Gannett: Social Plus TV To Drive Programming

David Lougee has an idea for broadcast syndication. If the president of Gannett Broadcasting has it right, by fall 2015, viewers will interact with celebrities on talk shows and game shows via social media on their smartphones and tablets.

“There’s an opportunity for us and other broadcasters to take advantage of the organic relationship between social media and television,” Lougee says. “The majority of our viewers have an Internet-enabled device within three feet of them when they are watching television.”

“Whether it’s a smartphone or a tablet, it’s a direct-to-consumer relationship,” he says. “It doesn’t go through the cable provider’s set-top box. There is no gatekeeper. So, the only thing we’re limited by is the imagination of the producer.”