Case studies of second-screen innovation on smartphones and tablets, as well as connected TV.

It may not be long before Comcast and Verizon are both available in some form through Xbox Live, according to a new report from Bloomberg.

It's possible these and other details may be announed as soon as next week. Bloomberg sources claim Microsoft is in talks with "almost two dozen providers of music, sports, movies and TV shows in the US and Europe," and may include HBO, Crackle, Bravo, Syfy and others.

Microsoft has been talking about the idea of incorporating television into Xbox 360 for years. It's not a new concept, it's just taken the company longer than expected to close the deals making it possible.

iPTV (Internet Protocol television) was actually debuted at CES back in 2007. Making the technology work hasn't been the issue, it's been getting content providers on-board to make the access happen.

Maybe we're finally getting there.

USA Network launched a fun new interactive social media mystery game tie-in for its hit TV show Psych.

The game is called #HashTagKiller and it takes place on the Web using Facebook’s Open Graph API. The game launched on Wednesday and will unfold online over the next seven weeks. The game uses video created with the cast specifically for the game, as well as puzzles, clues and Facebook messages between series leads Shawn and Gus.

GetGlue has announced a brand new partnership with Entertainment Weekly and Gap, incentivizing check-ins with real rewards. This fall, when you collect Entertainment Weekly stickers on social TV app GetGlue you will qualify to receive a bonus reward of 40% off of one regularly priced item at participating Gap stores. This makes Gap the first major retail partner to promote their fall collection alongside the Fall TV Season with a viral in-store incentive.

According to a press release, EW.com has curated a list of Must-See Fall TV shows. Readers that check-in to the featured shows with the GetGlue app will earn EW Fall TV Fan stickers, including the Fall TV Walk-On sticker, Fall TV Sidekick sticker, Fall TV Star sticker and Fall TV Showrunner sticker (pictured below). When a user earns one of these four stickers, they’ll learn how they can receive the 40% bonus reward from Gap. Users will also be invited to check-in to Gap to share the special offer with their friends on Facebook and Twitter.

Fran Hauser, the digital president for Time Inc’s Style and Entertainment Group says, “We’re thrilled to continue this innovative program with two great brands in Gap and GetGlue. EW’s partnership with GetGlue serves as the perfect vehicle for Gap to promote their fall collection and engage consumers in a meaningful way. This is a great added incentive to our already passionate readers who want to engage in the online fall TV conversation.”

Alex Iskold, CEO and Founder of GetGlue, added, “Today’s partnership is a perfect example of what GetGlue is all about—connecting fans to the entertainment brands they love and offering them exclusive rewards, both online and off. Gap and Entertainment Weekly are two brands that resonate with our users, and we couldn’t have asked for better partners for our first major retail partnership.”

What do you think about this latest promotion from GetGlue, Gap and Entertainment Weekly? Will you be checking in to earn your 40% bonus reward?

Mobile app usage peaks at around 7 pm during the day, according to the mobile analytics firm Flurry. The data shows that, just as there is with television, there is a prime-time for mobile apps as well. Mobile app users generally use their apps from 3 pm to 10 pm, with the peak time being around 7 pm. That’s slightly off from the usual television prime-time, which lasts from around 7 pm to 11 pm. By comparison, the prime-time for the internet is around 3 pm to 11 pm. Advertisers will find that particularly interesting, as it suggests that they might profit by advertising on mobile apps during certain times of the day. With TV, advertisers seek to target audiences as efficiently as possible. For instance, they could target 24-year-old to 35-year-old females during prime-time TV shows that reach that audience. For TV, prime-time is the period that attracts the most viewers and has the most lucrative advertising. For radio, driving time is the most valuable “daypart.” On the internet, the evening is the most active time. Flurry tracks 110,000 mobile apps on Android, iOS, Windows Phone, BlackBerry, and J2ME phones. Flurry looked at apps such as games and social networks that are used by more than 15 million consumers (15 years and older) a day. The source for the internet and TV data is Michael Zimbalist, vice president of research for the New York Times. Overall, compared to TV viewing and internet usage, mobile app usage is higher from 6 am to 6 pm. Mobile app usage starts sliding downward fast around 9 pm. From 7 am to 10 am, the percent of mobile app users who are using apps is greater than that of mobile internet users. During 10 am, roughly 30 percent of mobile device owners use an app during that hour. One day, Flurry says, advertisers will be able to target a tightly defined audience that uses different apps. Flurry also notes that the number of users who sign on to mobile apps from 7 am to 11 pm is equivalent to 17 American Idol finale show audiences.

Mark Burnett explains:

 "As a TV producer, I love nothing more than finding the next big thing. When I put Survivor on television, no one, including me, knew how popular reality television would become. Now, Youtoo is paving the way for social TV, which is the next generation of television."

Added Dean Waters, CEO of VIMBY:

"As cultivators of skilled filmmakers from around the country, we are excited to be part of a new venture that takes creative empowerment to the viewers themselves and allows them to become part of the content."

"Since millions of people want to be on TV, we have an app for that," explains Chris Wyatt, CEO of Youtoo. "Think of it as Facebook meets TV, it's the evolution of the social network. In addition to interacting with your friends and followers, you can be on national television and interact with millions of people. Log on to youtoo.com to see what it's all about."

Youtoo developed this revolutionary technology, which allows viewers to record and submit videos that are then filtered for content and broadcast on TV. This automated process enables anyone, from anywhere, with Internet access or a mobile device to be on TV within minutes.