The viewing public cast a staggering 83,690 votes via Beamly platform during last Thursday’s 90-minute BBC One leaders’ debate. Beamly, the social TV platform, ran a live Votely (poll) during the debate, asking users which leader had the edge during the programme. Ed Miliband topped the poll with 31,500 votes (38 per cent), followed closely by Nigel Farage with 30,170 votes (36 per cent).
However, contradictory to many of the other online polls, and despite her warnings to Miliband in the televised debates, SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon came in fourth place with a mere 6,180 votes (7 per cent). Throughout the course of the 90-minute broadcast, a total of 83,690 votes were cast, averaging out at 15 per second, or 930 per minute.
“Such staggering engagement rates demonstrate the growing appetite from the public to engage and participate in a more immersive, community-led platform around TV which goes far beyond the capabilities of traditional social networks,” said Juliette Otterburn-Hall, chief content officer at Beamly.
Earlier this year Beamly staged a similar Votely around the EastEnders 30th anniversary Who Killed Lucy? live show, which saw 2,237,723 votes cast in the space of 48 hours (13 per second).
Founded in 2011, Beamly has grown from small beginnings to a global business employing 120 engineers, designers and editors in New York, London and Sydney, with backing from Comcast, NBCUniversal, Viacom, BSkyB and Network TEN, and partnerships as well as global broadcasters and channels.
