Interaction with a TV Companion App as Synopsis and Supplement

Television companion apps on tablets and smartphones provide interactive content synchronized with TV shows. A key design question raised by this novel, multi-display, multimedia interface is whether the app’s role is to be a synopsis of the show or a supplement. In other words, should the app help viewers better follow what they are watching on TV, or offer additional enriching content to respond to interest created by the show? We developed a companion app for a documentary with both synoptic and supplementary content. A laboratory study with 28 participants examined the effect of these different types of content on the experience of using the companion and the effect on engagement with the show in terms of participants’ recall. Engagement with the show was not affected by supplementary content in the app but coordinated viewing of both screens was more difficult. Design guidelines evident from these results are discussed.