FOX Unveils New Apps Suite

LOS ANGELES: Fox Broadcasting Company is launching a full suite of TV apps, branded FOX NOW, that will provide viewers with enhanced interactive and social functions around their favorite shows, among other features.

FOX NOW second-screen engagement apps are currently available on the iOS platform and are launching soon for Android. They allow viewers to keep up with their favorite FOX shows and take part in the conversations around them. Most platforms also allow users to interact with the live broadcast via tablet device. Users can watch clips, share photos and videos and access exclusive content. Over the coming months full-episode streaming will be added to this suite of apps for customers of participating cable and satellite providers.

Video streaming apps are currently live on the Windows 8 platform and Xbox for Xbox LIVE Gold members. Launches on the Samsung Smart TV platform should come later this year. The FOX NOW streaming apps allow viewers to watch next-day full episodes or clips on their game console or streaming TV box in partnership with participating cable and satellite providers.

FOX and American Express have teamed up for a new T-commerce program that allows consumers to shop in real time while watching the show New Girl. Fans will be able to buy items seen on the series, exclusively through the FOX online store, accessed through the FOX NOW apps. To celebrate the launch, American Express cardmembers can receive an exclusive offer for a one-time $35 statement credit if they use an eligible American Express Card that has been synced with their Facebook account to make the purchase of an item from New Girl.

"FOX has, by far, the most socially engaged audience of any broadcast network, so we’ve built these FOX NOW apps with the goal of extending that experience," said David Wertheimer, the president of digital for Fox Broadcasting Company. "FOX NOW is a huge next step for us as we work toward providing FOX fans with the content and communities they love—wherever and whenever they want them—and creating new opportunities for our brand partners to reach our deeply engaged audience."

"The American Express social commerce platform has given us a unique opportunity in the marketplace to bring our cardmembers opportunities for experiences and offers tailored to their interests," added Lou Paskalis, the VP of global media content development and mobile marketing at American Express. "Now, with our groundbreaking partnership with FOX, we can extend that capability into pop culture in ways that will give audiences the opportunity to instantly buy items that they see in television programs that they love. Through FOX’s reach, we can bring our sync capability directly into the living room of millions of American households, giving us a new opportunity to connect buyers and sellers at the moment demand is created."