Gumball rolls out to Turner worldwide territories
Details
Joseph O'Halloran
| 29 October 2018

Following a successful UK trial in 2017, Turner International has announced the wider distribution of Gumball VIP, an app-based experience which combines linear TV viewing of the Cartoon Network series The Amazing World of Gumball with interactive second screen activity.

With Gumball VIP, fans who download the free app receive a push notification before linear transmission of episodes. It then uses audio watermarking technology to pose quiz questions about what is happening on screen. Correct answers win stars and unlock codes, which can be redeemed on the Cartoon Network websites for prizes.

The technology, which is licensed by Austrian start-up Tonio, was trialled in the UK during the school half term week in October 2017 and was also used in the US for its 2018 CN Summer Challenge. Turner says that the trial demonstrated an appetite for dual-screen activity, with average TVR increasing from previous comparable periods by up to 44%. It added that the second screen experience showed an uplift in older kids coming to the channel with daily reach amongst older kids (10-15) showing a 22% increase year on year and an 108% increase versus February half term holiday stats in 2017. The Gumball VIP app also reached the Apple app store top 10 during the trial period.

Gumball VIP will now roll out over the next six months in ten different markets, including Italy, the Philippines and Singapore before the end of 2018, followed by Australia, New Zealand, Poland, Romania, Spain, France and the UK in the first quarter of 2019.

Turner believes that the UK trial proves that appointment-to-view moments can win linear audiences but that what the company needed to do was to ensure that it remained relevant in today’s world where there is a big shift in how its fans watched and engaged with content.

Said Patricia Hidalgo, chief content officer, Turner EMEA & International kids strategy: “Using this innovative technology allows us to [stay relevant] by digitising the linear TV viewing experience and adding that all-important element of interactivity...We are in a world without limits and by creating fun, engaging and rewarding second screen experiences which complement our incredible original content on TV, we are giving our fans across the world something that is truly unique.”