Public Media Puts Social TV Front and Center at SXSW
—ITVS Unveils Tablet Version of its OVEE Social Screening Player for PBS—
(SAN FRANCISCO, CA) —March 5, 2013— The Independent Television Service (ITVS), the leading funder of U.S. independent public television productions, will showcase OVEE, the social screening platform it developed for PBS and public television stations, at a SXSW panel on Social TV, scheduled for the opening day of the Interactive Festival on Friday, March 8, 2013, at 5:00 PM.
OVEE is a breakthrough platform that fuses the functionality of second screen apps with a high-quality video player that not only streams, but also synchronizes content for 500+ people, for a real-time social experience.
OVEE’s interactive features include live chat, real-time Emoticators™ to capture viewer responses, polls, quizzes, a live webcam for personal appearances, and one-click audience metrics snapshots.
“OVEE re-creates the dynamics and the feel of a live screening event in the online space,” said Dennis Palmieri, Director of Innovation and Media Strategy for ITVS and OVEE project lead. “It’s as close as you can come to sitting in a theater and watching a film or video program with a live audience.”
ITVS developed OVEE with $1.7 million in funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) in collaboration with San Francisco-based software development shop Carbon Five. ITVS will provide OVEE to PBS affiliate stations nationwide beginning in fall 2013. Beta phase testing now underway with more than 25 partners, including public television stations, national series like FRONTLINE, Independent Lens, the PBS NewsHour, and others will inform its final development this summer.
“OVEE meets the mission of public media on a new level, engaging and educating audiences anywhere, anytime,” said Sally Jo Fifer, President and CEO of ITVS. “It provides a lively public square where young, diverse viewers want to hang out.”
OVEE will also be featured at the Integrated Media Association (iMA) conference, the premier showcase for transmedia and multiplatform work in the public media sector, on March 7th in Austin, TX.