The TV environment has changed drastically over recent years, first with the advent of IPTV and more recently with an explosion of TVs and TV devices, offering access to Internet services directly to viewers. That explosion has led to a huge shift in the world of interactive TV, with a plethora of TV apps or online interactive services available to TV viewers. One of the most promising app categories in this emerging market, is social TV.
We often discuss TV as being a social experience, with friends and family gathering in the living room to share entertainment experiences together. This is often the case and needs to be considered by TV channels and operators to ensure customer loyalty and revenue growth. 
However, the initial social TV efforts currently in the marketplace are aimed at a different type of user case altogether. Our society has evolved drastically and increasingly demographic and social trends have led to many consumers viewing TV content as a solitary experience. Social TV applications give those people the ability to still share the experience with friends and family, without them being in the room.
Early efforts of Social TV apps have focused on giving consumers access to core functionality of, for example, Facebook and Twitter in stand-alone apps on the TV. All major TV manufacturers have included applications like this, which are not context-specific, but give the consumers the basic functionality of their favourite social apps on the TV. This is attractive for some people, and indeed usage has already reached 10-20% of targeted households. However, I believe that it requires something more to make Social TV a mass-market application category.
-- Content submitted by Michael Lantz, CEO of the global leader of apps and app store solutions for Connected TV and IPTV, Accedo Broadband
