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Significantly, 14% of consumers used their tablets to search for content and engage in social media directly related to the television program they were watching. 

The findings present an opportunity for broadcast and cable networks to interact with consumers much more readily and immediately than they have in the past,

Among devices, the PC/laptop is still the top device used for these “over-the-top” (OTT) services with 65% of respondents using them to watch video content (up from 59% last year). About a third (31%) said they did the same on a mobile phone (up from 24%), while 22% said they used a tablet (up from 14%). Tablets and PCs are the preferred devices to watch longer-form video (such as movies or TV shows), according to the survey. 

MTV uses its Facebook presence as a kind of online promo aggregator – a buffet with bite-sized appetizers delivered from all over MTV’s extensive stable of blogs, niche websites, TV programming and movies.

Among the most common is shopping for a product seen in an ad, by 19.4% of TV watchers who engage in second-screen activities.

That’s behind only learning about an actor/actress (29.8%) and learning about the show/movie (23.1%). The researchers note that shopping for products is most prevalent among laptop users and consumers in the 35-49 age group, and that “converting viewers into impulse shoppers has big potential impact for advertisers.”

Not too far behind the top tier of activities is discussing a show on a social networking site, cited by 14.8% of respondents. That’s a figure worth watching closely – as social TV has the potential to increase engagement. A just-released neuroscience study from MEC and Channel Seven in Australia discovered that interacting with social media while watching TV drove a 9% increase in program engagement among study participants, and that second-screen interaction aided recall of specific elements of the broadcast.

Viggle Jan. 29 acquired Dijit Media, which builds and distributes a programming discovery service (NextGuide) for the Web and the iOS platform, that helps viewers search, find, and set reminders for their TV shows and movies, anywhere they’re available. “In a world where consumers have more choice than ever about where, when and how to watch programing, we are bringing to market a comprehensive platform to get the right show in front of the right person at the right time — wherever it is airing,” Consiglio said.

Amplify is Twitter’s name for partnerships with media companies that focuses on the second-screen experience: fans talking about events and issues on live TV shows. Ninety-five percent of “live TV conversation” currently happens on Twitter, the company said in a recent blog post,

Twitter is doing a very neat three-way deal between the NBA, which gets its highlights promoted, and in this case, the movie After Earth, which gets publicity and the chance to increase its Twitter audience via the embedded Follow @AfterEarth account.

A mélange of TV resource apps are getting together to help each other, and their users. Dijit, Thuuz, Tomorrowish, IVA and Simple.TV are partnering to integrate their products and services. The theory seems to be that they are stronger working together, rather than alone. Given the non-competitive positioning of each, this could be a boon for TV viewers. First a quick summary of what each of the companies does. Dijit’s NextGuide helps TV viewers discover new TV shows and remember to watch them. Thuuz provides real-time sports updates helping fans tune to the most interesting game on TV at any given time. Tomorrowish let’s viewers watching a show or event on-demand replay the social media buzz from the first broadcast. Internet Video Archive (IVA) specializes in providing show and movie trailers. Simple.TV provides live TV and network DVR services.

“For movies and retailers, time-shifting can be a concern,” says Starcom’s Bowe. “That is why live TV is interesting to a lot of TV advertisers. Advertisers are demanding immediacy. Amassing an audience on a particular night is important.” Combating ad skipping empowered by the DVR is a bigger issue for TV stations than it is for network TV.

Advertisers typically buy local TV using Nielsen’s live-only or live-plus-same-day program ratings. Network TV is bought on C3 commercial ratings, which includes live viewing and three days of DVR playback. That means local TV advertisers pay for viewers who fast-forward through their commercials.

Live TV and social media were made for each other. In 2013, 36 million people in the United States sent 990 million Tweets about TV shows they were watching live, according to Nielsen SocialGuide. Moreover, 84% of people who have smartphones or computer tablets use those devices while watching TV.