(Pic) Univision Adds Facebook Integration To Streaming World Cup Coverage

During the World Cup, Univision is offering free live streams of the matches on their website. While checking in on the US game this morning, we noticed a nice social integration happening alongside the video. Anyone watching could sign in through Facebook and share their updates through an additional chat window appearing above a constantly refreshed feed. While not exactly conversational – the comments seemed more like a broadcast to the audience than an actual discussion – we did notice some viewers commenting on each other’s posts.

With an explosion of channels both on traditional television and the web, alongside a hugely segmented audience (that has an already compromised attention span), the ability to provide a more engaging experience around what’s on the screen is crucial. Given people’s multi-tasking tendencies, we suspect some type of secondary service that works on a smartphone, tablet, laptop or other connected device that supports this social activity will likely prevail over those that attempt to take up any more of the main screen’s real estate. Regardless, these early forays will help lead the way into the coming future of social TV watching.

Univision