Showtime Goes Social, Launches New ‘Second Screen’ App

“Showtime Social” supplements the act of watching a show by facilitating online interaction and offering multimedia content

Showtime is going social.

The network announced on Monday the launch of a new app, appropriately dubbed “Showtime Social,” that will aggregate content about its shows and facilitate online social interaction as its programs air live.

This is the latest effort by a major content company to integrate its products with social media. Netflix, Hulu, Spotify and many others hopped on the Facebook bandwagon last week, but more similar to this initiative was Comedy Central’s social media dashboard for the Charlie Sheen Roast, which aired Sept. 19.

Like the dashboard, this app is intended to be a “second screen viewing experience,” meaning that one interacts with others on an iPad while watching TV.

Viewers can look at reviews, Facebook comments and Twitter posts about a show while it airs, with much of the online content corresponding to specific moments in the shows.

You can engage in conversations about the show — and react  on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter.

Showtime is also offering other opportunities for information and interactivity like polls based on events in the show, behind-the-scenes videos, photo galleries, webisodes, and in some cases, full episodes.

The app is being launched in conjunction with the season finales of “Weeds” and “The Big C,” and in anticipation of the premieres of “Dexter” and “Homeland” this Sunday.

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