In an Internet Week panel led by Gloto Co-Founder and CEO Eric Con along with panelists Telemundo Director of Emerging Business Francisco Rivera, Syfy VP of Operations Shara Zoll and USA Networks Director of Emerging Platforms James Kolstad, it became clear both mobile and social play an important role in engaging TV audiences

Mobile and Social have been great tools for networks to re-engage their audiences. Telemundo, which focuses on Hispanic audiences, has used mobile very effectively. The demographics are interesting: Hispanic viewers have low ownership of computers but 45% have smartphones and a high percentage have email. Mobile has become crucial for them to engage their public.

Chatter is an important way to engage audiences. Networks have developed companion apps to use while watching shows. They integrate chatter into the stream which gives viewers the ability to interact with show content.

Syfy does live viewing events at a minimum twice a year. Destination Truth’s live feed from Ireland on St. Patrick’s day used geolocation technology to give viewers info on where the show participants were. This worked well despite technical difficulties. When the wireless network crashed, Plan C was used: avatars on maps were moved manually by the operators.

USA Networks is launching a Burn Notice app on June 23 which integrates a graphic novel and a backstory with the show. It’s trying to become a destination for mobile viewing. Optimizing sites for mobile and tablet experience has thus become more important. A Mobile/Social strategy can create a synchronized experience that feels alive, as if you were participating in the show. Advertisers are slow in integrating digital, but Mobile/Social will force people to watch shows live because you can’t experience the Mobile/Social elements on a DVR– thus making advertising more effective and engaging.

Do apps outperform the mobile web? Apps are more engaging but they are more resource-intensive. Both serve important roles. With the deployment of HTML 5, browser-based experiences will become more interactive offering richer experiences. However, with the advent of HTML 5, optimization (mobile/tablet accessibility) becomes ever more important.