Nowhere is television’s simultaneous convergence and competition with the Internet more obvious than it is in second-screen. By some industry counts, as much as 30 percent of web-surfing is done while watching TV. If those viewers are drifting away to check their email or gaze idly at breaking news sites, that’s a threat to the TV industry. But if they’re using their computer to enhance their TV viewing — by learning more about the show or chatting it up with friends — it’s an opportunity.
“This is really the hottest thing in television now,” said Trevor Doerksen, founder of the Canadian on-line marketing company Mobovivo. “Everybody — advertisers, producers, TV networks — everybody wants to grab those second-screeners.”