Shazam's TV Strategy

Shazam seemed like magic when it debuted in 2008 on the iPhone. The app can identify nearly any song playing on the radio, even over the din of a coffee shop. It’s been downloaded more than 200 million times and become modestly successful; by steering buyers to iTunes and other music services, it generated about $24 million in revenue for the 12 months ending June 2011, the most recent figures available.

Now Shazam Entertainment is moving away from its musical roots. David Jones, vice president of marketing, says Shazam’s audio-matching technology can do more than help barflies settle bets about what’s playing on the jukebox. It can, he says, help advertisers and broadcasters make money from TV viewers increasingly distracted by iPhones and iPads. According to Nielsen, more than 40 percent of tablet and smartphone owners use their devices to read e-mail or scan the news while watching TV. Instead of fighting this attention-deficit trend, Shazam says media companies and marketers should embrace it.