The TV Guide App for iPad features share buttons for Facebook and Twitter allowing users to share what TV shows they plan to watch via their social networks.

"Our iPad app makes it easier than ever for entertainment fans to share what they’re watching – and when it’s on – with their friends," said Christy Tanner, General Manager, TV Guide Digital.

Showtime will be the first network to run a full-length episode on the TVGuide.com iPad app with their new show, "The Big C," starring Laura Linney. The full episode is featured within the fall preview section of the app, along with interviews and preview videos for new and returning shows.

The TV Guide app also will allow users to keep lists of their favorite TV channels and shows on their iPad. Users can browse listings by time to see what’s on now or up to 14 days in advance, or can search by show name, cast member, episode title and episode or program description. The app also features breaking entertainment news, a day-by-day primetime schedule, photo galleries and original videos from TVGuide.com.
 

"Social connections are an increasingly important traffic source; it’s crucial for websites to take advantage of that," says Meebo CEO Seth Sternberg. "The Meebo Bar makes it easy for publishers to add social functionality to their sites, and provide a persistent, open experience on multiple networks that makes sharing and chat simple, fun and engaging for users."

"The introduction of the Meebo Bar has added value for both our audience and advertisers," says Tom Kirwan, EW’s National Director of Digital Sales. "The functionality increases users’ engagement and interactivity with our content, while simultaneously allowing advertisers a unique opportunity to be front and center."

In the fall, Meebo plans to introduce new advertising and branding products, including an interactive ad placement with customized skins and sponsored buttons.

Meebo claims to reach a quarter of the U.S. Internet population with 52 million unique monthly visitors and 110 million worldwide. Monthly visitors have increased nearly 300% over the last 10 months, the company says.

TV Guide To Launch Video Search Tool

Paul Greenberg, GM of TV Guide Online, told Reuters that searching for video of TV shows on Google or Yahoo leads to too many choices. The new search service will direct users to free episodes available at the networks Web sites and to other professionally created content related to the show.

Greenberg said that the Online Video Guide will fill a niche that Google and YouTube are not because they are not strictly TV-focused. He pointed out that 70 percent of YouTube users are searching for professional content and not user-generated content that the site is known for.

TV Guide’s Online Video Guide will direct a large amount of traffic to network Web sites but it does not receive any revenue for the traffic it generates. "We’re talking to content holders in order to cut deals for a small slice of the advertising revenue," Greenberg said.

Users of the Online Video Guide will be able to specify that they are searching only for free content and avoid being directed to iTunes or Amazon’s Unbox.

"Part of the way we’re marketing this is, ‘Oh, you forgot to set your TiVo? Here’s the show you missed, for free,’ " Greenberg said.

Customers of Mediacom and Insight will be able to personalize Listings2Go grid views and search their local TV listings online with 14 days of programming that includes genre, HDTV filters and detailed episode information. Listings2Go can be customized to provide users with programming information for every channel lineup in the U.S. or just a specific channel lineup.

"We are pleased to be working with Mediacom and Insight to help them bring customized local TV listings solutions for their online customers," said Tonia O’Connor, executive vice president, distribution, Gemstar-TV Guide.

"These Listing2Go launches are particularly important as they mark the initial phase of the roll-out of the My TV Guide cross-platform tools and services; including remote recording capabilities offered to TV Guide’s interactive program guide affiliates, as part of our upcoming i-Guide release."

Maven will work with TV Guide to launch broadband video for TV Guide on 300 video players to deliver media and entertainment content to the site’s user base. TV Guide has selected Maven to mange and monetize its library of videos. The Maven platform will act as a part of the foundation for TV Guide’s direct-to-consumer video offerings and ad revenue generation.

"There’s an old adage that content is king. Our video offerings already attract a sizable online audience, but with Maven’s viral syndication capabilities, we can continue to expand our user base," said Paul Greenberg, General Manager of TV Guide Online.

"The Maven Internet TV Platform, combined with the knowledge and expertise of Maven’s Media Services team, provided us with the right mix of technology, processes and people to help execute this large, complex project."

TVGuide.com has increased the appeal of its Internet video players, providing programming that features clips from television shows, behind-the-scenes footage, reviews and celebrity news.

"TV Guide is a powerful brand, and we’re excited to power its Internet TV initiatives," said Hilmi Ozguc, Founder and CEO of Maven Networks. "With Maven, TVGuide.com can expand its audience, enhance its viewing experience, and offer new opportunities to its advertisers."

One of the Time’s primary goals is to significantly boost the video content on Time.com and eventually for its other publications, which include Fortune, Money, Sports Illustrated and Entertainment Weekly.

"We have at our disposal now a broad range of approaches for storytelling," says Time Interactive President Ned Desmond in USA Today. "The biggest challenge for us is to understand how to use all of those different things well and to engage consumers that way."

TV Guide will also be working closely with Brightcove, even though the website already carries a substantial amount of video content. One of its main objectives will be to boost advertising sales, enabling the magazine to "reach out to smaller players you ordinarily wouldn’t get to," says TV Guide Channel President Ryan O’Hara in the article.

Lately it seems like everyone and their sister is working on some method of providing and delivering video content to users. The YouTube explosion has awakened companies to the viewing (and advertising) possibility that such a massive audience presents.

Video advertising is set to soar within the next year, and online content producers are looking to get their proverbial piece of the marketing pie. But how will users respond to ad-driven video?

The initial results seem positive. Fox has turned MySpace into a “second station” of sorts by offering its content on the popular social networking site. The television shows are accompanied by three to four 30-second advertising spots throughout an episode, but it doesn’t seem to be dissuading viewers from taking part in the experience.

With the shift to so much video, I wonder if people will still make time for print and audio methods of content consumption?

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