The search giant now allows viewers to vote for their favorite performers directly through their site. The site allows viewers to vote on desktops, mobile phones, or tablets. Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) will soon offer on-air voting progress based on real time data from the East Coast.
How fans can use Google search to vote
Fans who want to vote via Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) need to either go on the website or load the official Google search application on their phone/tablet during the voting hours. Viewers can vote up to 50 times per contestant and vote for as many contestants as they want. Viewers then submit their votes to American Idol. Afterwards, users can watch AI videos on YouTube and share on Google+ if they want.
Since the first show with open voting starts tonight, Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) launched the voting feature today. Facebook has yet to announce their feature, which likely indicates it could be for a few select shows.
Fox speaks about partnerships with Google and Facebook
Bill Bradford (senior vice president for Fox) said in a statement, “This season of American Idol is all about re-connecting fans with what they love most about the show – the journey of the contestants from hopefuls to stardom. With the help of innovators like Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) and Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB), this season, we’re deepening that connection by making it easy for fans to make a bigger impact and be a bigger part of the show than ever before.”
Just last month, Fox, FremantleMedia, and 19 Entertainment/Core Media Group officially announced the partnership with both companies.
American Idol has been struggling in the last few years trying to attain its status as one of the must-watch reality shows. With the frequent change-ups on the judge panel, it’s not hard to see the show struggle to get back to its glory days.
