Twitter Buys Trendrr to Improve TV Business

Twitter has acquired Trendrr, a company that tracks and analyzes conversation about TV shows on Twitter and other social media sites like Facebook (NASDAQ:FB), according to a blog post by Trendrr founder Mark Ghuneim.

Ghuneim, a former executive at Sony Music, launched Trendrr to see what media companies could glean from conversations on burgeoning platforms like Twitter and Facebook. He has long argued that networks can use those conversations to better engage their viewers and drive more viewers to tune in.

Trendrr not only tracks conversations, but offers curated tweets on a certain subject or from certain sources.

Twitter in particular has become a popular platform for real-time conversations about shows on the air, and the company has been seeking to turn television into a significant part of its business. It has acquired other companies, such as analytics start-up Bluefin Labs, and commissioned a study by Nielsen to demonstrate that high volumes of conversation on Twitter about a show can increase viewership.

"Over the last five years we have led the way in working with real-time data and television, unlocking the power and value of engagement around TV," Ghuneim wrote in the post.

"Having sat at this intersection of TV and social media for years, we've analyzed data from lots of platforms. What makes Twitter uniquely compelling among these platforms is its connection to the live moment — people sharing what's happening, when it's happening, to the world."

Ghuneim also wrote that Trendrr will honor existing partnerships but will not establish new ones (with, say, Facebook).

In recognition of the acquisition, Twitter's Chief Revenue Officer Adam Bain tweeted the following:

Excited to welcome @trendrr to Twitter to help us build great tools for TV ecosystem https://t.co/ylSuJzkBrD Congrats @MarkGhuneim!

— adam bain (@adambain) August 28, 2013