Can cable take the lead on social TV?

Of all the cool technology demos I saw this week at the SCTE Cable-Tec Expo in Atlanta, the one I've been thinking the most about is the social TV demonstration Motorola Mobility (NYSE: MMI) had at its booth. One part of the demo showed how a cable subscriber that recommended TV shows and movies to friends on Facebook and other social networking platforms--and responded to interactive polls from their local cable operator--could earn "coins." Those coins could be redeemed for merchandise from their operator--products ranging from electronic toys to clothing.

We've heard a lot of buzz this year about emerging social TV startups such as Miso, GetGlue, and IntoNow that allow viewers to earn points by using their mobile phones or tablets to "check in" to various TV shows and movies they are watching, and recommend content to their friends. Some of these firms ease the check-in process by relying on automatic content recognition (ACR) technology, which uses audio tags to identify the program the viewer is watching.

Motorola's social TV demo at Cable-Tec Expo.

Motorola's social TV product is essentially a white-label social TV service that a cable operator could deploy, using its own brand. And while a cable subscriber could use a mobile phone or tablet such as the Motorola Xoom that Motorola used for its demo to share content, the biggest difference with Motorola's social TV service is that subscribers could use their cable remote controls to check in to a program, and share content with friends.

These are still very early days for  social TV. While most viewers use Facebook and other social networks, the majority of Americans have never heard of Miso or IntoNow, and may not be interested in chatting with friends about TV shows they are watching. But that's not stopping industry observers from making wild projections about the potential for social TV. While cable engineers were gathered in Atlanta earlier this week for the Cable-Tec Expo, industry analyst Jack Myers predicted at the Social TV Summit in New York that the social TV business would grow to $30 billion by 2020.

Social TV applications do have some potential for helping viewers navigate thousands of live TV, video-on-demand and Internet video choices. And advertisers will be able to use social TV technology to deliver targeted ads to viewers on TV and mobile devices. But there also seems to be a significant amount of hype associated with social TV.

While it's not clear how social TV will evolve, cable operators and their technology suppliers are clearly positioning themselves to be key players in the sector. You could see that this week in Atlanta, from the panel sessions to exhibits such as Motorola's social TV product. The technology is available, and ready to be deployed. We're just waiting for the first U.S. cable operator to take a crack at it.--Steve