Twitter buys Trendrr to run with TV engagement momentum
There has been plenty of buzz around Twitter's potential for demonstrating the value behind TV programming, and the micro-blogging giant has been quick not to miss any opportunities here.
See also: Twitter teams with Datalogix to pinpoint 'offline sales impact' for Tweets
To keep the momentum going, the San Francisco company has bought Trendrr, a New York City-based startup that boasts it owns the "only service that tracks television engagement across multiple data sources."
Trendrr conducts that service with Curatorr real-time API, which can be used to push Tweets live and surface streams on mobile apps.
The Twitter team confirmed the news with just a Tweet on Wednesday.
Trendrr CEO Mark Ghuneim explained a bit more about the deal in a blog post, remarking that its Twitter-certified product Curatorr will be targeted toward media companies, marketers, and display ecosystem partners for creating "compelling user experiences."
Having sat at this intersection of TV and social media for years, we've analyzed data from lots of platforms. What makes Twitter uniquely compelling among these platforms is its connection to the live moment — people sharing what's happening, when it's happening, to the world.
Ghuneim added that Trendrr will honor existing contracts with partners, but it will not be accepting any new clients going forward. Some existing clients include MTV, ABC, and Univision.
Financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed.
The value behind Twitter, still a private company despite rumors of an IPO looming, has gotten a lot of credence lately thanks to a recent report from Nielsen published earlier this month.
The market research firm revealed what it touted as a definite link between Tweets and increased viewership for certain programs.
Additionally, Twitter CEO Dick Costello lectured about the intersecting paths of Twitter and TV fans during a panel discussion at the Aspen Ideas Festival in July -- notably through a relationship with Nielsen itself.
The global information and measurement firm will take Twitter data and marry it with its methodology to craft a "Twitter TV rating," and Costelo predicted this will churn out concrete data about both viewership and the depth of engagement online.