FoxTV + Twitter = Tweet-peats!

by Ron Callari

Fox TV is the first major network to strike a deal with Twitter to follow tweets while viewing two of their popular dramas. This is an innovative tactic by Fox to attract an audience to watch repeats, programming that tends to draw in low numbers on the Nielsen Ratings! Hence the birth of tweet-peats!

Tweet-peats will become part of the on-screen Twitter feeds by producers and actors during the broadcasts of “Fringe” at 9 p.m. Thursday (9/3) and “Glee” at 9 p.m. Friday (9/4).

During the episodes, viewers will be able to follow the cast and producers’ tweets online via Twitter and on the air via a lower-third scroll. The actors and producers will provide commentary, answer questions, and offer insights about the upcoming season.

Online, viewers can follow the "Fringe" event at twitter.com/FRINGEonFOX. For "Glee," go to twitter.com/GLEEonFOX.

The "Fringe" participants will be executive producers Jeff Pinkner and J.H. Wyman and actors Josh Jackson and John Noble.

The "Glee" participants will be cast members: Lea Michele, Kevin McHale, Mark Salling, Cory Monteith, Amber Riley and Chris Colfer.

The participant Twitter Usernames and Profile Links from FRINGE are as follows:

Jeff Pinkner, Executive Producer (ET/PT) @jpfringe http://twitter.com/jpfringe
J.H. Wyman, Executive Producer (ET/PT) @jwfringe http://twitter.com/jwfringe
Josh Jackson, "Peter Bishop" (ET) @peterbishop2 http://twitter.com/peterbishop2
John Noble, "Walter Bishop" (ET) @labdad1 http://twitter.com/labdad1

Participant Twitter Usernames and User Profile Links from GLEE are as follows:

Lea Michele, "Rachel Berry" (ET) @msleamichele http://twitter.com/msleamichele
Kevin McHale, "Artie Abrams" (ET) @druiddude http://twitter.com/druiddude
Mark Salling, "Puck" (ET) @mark_salling http://twitter.com/mark_salling
Cory Monteith, "Finn Hudson" (PT) @frankenteen http://twitter.com/frankenteen
Amber Riley, "Mercedes" (PT) @msamberriley http://twitter.com/msamberriley
Chris Colfer, "Kurt Hummel" (PT) @chriscolfer http://twitter.com/chriscolfer

You will note that dissimilar to Twitter online, tweet-peats do not allow for a two-way dialogue. Since only the producers and cast members' tweets will show up on your TV screen, your "this show sucks" tweets will not be visible to the TV viewing audience. My personal opinion is they should run an after-hours "not-for-prime-time" tweet-peat show where everyone is in on the conversation. But that's a different kind of programming all together, and something I'm sure Fox is not ready for.

UPDATE: In watching Fringe's tweet-peat 9/3, I must say, it was very 'unispired.' The producers and cast members spent more time talking about themselves and how much 'they loved each other" than adding to the intrigue of the plot. Yes "string theory" is an amazing concept, but tell me more about how it relates to the storyline? Let's hope Glee learned some lessons from last night's failed attempt at tweet-peating!!!

Ron Callari
Social Media, Semantic Technology, Digitial Media & Trends Writer
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Comments

Sep 3, 2009
by Anonymous

this sucks!

I do not want to see tweets during the program! DUMB idea! Will not watch the show....

Sep 3, 2009
by Anonymous

Twitter on Fringer

Absolutely STUPID!!!!!!!!!!!!! Get it off!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sep 3, 2009
by Anonymous

I'm done

I can't stand it when the networks put up their symbols in the corner. So I am not going to watch some show, new or a rerun with this stupid blockage on the screen. I would believe that for everyone that likes this, there would be 20 that just turns to another station without saying anything. And now me too. Goodbye

Sep 3, 2009
by Anonymous

Terrible idea!

Cannot watch the show with the twitter junk on screen. Changing channels.

Sep 3, 2009
by Anonymous

STUPID IDEA

Well FOX... you just lost me and my household as viewers on those nights!! Good luck with this horrible idea.... I may even rethink my viewing habits of other shows you broadcast!!

Sep 3, 2009
by Anonymous

tweet-peats

Hate your tweet-peats, will not be watching.

Sep 3, 2009
by Anonymous

hated it- tuned it off

Had never seen FRINGE and looked forward to the show. The TWITTER stuff was terrible; if there was a way to turn it off if you don't want it that could be okay but I won't watch again if it is there. TERRIBLE

Sep 3, 2009
by Anonymous

tweets on Fringe

do not like seeing the tweets while trying to watch fringe...have been waiting all summer for it's return....just turned it off to watch football....just lost another viewer. Who ever thought that this would be a good idea was wrong.

Sep 3, 2009
by Anonymous

tweets on Fringe

I HATE this! If Fox plans to keep this BS up during the regular season they will kill a great show. I won't watch again.
l

Sep 3, 2009
by Anonymous

TWITTER SUCKS!

FOX THIS SUCKS! YOU CANCEL TSCC AND NOW THIS! I DON'T WANT THIS CRAP ON THE SCREEN WHILE TRYING TO WATCH MY SHOW. GOD I HATE FOX.

Sep 3, 2009
by Anonymous

Also agree that this is a terrible idea.

I won't watch any show that has this getting in the way of seeing the picture. Totally stupid idea!

Sep 3, 2009
by Anonymous

P.S. BEFORE ANYONE SAYS

P.S.

