zeebox and ShowCaster launch independent second screen TV show to accompany The X Factor
Broadcaster Jake Yapp will present comedy commentary show Yapp Factor every Saturday night on zeebox
London, UK, 2 Oct 2012
Innovative second screen app zeebox is collaborating with interactive TV platform ShowCaster to provide fans of The X Factor* with a unique companion experience during Saturday night’s episodes of the live talent show.
Exclusive to zeebox, Yapp Factor will feature broadcaster and comedian Jake Yapp’s acerbic tongue-in-cheek commentary on The X Factor – live in video as the show goes out, giving fans the chance to participate as they watch.
Yapp Factor viewers will be able to interact with Jake in real-time, take part in competitions and answer polls created live in reaction to what’s happening on the first screen – as well as enjoying the full, engaging suite of interactive features offered by zeebox around every UK TV show. Fans of the talent show will also get to see their comments and content feature in Yapp Factor and receive unique themed content to share across their social networks.
Jake Yapp's online TV reviews have garnered a quarter of a million hits and invited comparison with Charlie Brooker. Previously a writer for Never Mind The Buzzcocks (BBC2) and TV Offal (Channel 4), Yapp's Radio 4 Extra series Pleased To Meet You was nominated for the Sony Radio Academy Award for Best Comedy. In Yapp Factor, Jake will be "assisted" by alter egos including Timmy Crumble – the world's unluckiest reality show wannabe – and a little-known relative of Paul the Octopus, the equally clairvoyant Psychic Chicken.
Yapp Factor's live video streaming will be provided by zeebox's official live video partner ShowCaster, and the real-time interactive show will be independently produced by social media marketing and live content production company Telegraph Hill.
Simon Miller, Chief of Product & Content Development at zeebox said: "Putting viewers at the heart of the show and unleashing Jake's spiky and hilarious take on The X Factor, Yapp Factor will provide the ultimate companion experience for viewers."
Jake Yapp said: "zeebox gives us the most awesome opportunity to share The X Factor experience in real-time – I love that, as the show progresses, people watching can pitch in."
"I am hoping the experience will be like a massive ruck, with The X Factor judges on one side, viewers at home on the other, and me somewhere in the middle, being punched into unconsciousness. WICKED."
Will Neale, CEO at ShowCaster said: "It's great to be working with zeebox as they continue to push the boundaries of social TV, all alongside one of the most successful live TV formats."
Jack Simcock, Founder at Telegraph Hill said: "We're excited to be able to use innovative social marketing methods to bring this pioneering proposition to new audiences."
Yapp Factor debuts in zeebox alongside the first live final of The X Factor on 6 October.
Since launching in 2011, zeebox has led innovation in the market of social TV apps, uniquely enabling consumers to discover TV content through their extended social graph, to follow their favourite celebrities’ TV viewing, and to automatically get more information about the programmes they’re watching. zeebox knows what consumers are watching, and engages them with relevant content and e-commerce opportunities in synch with live TV.
zeebox is available on the Web, iPad, iPhone and Android smartphones at http://zeebox.com.
*Yapp Factor is not endorsed by nor associated with The X Factor, Syco Television, or ITV plc.