Social TV App zeebox Relaunches as Beamly

NEW YORK/LONDON/SYDNEY: The social TV application zeebox has been rebranded as Beamly, marking the revamp with the launch of a new app that connects viewers to television content 24/7.

The new Beamly app allows fans to follow the shows and stars they love to get personalized news and social feeds, as well as find and follow other fans. The app has dedicated social spaces that allow users to chat and share in TV Rooms. Users can discover what to watch with Beamly's personalized guide, and can interactive live with their favorite shows via custom play-along games, contextual votes and more, all of which is synced live to what's on screen.

“The rebrand to Beamly is a celebration of the huge development our app has been through since launching two years ago, originally as a simple program guide and synch experience,” said Ernesto Schmitt, CEO and co-founder.

“The initial phase of social television and second screen was limited to apps providing a companion experience for audiences while watching TV. However, people’s emotional engagement with TV spans the whole day: they want to read up on stories about the shows and stars they love in the morning, discuss plotlines over the watercooler in the afternoon, and carefully plan what to watch in the evening—long before ever switching on the TV itself. While they watch, they want a great interactive experience that synchs with what’s on screen. And after the show is over, they want to chat and share socially with other fans,” continued Schmitt.

“Beamly for the first time brings together all of these touchpoints with TV in a single app, all day long.”

Anthony Rose, CTO and co-founder, said: “We’ve already seen a marked progression in the behaviors of users since gradually introducing our new social features over the past few months. The social effect of users following other users, for instance, lifts frequency by 9 times to over 21 visits per user per week, and usage to over 500 minutes per user per week—so we’re pretty excited. And since almost two-thirds of our users are now female, and the 16-to-24 age bracket is our core, the new Beamly brand captures the zeitgeist of these Millennials perfectly.”