Twitter Is Already Winning The Social TV War, But It Will Soon Do More

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The past few years have been a rollercoaster ride for the social TV market. Driven by the growth of smartphone and tablet usage while viewers watch television, dozens of companies have emerged in that time to aggregate audiences who wish to share what they’re watching on TV with other, like-minded viewers. But for all the startups that have emerged to tackle the issue of social TV, only one seems to be thriving — and that’s Twitter, a social network that (paradoxically) hasn’t been focused uniquely on the social TV problem.

We’re already seeing the early signs of a shakeout in the social TV marketplace, as startups are being acquired or silently disappearing from the scene. Not too long ago, Socialguide was acquired by Nielsen. And last month, Viggle and GetGlue announced plans to merge (although those plans are contingent on Viggle securing more financing). At the same time, other competitors — like, for instance, Miso — are pivoting to try new things or moving into adjacent markets.

Much of the reason these new, TV-centric social networks are failing to catch on is that there’s already a place where people share their feelings about what’s on TV: Twitter. And while Twitter hasn’t been terribly aggressive thus far in taking advantage of that, you can expect to see it do more over the coming year.