a ‘Glee’ episode and one of the characters is singing a song. The Miso app could identify the song, provide information about the character and the actor and, as soon as the song ends, invite you to rate the performance. Or it could let you share a particularly entertaining snippet with your friends.
The app could also provide the back story to a program and its actors, Niyogi said. ‘When I’m watching ‘Entourage,’ maybe I don’t care what products people are wearing, but I want to know the gossip stuff behind all the characters, all the actors as they appear on TV. Why can’t I get that while I’m watching TV,’ instead of having to search for it later on the Web?
The company sees itself as both the platform provider and as a curator of what goes on it, at least initially. Over the long term, Niyogi said, Miso hopes to open its platform for anyone -- fans, networks, advertisers, etc. -- who’s creating content that complements a program.
‘We are a tech company,’ he said. ‘Think of us as a platform to enable anyone to enable second-screen experiences for anybody else. But we are going to be working with superfans of shows, content owners, with networks, to ensure that the best of what’s out there will benefit the viewer.’
That’s an intriguing prospect. Still, by starting from scratch instead of importing the flood of comments from Twitter, Miso may have a tougher time attracting and holding an audience than its rivals do. The deal with DirecTV helps on the technology side, but Miso could still use some partnerships with popular networks or TV studios to transform its platform into something more compelling than Twitter Lite.
-- Jon Healey
Healey writes editorials for The Times’ Opinion Manufacturing Division. Follow him @jcahealey
