Table Of Content
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tv.com
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What is TV.com?
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Participation points
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History
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Why should you stream on TV.com?
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Simple sign-up
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Show submission
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Center-stage for content information
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Amazing community
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Design
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Header
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Hero Section
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Body
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Footer
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Inner Pages
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Content
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Classification on the basis of genre
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Desktop/Mobile experience
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Plans & Pricing
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Suggestions I have for TV.com
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Conclusion
tv.com
Streaming services such as Netflix and Hulu have created a new segment of fan buzz where an entire community just wants to engage in dialogue regarding a piece of content. There are forums and websites dedicated to specific shows and movies where people converse with each other and become a part of a broader community. TV.com, on the other hand, is a platform where you can find an entire community that discusses not just one but a number of titles from various networks.
TV.com offers high-quality streaming of episodes from partnered networks, as well as additional content such as message boards, featured videos, and recaps. I tested the video playback on the website and found it to be very fast.
What is TV.com?
TV.com is the best place to find information about television shows. It's an online platform that offers users access to episodes, breaking news, and discussions with other fans. TV.com says it is the most comprehensive TV site, which is based on its community of fans.
TV.com is not a streaming platform, it is more like an aggregator that has clips, news, and highlights of different content materials offered on CBS and partnered networks. For actual streaming, you will be redirected to streaming services such as Hulu, Vudu, Comcast, Amazon Prime, iTunes to name a few.
On TV.com, you can find descriptions of shows, cast and crew listings, discussion forums, detailed episode guides and clip length videos.
Participation points
You can enjoy watching a stream by reading the episode guides which have different textual information that is user-generated. You will find recaps, synopsis, credits, trivia, quotes, notes and supporting images. For people who participate, they receive points and eventually become an editor for the guide for which they can moderate the incoming submissions. This allows the platform to be user-focused where constructive communication can take place.
History
CNET purchased the domains news.com, radio.com, and TV.com in order to host their technology-related TV shows. One of these shows was called TV.com - herein, they provided the best of the internet for new and casual computer users. In the mid-2000s, CNET acquired TV Tome - a television database run by a fan and launched their own website in 2005. Though they acquired and started their own website, they didn't change much from the original TV Tome site.
In 2008, CBS purchased CNET Networks. The company renamed itself to CBS Interactive and TV.com continued to innovate the television viewing experience with features such as watchlist which was new at that time. Other elements that made the service stand out were personalized listings based on user feedback, social media integration, and comprehensive content coverage.
Why should you stream on TV.com?
I like TV.com because it gives users the opportunity to have their voices heard and be part of a community. Normal users like you and me can start conversations and share our thoughts about content. There are dedicated forums where we can express our opinions, ask questions, and give feedback about what we see. By keeping TV.com user-based, CBS has been able to understand our sentiment and use that information to improve the site's services.
Simple sign-up
Signing up on the TV.com website is a breeze. You can access the platform within a couple of minutes. Most membership sites make it difficult for users to sign up, but that's not the case with TV.com.
Show submission
You can submit your own entries on TV.com, which will earn you points. You can share trivia, quotes, images, information about a particular show, and TV.com can make you an editor if you reach a certain level. This way, accurate and in-depth details are available regarding each show. Considering the commitment and contribution that goes into it, TV.com is worth your time and effort!
Center-stage for content information
Many users find it inconvenient and time-consuming to head to the actual website in order to obtain information about a particular TV show. Especially, with streaming sites that produce their own original programming have few ratings or reviews for their content. TV.com, on the other hand, helps gauge the audience's opinion in order to understand if a particular TV show is worth watching.
Amazing community
Plus, I get to interact with other members and make new friends.
Design
The design approach on the website is mixed. I like some aspects but others I don't like as much. For example, the color tone is not consistent throughout the website and the center-aligned section looks outdated. The text and news section have not been updated in a year.
Header
Let's start with something good. There is a huge search bar towards the left. You can use it to access information about your favorite shows directly. Apart from that, there are six other options in the header section- Shows, News, Community, People followed by Login and Join.
Hero Section
The banner ad section is on the right and it takes up half of the page. It's really intrusive and takes away from the user experience.
I really dislike websites that have banner ads right above the hero section. The banner ads are very ?clickbait-ish? and they don't help the user journey in any way. There are two major sections on this website - left is for content and the right is for ads. The content section has a small replay window on the left and some recap thumbnails. The ad section is on the right and it takes up half of the page. It's really intrusive and it takes away from the user experience.
Body
The design is really cluttered and not user-friendly.
The body section of the website is dominated by outdated news, which renders the website's claim of being up to date useless. If you scroll further, you'll find sections such as "What to Watch Online?" "Featured Community Posts?" "Trending Shows?" and "Most Popular Shows?" However, there are dozens of ads across these sections. The right column is filled with native ads from Taboola, there are sponsored content at the bottom along with 3-4 GDN banners. The design of the website is messy and not user-friendly.
Footer
The footer of TV.com is cluttered and looks as if the designer didn't have much time. There are social media icons at the top followed by numerous options such as Shows, Movies, Web, People, News, Mobile, Community, Closed Captioning, Rating Guidelines, About Us, Jobs, and so on.
Inner Pages
The website's inner pages look very cool and well-placed. There is a A-Z filter category with TV Shows, Movies and Web Series at the top. There is a list of the trending TV shows and the option to follow those shows. You will find the name of the program, broadcaster, and synopsis followed by EP Guide, Videos and Community.
Content
TV.com offers a vast array of content, including popular shows like "Modern Family," "According to Jim," "Frontline," "Survivor," and "Fixer Upper." You can also find shows like "American Ninja Warrior," "Big Bang Theory," and "Seinfeld" among the many options on TV.com.
Classification on the basis of genre
On the left side of the screen, you will find twenty-five genres. Clicking on any of these will take you to shows that fit into that category. Some popular genres are Action & Adventure, Animation, Comedy, Business, Arts, Drama, Music, News, Reality, Science, Sports, and Talk Shows & Gaming.
Desktop/Mobile experience
I browsed TV.com on my laptop and later through my Google Pixel 3a and found that the website seemed responsive. Apart from the intrusive ads, I didn't face any hurdle while navigating across the website. Heck, I even found an advertisement from AliExpress between the rating and rankings section.
I liked that the website allowed me to find information and watch the show. I also liked that I could choose the background color of the website.
Plans & Pricing
Registering on TV.com is free, but streaming is not free. You'll be redirected to the partnered networks for streaming.
Suggestions I have for TV.com
I have been struggling with TV.com for a while now and I am not sure what has gone wrong. The website design is outdated and the news section isn't active at all. This project needs to be revamped if it wants to compete with the other online sources of information.
Conclusion
TV.com has the potential to be a great platform. However, the developers are not using their financial backing to develop an independent social media platform just based around TV shows and updates. You can try visiting TV.com to learn about TV shows and updates, but why would you? It is readily available as a search query in the search engine results. This goes to show that TV.com as a platform has been underutilized.
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