Bell Aliant Customers Now Have Facebook On TV
Bell Aliant Inc. is bringing the world’s most popular social networking tool into customers’ living rooms with its new Facebook application for FibreOP™ TV customers, who can now watch their favourite TV shows while viewing their Facebook news feeds, rate and comment on the TV show they are watching and view Facebook photo albums. The free Facebook app is available today to FibreOP TV customers.
“Facebook has become a part of Canadians’ lives. We are excited to bring it directly to the largest screen in the home – giving our customers a truly interactive and social TV experience,” says Andre LeBlanc, Vice President Residential Product, Bell Aliant. “Our future-proof FibreOP network was built to allow us to innovate and develop new services that will meet the communication needs of our customers today and tomorrow. Social trends are shaping where and how consumers want to connect, and Bell Aliant is responding.”
There are more than 800 million active Facebook users around the world and 87.5 per cent of Internet users in Atlantic Canada are on Facebook. This is higher than the national average of 83.3 percent, according to comScore MediaMetrix, November 2011. Social media is changing the way television is made, watched, and broadcast, and the rise of social TV is expected to increase in 2012.
“Social TV is going to continue to grow as broadcasters and content providers find new ways to engage with their audience,” says Dr. Anatoliy Gruzd, Assistant Professor, School of Information Management and Social Media Lab, Dalhousie University. “TV technology and social media are merging; according to a survey by Ovum, about 74 per cent of TV viewers with broadband use the Internet at the same time and 38 per cent discuss TV shows while using social media. In the future, this trend will likely accelerate as social TV technology becomes more ubiquitous and easier to use.”
Atlantic Canadians will be able to access six of the most popular Facebook features on their FibreOP TV including:
- Viewing news feeds on their wall;
- Viewing profile details including names, profile pictures and status messages;
- Posting status messages and notes to their walls;
- Rating the TV show they’re currently watching;
- Viewing photo albums in both a thumbnail view and full screen slideshow;
- Viewing friends’ profiles, photos and wall updates.
To access the Facebook app on FibreOP TV customers need an active Facebook account and a Bell Aliant Internet connection. Customers can press Menu, go to Apps and press Facebook to launch the app on their TV. A step-by-step guide on how to set up and use the new app is available online. The app supports up to 10 unique Facebook accounts per household.
