Facebook to offer TV data to networks

Facebook is reportedly upping its TV credentials by starting to offer data from the social network to the four biggest TV networks in the US. 

According to a Wall Street Journal report, Facebook will this week begin sending weekly reports to the channels to indicate how much buzz their shows are generating on the site.

This will include information on the number of comments, shares and ‘likes’ relating to specific shows, with the data to be shared with NBC, Fox, ABC, CBS and a small number of other selected partners, said the WSJ.

The news comes a month after Facebook made steps to make it easier for TV channels to integrate Facebook conversations into their broadcasts or coverage, giving them access to public posts of real-time activity about any given topic through its Public Feed and Keyword Insights APIs.

It is also the latest example of Facebook pitting itself against Twitter in the TV space. Its rival recently acquired social TV analytics firm Trendrr and in February bought another social analytics firm, called Bluefin Labs. In December last year Twitter also partnered with media measurement company Nielsen to create a ratings system based on the amount of Twitter conversation around TV shows.