The practice of second screening is something that has emerged from consumer culture as a result of the widespread use of smartphones and tablets.
When people are watching television at home, it is now common for them also to have direct access to a secondary screen, usually on a portable device with web access provided through a local Wi-Fi connection or mobile network provider.
Second screening has a variety of implications for broadcast media, both of a positive and negative nature.
On the plus side it can be used to create increased user engagement, with companion apps and social networks allowing for enhanced levels of user activity when watching movies and TV shows or playing video games.
Conversely, for TV advertisers the second screen culture can mean that an audience's attention is divided between their main living-room display and a companion device, so that ad breaks risk being ignored while consumers transfer their attention to the smartphone or tablet in their hands.
But what are the business implications of second screening and how can companies take advantage of this trend rather than see it as an unwanted complication?