Yesterday, Facebook pitched itself to the global commercial TV industry at MIPCOM. Facebooks’ EMEA rep Joanna Shields touted how Facebook could help generate more viewers and greater involvement with TV programs, such as “X-Factor.” Ms. Shields said that Facebook Places location targeting system might let its users “check in” to a program: “…you could check into a television show and tell everyone what’s happening. You could say I am watching this and you got to see it… It could become a very powerful marketing tool at some stage…It’s all about data, it’s all about making that data available.” Other quotes from Ms. Shields: “The voice of your fan can be amplified to a chorus, and a focus group can be the size of a country…30% of all TV viewers have admitted to being logged onto to Facebook while watching a TV show…[TV program] stories are the beginning of the conversation, and not the last word…I can see someday the ability to sign in using your Facebook ID to a show.”
