????準備好迎接2013年的社交電視戰爭了嗎？Twitter、尼爾森（Nielsen）和眾多公司在2012年排兵布陣，準備在今年大干一場。

????攻城略地在兩方面進行：一是社交電視的平臺；二是社交電視上數據和收視率的行業標準。作為其中一方面，Twitter正在收視標準領域發力，該公司將在今年跟尼爾森達成合作，將在尼爾森傳統的收視率調查服務之外產生一套針對各個電視節目的社交媒體收視標準。在應用層面，數家公司正成長為行業領導者。它們會迅速崛起以進一步吸引觀眾，并向廣告商提供更多后續互動的機會。下面是一些主要的競爭者：

????Viggle由羅伯特?席勒曼創立，他曾以40億美元的價格將SFX娛樂公司（SFX Entertainment）賣給清晰頻道通信公司（Clear Channel）。Viggle用戶確認自己正在收看節目的方法是：拿起手機或設備靠近電視機，這樣應用就能對節目進行識別了。這一行動可以得到積分獎勵，用戶可以在蘋果（Apple）iTunes、1-800-Flowers和其他商家那里使用這些積分。很多用戶已經從Shazam那里學會了Viggle應用的使用方法，前者推出的頂級音樂識別應用領風氣之先，但在電視領域遠遠不及Viggle。

????Viggle最近收購了GetGlue，后者是它在社交電視領域的競爭對手。Viggle還跟主要的廣播電視網——包括全國廣播公司（NBC）、美國廣播公司（ABC）和特納電視網（TNT）——建立了合作關系，并被體育節目觀眾大量使用，因為它推出過一款名為MyGuy的體育幻想游戲。另外，Viggle也成為有線電視服務商用戶忠誠獎勵計劃的一部分，直播電視公司（DIRECTV）就向使用Viggle的自家用戶提供了獨家的獎勵和積分。

????事實上，在社交電視的互動中，體育節目獨占鰲頭。針對Twitter、Facebook、Viggle和其他平臺上的社交互動情況，市場調查公司Trendrr新近發布了一份分析報告。其中提到，在所有與電視節目有關的互動中，體育節目以31%一馬當先，而真人秀節目則以17%緊隨其后。

????為了不被Viggle打敗，Shazam推出了類似的功能，但它跟廣播電視網的合作關系較少。Shazam把重點放在了電視廣告簽到業務上。該公司最近發布了一份研究報告，其中把廣告簽到跟用戶不斷增長的后續行動聯系在了一起。

????Are you ready for the 2013 social TV wars? Twitter, Nielsen and a host of companies lined up their armies in 2012. They are poised to go at it this year.

????There are two landgrabs going on: the first is to be the platform for social TV, the second to be the industry standard for data and ratings on social TV. Twitter, for one, is making a play for the ratings space as well with its Nielsen partnership to be launched in this year. This partnership will produce a standard social media rating for each TV show to go alongside its traditional Nielsen (NLSN) rating. On the app front, several companies are emerging as leaders. They will ramp up quickly to further engage viewers and deliver more follow-on interactions to advertisers. Here are some of the key competitors:

????Viggle was founded by Robert Sillerman who sold SFX Entertainment to Clear Channel for $4 billion. Viggle users verify the TV show they are watching by holding their phone or device to the TV so that the app recognizes the show. This activity rewards the user with points which they can redeem in Apple's (AAPL) iTunes, 1-800-Flowers (FLWS) and other merchants. Many users have been trained in the Viggle action by Shazam, which kicked off the genre with its top music recognition app, but is well behind Viggle in the TV space.

????Viggle recently acquired GetGlue, a competitor in the social TV sector. Viggle has partnerships with major networks including NBC, ABC and TNT and is used heavily in sports viewing with its companion fantasy sports game, MyGuy. Viggle is also the loyalty rewards program for cable provider, DIRECTV (DTV), providing DIRECTV customers who use Viggle with exclusive rewards and bonus points.

????Sports, in fact, leads all other categories in social TV interactions. Trendrr just released an analysis of social interactions across Twitter, Facebook (FB), Viggle and other platforms. Of all TV-show related interactions, sports led with 31%, followed by reality TV with 17%.

????Not to be outdone by Viggle, Shazam has introduced similar features although it has fewer TV partnerships. Shazam has focused its efforts on TV commercial check-ins. The company recently released a study which correlates Shazam advertising check-ins with increased follow-on actions by users.