BEFORE ANYONE SAYS ANYTHING, I REALIZE THIS IS FOR REPEATS, (HENCE TWEET-PEAT BUT IT STILL SUCKS! IT WON'T BE LONG BEFORE THEY PUT THIS CRAP ON ALL DAY.

Sep 3, 2009
by Anonymous

Tweets on Fringe repeats

I agree. I love this show and whenever I miss an episode, I look forward to seeing it on a repeat. I was dumbfounded to see one-third of my screen taken up by tweets. Who cares what those people have to say about the show? Repeats are for people who either missed the original show or want to watch it again because they really like the show. I really hope they do not continue with this.

Sep 3, 2009
by Anonymous

my wife switched the channel

Yep, unfortunately for me, my wife thinks that I can fix any computer/TV related issue. When this came on, she yelled at me to find a way to turn it off. When I told her it was Fox and I can't do anything. She switched the channel.

Sep 3, 2009
by Anonymous

I am puttting in a DVD can't watch this screen

I just called Comcast because I could not figure out how to disable this distracting chatter covering the lower THIRD of the screen. I discovered that this is a FOX experiment. As I was told in school, "No experiment is a failure. It can always serve as an example of what not to do again."

Sep 3, 2009
by Anonymous

Rattled

This twitter crap rattled me so bad I misspelled "putting". I guess that is my mistake for the evening. The twitter is Fox's.

Sep 3, 2009
by Anonymous

Don't like to READ my TV...

DIdn't like the twitter on my TV, and I'm a regular business Twitter user (twitter.com/scootworks). I want to watch TV on the TV...I'll get on the internet for the rest. We changed the channel a few minutes into the show.

Sep 3, 2009
by Anonymous

twitterrrrrrr

This twitter thing gets on my nerves. You can't watch the show comfortably. I understand twitter on line but watching it on tv is just an annoyance.

Sep 3, 2009
by Anonymous

ditto-most irritating piece

ditto-most irritating piece of media I've ever seen - worse then listening to Rush

Sep 3, 2009
by Anonymous

Tweet on my TV?

I turned away from my computer to watch television - not watch 'tweeting' mess up the enjoyment of my show. FOX + Twitter=epic FAIL. Messing up a repeat of a show just does what it says...it messes it up. I hope they realize how many of use HATE this. Well, I'm watching CSI with no interference. FOX, let me watch my repeats without 'tweets', PLEASE.

Sep 3, 2009
by Anonymous

Very bad idea

This 'tweet-peat' thing will NOT encourage people to watch a show. When we miss an episode we look forward to seeing the 'repeat' for our enjoyment. We don't want to have people typing a conversation over one third of the screen. Whose stupid idea was this? I watched CSI instead when I saw that the 'oh-so-cutesy' tweet-peating wasn't going away. Thanks FOX, and your cohort Twitter, for ruining my watching pleasure.

Sep 4, 2009
by Anonymous

This was simply awful. It's

This was simply awful. It's bad enough seeing promos for other shows dancing around the bottom of my screen during regular programming but tweets?? When I'm on the computer I'll look at tweets/facebook, etc at my choosing.

When watching the television I want to see programming not infantile crap spewed in the form of talking bubbles on top of a program. (Actually it's fox so it's mostly infantile crap anyway but I actually like this show)

Sep 4, 2009
by Anonymous

OMG - MORONS!!! ABSOLUTE TORTURE!!

OMG - PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE - NO MORE TWITTERING!!! This episode of Fringe was one of the ones I had missed because I was on a work assignment and was soooo looking forward to it. I couldn't get into the show at all and it was all so distracting. I don't care how interesting the tweets are (but they are not) - I don't care to see tweets across the screen when I am trying to watch my shows. I ended up spending half an hour calling Rogers and trying to figure out how to turn it off, thinking it was some sort of close captioning (the Rogers guy didn't even know what Twitter was and I had to explain). What a waste of my night. I am soooo MAD! I then went on the net and read about the Fox and Twitter deal. What the #%&!???!!! What moron decided this?? Of course, I had the show on the whole time....desparately trying to figure out how to turn the twitter stuff of so I could enjoy what little there was left. SIGH!!!

If geeks want to "tune in" on the net and follow/participate twitter while watching their show then fine - just don't make us sit through it!

What's next? - can you imagine twitter at the movies? or better yet how about on IMAX 3-D? VERY DUMB!!!!

Sep 4, 2009
by Anonymous

What twit thought of this, fire them.

Why are you broadcasting twitter messages over the top of the Fringe program picture. That is very distracting and it is stupid. What do I care what these people are saying. What twit came up with this idea.

Sep 6, 2009
by Anonymous

Moronic Twittering Twits!!

Very good Fox. Foxes aren't so clever after all. The Fox on channel 4 is a twittering twit never to be shown on my TV again! You morons!

Sep 6, 2009
by Anonymous

Awesome

I think that is a fun idea- I'll be sure to add the new word to the Twitter Dictionary!! (www.twittonary.com) Love the Show!

Sep 7, 2009
by Anonymous

Can the idiot who came up with TWEET PEAT

I watched the rerun right up to the point where I figured out why annoying crap was showing up on my screen. If I wanted to watch POP-UP VIDEO I would turn to MTV. I was hoping for a second chance to see the show I couldn't entirely watch last year...only to have it ruined.

I turned it off and will NEVER watch a twitter-related ANYTHING. I HATE TWITTER. I HATE ANY TWEET anything except Looney Tunes Tweetie Pie. And even he is annoying sometimes.

Good Bye FOX.