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Syfy and LG team up to deliver interactive TV experience
MUMBAI: Syfy and LG Electronics USA have launched a new interactive TV consumer experience. The new Syfy Sync for LG Smart TV app allows viewers to go inside their favorite Syfy shows in a whole new way by recognizing the episode viewers are watching and delivering contextual content to their LG Smart TV in real time.
Syfy Sync for LG Smart TV launched with the Season 3 premiere of Defiance on 12 June on Syfy. Viewers with LG Smart TVs can get behind-the-scenes trivia, participate in interactive polls and learn more about the backstory of the series. The Syfy Sync app responds to what viewers are watching and delivers a whole new level of interaction while they are actively watching their favorite Syfy shows on their LG Smart TV.
The Syfy Sync app for Defiance is available exclusively on LG Smart TVs, delivering an engaging new dimension to home entertainment with fun, interactive features paired with leading LG TV display technology.
The interactive feature will be available on Automatic Content Recognition (ACR)-enabled LG TVs with Netcast since 2012, and will be available soon on LG Smart TVs featuring LG’s award-winning webOS Smart TV platform. LG webOS makes the Smart TV experience fast and simple with an intuitive interface that enables users to spend more time enjoying their home entertainment experience, and less time finding and switching between content options.
“From its inception, Syfy Sync has always been seen as a multiplatform play and we’re thrilled to be partnering with LG to bring the experience it to a new platform with season 3 of Defiance. The LG Smart TV platform provides an incredible user experience along with an incredible TV picture quality for Syfy’s devoted fans to go even deeper into our programming,” said Syfy vice president of digital media and strategy Matthew Chiavelli.
LG Electronics USA vice president of marketing David VanderWaal added, “Interactive TV with Syfy’s Defiance delivers a new, engaging TV experience, leveraging the power and simplicity of LG’s webOS Smart TV platform along with our incredible picture quality. Syfy and NBC Universal have been pioneers in real-time interactive TV for second-screen viewing, and LG is enthusiastic to work with them to bring this integrated experience to the big screen.”
Syfy engaged Watchwith to power the in-program interactive engagement that appears as a subtle broadcast graphic-style overlay in the upper left portion of the screen. Watchwith’s unique in-program interactive audience engagement platform delivers an award-winning Syfy Sync experience right to the living room screen.
LG’s recognition and interactive platform is powered by Cognitive Networks, the leading provider of ACR services on Smart TVs. Cognitive’s system allows Smart TVs to become contextually aware, enabling the launch of intelligently synchronized HTML5 web applications and the real-time seamless connection of live or time-shifted over-the-air programming with services delivered via broadband.
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Oracle layoffs affect up to 30,000 employees globally
Job cuts span US, India and more, staff cite abrupt emails, uncertainty.
MUMBAI: April began with an inbox shock and for thousands, it ended with an exit. Oracle has carried out a sweeping round of layoffs, impacting an estimated 20,000 to 30,000 employees across its global operations, even as the company continues to report strong business performance. The job cuts were communicated via emails sent early on April 1, affecting staff across multiple regions including the United States, India, Canada and parts of Latin America. The reduction spans a wide range of roles and functions, though the company has not disclosed specific criteria behind the decisions.
In the days following the layoffs, employees have taken to platforms such as LinkedIn to share their experiences, many describing the process as abrupt and unsettling. Several posts pointed to a lack of prior indication, with notifications arriving suddenly in early-morning messages.
A recurring concern has been the impact on long-tenured staff. Users reported that employees with decades of experience were among those let go, raising broader questions about job security even for seasoned professionals within large technology firms.
The layoffs have also sparked anxiety about the wider direction of the sector. As companies continue to invest heavily in automation and artificial intelligence, workforce recalibration is becoming more common often accompanied by uncertainty around future roles and skills.
For many affected employees, the immediate challenge lies in navigating career transitions in an increasingly competitive job market, with posts reflecting concerns about stability and next steps.
The development comes against a backdrop of strong financial performance at Oracle, which recently reported a 22 percent year-on-year increase in revenue, alongside continued growth in its cloud infrastructure business. The company has also been committing significant capital towards artificial intelligence and data centre expansion.
The contrast between growth and job cuts has added to the unease, underscoring a broader shift in how large technology firms balance expansion with efficiency sometimes at the cost of the very workforce that helped build that growth.
