CityTV Toronto’s Speaker’s Corner, the CHUM Television’s DIY programming flagship for the last thirteen years, is giving viewers a new way to speak their mind on screen. Beginning Saturday, February 26, at 8:30 p.m., viewers will be able to use SMS to send text messages to Speaker’s Corner (at a cost of 50 cents per message), that will appear at the bottom of the screen for all to see. The technology, dubbed Text2Screen (developed in conjunction with Ericsson Canada), will facilitate not only on-screen dialogue, but will also allow viewers to anonymously connect with other Speaker’s Corner viewers off-air through the use of their mobile phones. And there’s an opportunity for sponsorship tags at the end of these connections.
MuchMusic has already been doing SMS-integrated programming on shows like MuchOnDemand and Combat Zone, but the Speaker’s Corner initiative marks the first time CHUM Television has added an ongoing text programming component on a more older-skewing mainstream network. Heading up the SMS initiatives is Roma Khanna, VP interactive for CHUM Television, who feels that making the push for this kind of programming not only makes sense in terms of creating marketing opportunities, but that it more importantly solidifies CHUM’s place on the map as ‘one of the most progressive and aggressive broadcasters in North America.’ Considering the success of CHUM’s Habbo Hotel SMS oriented campaign last summer (50% response rate), Khanna has reason to be optimistic about the future of SMS television programming.
Khanna points out, however, that reaching an adult demo through SMS is a little more complicated than getting the MuchMusic audience to weigh in on hard hitting topics like the Hillary Duff Lindsay Lohan feud. ‘It’s really about what’s going to compel them to take action of some kind. Younger people will do things just because they can and they actually get a kick out of that.’ It’s that potential level of engagement that has advertisers excited about how this new type of interactive programming is evolving.
The actual process of SMS viewer participation is fairly simple. Once a viewer text messages the show a return message arrives immediately verifying that the message was sent successfully and thanking them for their participation. At the end of the tag, the broadcaster can attach a message, whether it be about a new show premiering or an integrated messaging opportunity sponsored by an advertising partner, as was the case last year when CHUM and GM Canada teamed up for a MuchMusic promo.
But the CHUM Interactive business plan extends much further than 50-cent charges and piecemeal promo deals. ‘I don’t think it’s going to be any one program that makes you millions of dollars,’ says Khanna. ‘It becomes about the volume or messages over a month… As more and more of our audience becomes comfortable with [text messaging], we’re going to start hitting the volume where we are making money [through SMS programs].’
