Immersive, Participatory Television: A New Paradigm of Social Media

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Traditional broadcast television has been slow to adapt to competing technological advances in content creation, transmission, and consumption made possible by the Internet and a plethora of digital media devices. While the production values and editorial capabilities of broadcast TV remain superior to those of digital media alternatives, its ability to engage digital-savvy younger viewers is waning. We propose to address this significant problem by creating a participatory platform for broadcast TV that enlists viewers as content contributors, and adds further dimension to programming through Augmented Reality and Web-based content enhancements.*Crowdsourcing contextually relevant content in an era of ubiquitous video cameras will usher in an era of participatory TV, where the viewer is no longer passive but an active contributor to programming. Remote communities rarely visited by reporters would have their voices heard. Contributors, appropriately screened by a "trustworthiness" tool to be developed in this research, would be rewarded by peer recognition, possible financial incentives from the broadcaster, and career development opportunities. Tweets and other social media notifications would draw viewers' attention to the program and deepen the pool of virtual reporters/producers. This democratization of TV programming would not only increase viewer engagement; it could have the corollary effect of an increased sense of citizenship and social inclusion/responsibility.*Viewer engagement can be further increased by adding the ability to pause programming and seamlessly access supplemental contextual information relevant to a segment, on the main or a second screen. A viewer watching an episode of "Republic of Doyle" on CBC, for example, may wish to pause the program and access a Google Street View image of downtown St. John's, or watch a recommended National Film Board documentary about Newfoundland history following the show. They may wish to rotate and flip an Augmented Reality 3D image of a human heart while watching an educational program about coronary disease. Over time, personalization features developed in this research will present choices to the viewer based on past viewing/information-accessing patterns, and will be captured in a user profile.*Within the context of video-processing and interactivity, specific research tasks will address creation/retrieval/organization of structured interactive content, crowdsourcing and social interaction, verification, trust and quality assurance, recommendation, personalization, 3D augmented reality, and user evaluation. Enabling technologies will be targeted for incorporation into set-top boxes or future televisions. Local/national broadcasters will be approached for feasibility and prototype testing.*The novel immersive TV experience to be realized by this research will help contextualize an overwhelming amount of digital media source material through broadcaster expertise, while at the same time adding dimension and a heightened sense of social engagement to the traditional TV viewing experience. Viewers from along the demographic spectrum will be attracted to broadcast television, ensuring its continued relevance. New social communities of contributors and viewers will develop around specific interests, further enriching the content of broadcast TV and increasing its audience base.