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How tweet: Stars
talking live to their fans

What better way to show engagement than for actors to tweet

By Louisa Ada Seltzer
Feb 8, 2012

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'Modern Family's' Alex (center) will tweet during tonight's show

Two and a half years ago, when "Glee" was just starting out, Fox had the crazy idea to get the new show's stars to live tweet an episode of the show.

The gimmick was a big success, and now other networks have embraced the idea, especially during sweeps. Tonight ABC's "Modern Family" at 9 p.m. and "Happy Endings" at 9:30 will both have stars live-tweeting their episodes, and two more ABC shows ("Cougar Town" and "Suburgatory") will do the same next week.

"Family's" Ariel Winter (@arielwinter1), who plays the Dunphys' middle daughter, Alex, and "Endings'" Eliza Coupe (@Eliza_Coupe) and Damon Wayans Jr. (@wayansjr) will be doing the live tweeting tonight.

The idea is to interact with fans and give them an inside look at the shooting of the episode, revealing details that aren't immediately apparent from watching the show.

The end result is a more engaged viewer, and that's something all the networks are concerned about right now.

Several recent studies have shown that even while people are watching TV, they're not fully engaged. More than half are using a tablet, smartphone or other device to surf the web, and the presumption is they're doing so during commercials, which does not please advertisers.

But if they're interacting with something in the show, like a Twitter feed, perhaps that will help keep these viewers more engaged with what's on screen.

The live-tweeting gambit probably won't raise ratings for either show, though they're doing well this season, especially "Family," ABC's No. 1 program. "Family" is averaging a 5.6 adults 18-49 rating, according to Nielsen, while "Endings" is averaging a 3.1.

A look at this week’s top TV draws
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 8
Time	Network	Program	Description
8 p.m.	CBS	"Person to Person" (N)	Charlie Rose and Lara Logan interview George Clooney, Warren Buffett and Jon Bon Jovi.
8 p.m.	Fox	"American Idol" (R)	The Hollywood round gets underway.
9 p.m.	NBC	"Rock Center with Brian Williams" (N)	Moves to a new night and timeslot.
9 p.m.	Showtime	"Inside the NFL" (S)	Season finale. Putting an end to the NFL season.
10 p.m.	BBC America	"Mistresses" (D)	Season finale. The women deal with a shocking death.
10 p.m.	Food Network	"Restaurant: Impossible" (R)	Season premiere. Irvine tries to make over a failing restaurant in Ohio.
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 9
Time	Network	Program	Description
8 p.m.	Fox	"American Idol" (R)	Another Hollywood round episode.
8 p.m.	NBC	"30 Rock" (C)	The first of back-to-back Valentine's Day-themed episodes.
8:30 p.m.	Showtime	"On the Shoulders of Giants" (N)	Documentary about an all-black basketball team in the 1940s.
9 p.m.	ABC	"Grey's Anatomy" (D)	Lexie and Mark both have to babysit on Valentine's Day.
9 p.m.	History	"Swamp People" (R)	Season premiere. First episode of the season promises plenty of alligators.
10 p.m.	MTV	"Jersey Shore" (R)	J-Woww has BF drama when Roger won't return her calls.
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 10
Time	Network	Program	Description
7 p.m.	USA	"NFL Characters Unite" (A)	Football personalities tell their tales of discrimination.
8 p.m.	ABC	"Shark Tank" (R)	Inventions include a towel used for changing bathing suits and a combination sweater-quilt.
8 p.m.	ESPN	"NBA Basketball" (S)	The Lakers take on the Knicks in New York.
9 p.m.	CBS	"CSI: NY" (D)	Two seemingly random deaths turn out to be related.
10 p.m.	Animal Planet	"Confessions: Animal Hoarding" (R)	A man secretly keeps way too many dogs in a junkyard.
10:30 p.m.	ESPN	"NBA Basketball" (S)	Western Conference matchup between the Thunder and Jazz.
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11
Time	Network	Program	Description
1 p.m.	CBS	"College Basketball" (S)	Big East rivalry game between Connecticut and Syracuse.
2 p.m.	NBC	"Winter Dew Tour" (S)	The season-ending Toyota Championship featuring men's snowboarding.
3 p.m.	CBS	"PGA Golf" (S)	Tiger Woods should help boost ratings for the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.
6 p.m.	ESPN	"College Basketball" (S)	Good Big Ten matchup between Michigan State and Ohio State.
8 p.m.	Fox	"America's Most Wanted" (N)	Special "Crimes of Passion" edition.
10:30 p.m.	DIY	"The Bronson Pinchot Project" (R)	Series premiere. Is that Balki? Yes, yes it is.
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 12
Time	Network	Program	Description
3 p.m.	CBS	"PGA Golf" (S)	Final round from Pebble Beach, which of course will do well if Tiger's in contention.
3:30 p.m.	ABC	"NBA Basketball" (S)	Good Eastern Conference game between the Bulls and Celtics.
8 p.m.	CBS	"Grammy Awards" (A)	The 54th annual ceremony, hosted by LL Cool J.
9 p.m.	AMC	"The Walking Dead" (D)	The second half of season two has Rick trying to calm things down a bit.
10 p.m.	Discovery Channel	"The 9/11 Tapes: Chaos in the Sky" (N)	A new look at the Sept. 11 attacks.
10:30 p.m.	HBO	"Angry Boys" (C)	Season finale. Blake gives surfing another try.
A = awards show or special, C = comedy, D = drama, DD = daytime drama, G = game show, K = kids, M = movie, N = news/documentary, R = reality, S = sports, T = talk/variety show.