imimobile’s presenter tablet module used for “That’s Britain!”

Wall to Wall (a Shed Media company), the world's leading producers of factual and drama programming, is using IMImobile’s Presenter Tablet Module (PTM) on its new live studio show for BBC One. The technology is a recent extension of IMImobile’s Multi-Media Console (MMC) and is visibly used on the show ‘That’s Britain!’ which first aired on the 23rd November 2011.

The MMC provides broadcasting and production companies with a seamless way to aggregate audience content across a range of digital streams, including Twitter, Facebook, SMS, MMS, Email and Apps in one single platform. This allows broadcasters and production teams to edit user generated content and then publish through a variety of different channels to drive viewer engagement.

The Presenter Tablet Module, tailored for latest tablet devices, will allow Nick Knowles and Julia Bradbury to see all of the pre-selected messages chosen by the Wall to Wall production team. The messages, that vocalise the key issues that have been annoying the British public, are pushed from the MMC to the tablet that is connected to a WiFi network, via a web interface. This allows the presenter to read out viewer comments live on air.

‘That’s Britain!’ is the first show to use the Presenter Tablet Module within a live format. It directly connects the presenter with the audience. The presenter also has the option to engage with viewers in real time via social media channels such as Facebook and Twitter.

Kat Hebden, Interactive Producer at Wall to Wall comments: “That’s Britain! presented us with the perfect opportunity to invest in this new technology. With consumer opinion central to the show, it was crucial that we had a platform to hand which would aggregate all incoming messages from viewers, yet be accessible and easy to use for the presenters.”

“The MMC forms a wider part of our media and broadcast solutions. The use of tablet devices on TV shows is a growing trend that will soon become commonplace. With the Presenter Tablet Module production companies such as Wall to Wall can streamline content aggregation and focus on creating a real-time audience engagement where messages are put to air almost instantly,” said Jay Patel, Managing Director at IMImobile.

Another interactive element of the show is The Word Wall system that is designed to automatically gather words from the subject line of emails sent to a specific email address, provide editorial control of the data gathered, and present the words in the studio by means of a graphic shown on a large video screen. The words are presented in such a way that those which feature most frequently in the received emails over a given period are shown in the largest typeface on the graphic. The remaining words (up to a production-specified number) are displayed in descending sizes, arranged to fit together in a pseudo-random "cloud" arrangement on the graphic. The system provides the means to animate from a graphic assembled of past data to one assembled using more recent data.

“The Word Wall is a great way for audiences to participate during the show in real time, get their voices heard and initiate discussion about certain topics. The subject matter of the show relies on audience interaction, particularly within a live environment so we’ve really pushed this element within the show,” said Kat at Wall to Wall.

The show also runs an SMS vote asking viewers if they would pay to bring back obsolete jobs to make Britain a better place, such as milkmen or bus conductors. The results are presented at the end of each show.

Editor’s note:That’s Britain!’ airs on Wednesday nights at 7.30pm on BBC One.