Scener Social Commentary Platform Lets Fans Go Deeper Into Their Favorite Streaming Programs

Have you ever been watching a movie or bingeing a television show on Netflix or Hulu and wished that you could share your reactions as they happen? Now, thanks to Scener, you can.

Scener, a new commentary platform that launches today, is designed to give everyone the ability to create, share, and enjoy real-time picture-in-picture commentary while enjoying their favorite shows, movies, and more while streaming. The platform allows users to be part of a “hosted show” experience and provides a more social and entertaining way to watch your favorite content and interact with it as well. It takes the idea of sharing your reactions on social media, such as Leslie Jones did with Avengers: Infinity War last month, to the next and more personal level. You can check out the sizzle reel for Scener above.

Seamlessly overlaying with Netflix, Hulu, and YouTube via a free Google Chrome extension, Scener allows anyone share their experiences or expertise by “hosting” a show, movie, or even video clip, but it’s more than just a tool for creating commentary. And the best part? It’s all completely legal. One of the issues previously with making video commentary about television and movies was the copyright issues involved. With Scener, you’re watching the program while making your own, thanks to Scener’s web-based overlay. In order to watch the content Scener users are talking about, you’ll have to the corresponding subscription service the original program is on.

Scener also has a social aspect, allowing users to interact with their favorite hosts by liking and commenting on videos. It’s that community aspect that Joe Braidwood, co-founder and CMO of Scener says that audience are hungry for when it comes to connecting with entertainment.

“Scener has incredible potential to broaden the dialogue between the makers and the consumers of entertainment content,” Braidwood says. “Audiences are hungry for new platforms, tools and communities to enhance the traditional way we watch films and video so that there is more crosspollination, fan-theories, and creative feedback. Our goal is to enhance storytelling and story consumption: with platforms like Scener, studios, directors, producers, and writers will be guided to make more informed decisions about the content their audiences crave.”

It was also that hunger for connection to entertainment that inspired the vision for Scener, thanks to some of the more epic and major moments on HBO’s Game of Thrones.

“The vision for Scener came from the desire to rewind social media commentary for the big moments in Game of Thrones episodes,” Daniel Strickland, co-founder and CTO of Scener says. “Since then, we’ve been hard at work to create a whole new way for people to watch their favorite shows and movies together… and we’re just getting started. It will be amazing to see how creative communities will use Scener to engage audiences in delightful and unexpected ways.”

Braidwood, who is originally from England, also is inspired by being able to participate with programs more naturally, especially when it comes to watching programs with his friends back home.

“One of the things I miss from home is British television,” Braidwood said. “You know, Netflix is even doing a great job of signing British television’s content onto the platform, but Daniel and I literally were just having this discussion, because when a big new show debuts I would totally stay up into the late hours so that I could watch it with my buddies who I miss from London and we could create our own sort of live moment and that’s the quartz of what we think Scener should become as it evolves. Even if you can’t sync your time zones, the beauty of Scener is that it captures all of the reactions and syncs them with the content so you can still follow along with something that your friends did last night and see it as if you were there with them at that moment.”

If that sounds a little bit like a reinvention of how people experience their favorite entertainment, it’s because in many ways it is. Scener is incubated by media streaming pioneer RealNetworks Inc. which has a long history of revolutionizing media.

“Over 20 years ago, we at Real revolutionized media by inventing the world’s first commercial internet streaming system,” Rob Glaser, Executive Chairmen of Scener and founder and CEO of RealNetworks Inc. said. “With the launch of Scener, we’re reinventing the streaming experience itself.”

And just because Scener is a brand new platform doesn’t mean fans have to wait to enjoy the commentary and content. The platform is debuting with over 600 hosted movies, episodes, and videos cover a wide range of programs and interests including popular YouTube content creator Filup Molina’s unpacking of fan theories behind Breaking Bad, comedic takes on The Santa Clarita Diet and more by breakout Vine Star Hannah Pilkes, and even Mark Bernardin, Marvel and DC Comics writer as well as co-host of Fatman on Batman with Kevin Smith is on Scener as well. Bernardin in particular brings an in-depth, writer’s perspective to Sin City through the platform, taking viewers even deeper into the film based on Frank Miller’s graphic novel, showing that the options for what content you create is as limitless and varied as the shows and movies available. It’s something that Strickland is very excited about.

“Really, we see this as trying to enhance the future of storytelling and the future of story consumption,” he said. “That’s why we’re so excited.”

To find out more, as well as host your own show or just check out what others have already created, you can check out Scener here.

Will you be checking out Scener? Let us know in the comments below or hit me up on Twitter @lifeinpolaroid to talk movies, television, and more!