TV Guide has updated its Watchlist app, further bolstering its position as a one-stop hub for TV viewers' to track and manage their digital entertainment interests. Watchlist continues to present a very simple UI where users can add programs about which they want viewing information from lists of choices or through searching by shows and now also by sports teams and celebrities.
In addition to the linear schedule, Watchlist provides info from 120 different online sources (Hulu, Netflix, etc.) and now also on-demand and DVD information (note Comcast is the first pay-TV operator to provide on-demand data, but others will follow). All of this makes Watchlist a destination to quickly scan what's on, when and where. Below is a simple Watchlist I created in minutes.
Watchlist has also integrated over 400 official Twitter feeds from shows, actors, teams and celebrities, surrounding the listing information with social media context. Watchlist includes its own check-in function, which currently drives around 20K check-ins per day, with over 3.5 million recorded to date.
Christy Tanner, EVP/GM of TV Guide Digital told me that mobile has also become a huge traffic driver, as there have been over 4 million downloads of the Watchlist app, with 1.5 million active users. Christy noted that 91% of mobile use happens in the home, a data point which mirrors research I wrote about yesterday that indicates more than three-quarters of video apps are used in the home.
TV Guide continues to demonstrate that in a sea of disruptive startups established companies with strong brand loyalty and digital initiatives can succeed.