Adding another interactive element to the TV mix, Comcast and NBC said customers on the MSO’s X1 platform can now use their remote controls to pull up ballots and cast votes for their favorite artists during live telecasts of The Voice. The feature for X1 debuts with tonight’s episode, which starts at 8 p.m. ET.
All X1 boxes will support the voting feature. Comcast's X1 customers can vote via the voice remote by saying, “Vote for The Voice,” into their X1 voice remotes, or by pressing the “info” button on any X1 remote.
The ballot, appearing on the right side of the TV screen, categorizes the artists by team, allowing viewers to cast a vote for their favorite performers. Viewers can cast one vote per artist on X1 during the live broadcast and up until on hour after the conclusion of that night’s show.
Comcast said X1 is currently the only partner of NBC’s The Voice to offer a TV-based voting option (Comcast owns NBC).
About 57% of Comcast’s residential pay TV subscriber base, which stood at 21.34 million at the end of Q3, is on X1. Comcast has deployed more than 17 million X1 voice remotes so far.
Comcast hasn’t announced when it will extend similar voting capabilities to other shows from NBC or other programmers, but it’s already using X1 to deliver interactive features like its sports app, as well as widgets for weather, horoscopes, news, traffic, and access to voice mail and the Xfinity My Account app.
“We look forward to amplifying the excitement of the live shows even more by giving fans of watching The Voice on X1 a new way to interact with the show this season,” Daniel Spinosa, vice president, entertainment services for Comcast Cable, said in a statement. We believe X1 offers customers the best in-home entertainment experience, and this is another great example of how we are partnering with networks to leverage the platform to create new interactive experiences.”
“The Voice has always been a show that leverages the digital space, and each season we continue to innovate on ways to engage fans across platforms,” added Rob Hayes, EVP, digital at NBC Entertainment. “The X1 partnership, which gives audiences a seamless interactive viewing experience, is a natural extension of The Voice’s brand as one of the most social shows on television.”
