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TV THIS WEEK TONIGHT, 10 P.M.
‘Under the Dome’ (CBS)
“Catfish: The TV Show”
“True Blood”
“Awkward.”
“Pretty Little Liars”
“Rising Star”
“The Bachelorette”
THINKSTOCK/EXPRESS ILLUSTRATION; SHOW ART COURTESY STUDIOS
“Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta”
These shows were among the top 10 most tweeted shows for the week of June 16-22, according to Nielsen.
Stephen King, author of the novel the show is based on, wrote the script for the summer drama’s second season premiere. Barbie finds himself dependent on Big Jim (Dean Norris, below) for his survival. The fate of everyone under the dome comes into question when it suddenly and mysteriously becomes magnetized.
Hash What Happens Live During new episodes of “Pretty Little Liars,” the marketing and publicity teams at ABC Family huddle in a conference room to tweet live with fans. So do cast members and the show’s producers from where and when they can — and the dialogue often pays off. Nielsen’s Twitter tracking division said “PLL” is the top-tweeted show and ranked No. 1 for the week of June 16-22. Danielle Mullin, ABC Family’s vice president of marketing, goes so far as to call Twitter “the new water cooler.” While some critics argue the second screen experience serves to distract viewers, networks see nothing but an upside. Some insight into hashtags and TV viewership. ALICIA R ANCILIO (AP)
Hashtags make it easier to find a topic. Liz Myers, in the TV Partnerships division at Twitter, said viewers “don’t have to be mutually following somebody or digging around.” Sometimes hashtags are straightforward with a show’s title (#TrueBlood). Other times they’re used as conversation starters for a certain episode. (#TobyIsBack aired in a recent “PLL” episode when that character made a return.) Myers said hashtags “can pinpoint moments, drive voting (on a competition series), create content” and help us talk about a show.
If DVRs are helping people watch TV shows at their leisure, live tweeting may provide an incentive to tune in when it counts, in real time. “The more people who talk about it, the more people watch,” said Jenn Deering Davis, co-founder and chief custom officer of Union Metrics, a company that analyzes social media use. Mullin said she believes tweets can play into “FOMO — fear of missing out. When you’re on Twitter and your entire feed is people talking about something, if you’re not watching you start to feel left out.”
‘History Detectives Special Investigations’ (PBS) Spun off from the original “History
Detectives,” this new series intends to answer mysteries from the past through input from experts from various disciplines. The opening episode, “Civil War Sabotage?” examines the 1865 destruction of the SS Sultana.
Immediate Feedback
Rewarding Viewers Networks try to reward viewers for their tweets. Not only will they retweet fans’ tweets from show accounts but sometimes air tweets on-screen live, in reruns or during promos. When it was revealed that Jen Arnold, above, of TLC’s “The Little Couple,” had cancer, the network selected sentiments from fans with the hashtag #GetWellJen to show on-screen.
Tweeting about a TV show, and using specific hashtags, is like an immediate focus group. “We want to give (viewers) what they want,” said Kristen Variola, director of social media for TLC. “If we see something is really resonating with the fans we like to create more content around that.” Mullin added, “In this day and age it’s very hard for any show runner or writer’s room to stay off social media. It’s a great way to hear the voice of the people. … (Feedback) is a great tool for storytellers to use when deciding what direction to take their show in.”
Keeps Momentum Going
Other Platforms Count, Too
Tweeting also keeps people interested for the long haul. Said Variola: “We are looking at social media as a way to connect with fans year-round, not just when our shows are on the air. With TLC’s ‘Cake Boss,’ we’re talking about cakes year-round. Not just when you see (its star) Buddy Valastro on the air.”
Twitter isn’t the only form of social media engaging TV viewers. ABC Family said during big “tent pole episodes” (like a premiere, finale or special episode) “someone is monitoring Pinterest and live pinning fashion tips, somebody is taking snippets of scenes and putting them up on Tumblr as gifs. ... Fans love it.”
(ABC)
Encourage Live Viewing TLC
How Hashtags Work For Viewers
TUESDAY, 9 P.M.
THURSDAY, 8 P.M.
‘Black Box’ (ABC) For a musiccontest winner, the aftermath isn’t necessarily happy, as the new episode “Sing Like Me” suggests. Dr. Black (Kelly Reilly, above) deals with such a victor — a woman who no longer can gauge musical pitch — as part of a study. The research also involves a man impacted by being struck by lightning. (TRIBUNE MEDIA)