Who is on your sofa?: TV audience communities and second screening social networks

Abstract

Television viewing coupled with audience interaction through a second screen has gained popularity as second screen capable devices have become more pervasive and affordable. In this paper, we investigate the nature of television audiences which engage in second screen interactions. Two different television show audiences are explored though their message activity while using the Twitter social blogging service. Connections are made between users when retweeting messages or mentioning other users in a message. The networks of viewers which are formed when viewers connect through these means reveal different characteristics within the audience networks and imply that different motivations for second screening while watching television shows are in play.