Researchers from Ball State University will investigate how television viewers engage in a contemporary social viewing environment with second-screen devices using eye-tracking devices in the Time Warner Medialab in New York City.
Study participants will watch television while using smartphones and tablets while researchers analyze how viewers interact with programs and ads through social engagement. The researchers also plan to use focus groups and online surveys to collect data.
The goal of the study to reveal how viewers interact with television programs and ads through social TV, as well as the effect that second screen has on linear viewing.
“The Time Warner Medialab gives us the opportunity to do a very natural study now that people are more accustomed to social media and have more sophisticated mobile devices,” said Michael Holmes, a Ball State faculty member.
“The lab’s state-of-the-art equipment allows us to build on prior second-screen studies we’ve done at Ball State University, but with more in-depth analysis on qualitative research.”
In the year since the Medialab opened, more than 70 studies that have been done that provide deep insight into the mind of the consumer, said Kristen O’Hara, SVP and Chief Marketing Officer, Time Warner Global Media Group. Results from the Ball State University second-screen study are expected to be released in June.
