Technologizer » Clicker

Clicker Hits the iPhone

Harry McCracken — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 17:00:11 +0000

Clicker, the cool site for TV watchers that’s part Google, part TV Guide, and part virtual TiVo, is launching an iPhone app today. The company’s CEO, Jim Lanzone, told me that it brings much of the features of the site to the small screen, but it’s meant as a companion–there’s a lot less TV available on the iPhone than on the PC-based Web, especially since neither Hulu Plus nor Netflix have launched yet.

As with the site, the Clicker app lets you search for TV shows and get information about where they can be watched on the Web or on the iPhone (both for free and for pay); add shows to a playlist that alerts you when new episodes are available (and which you can get access to in your browser where everything’s available); and check out what your friends are watching.

After the jump, a few screens.

Doing the Math on Online TV

Harry McCracken — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 16:40:21 +0000

Thinking about dumping cable and doing all your TV watching on the Web? Web TV guide Clicker crunched the numbers on how much network programming is available online. It isn’t everything–American Idol and Law & Order are two notable holdouts–but an awfully high percentage of stuff is there. It would be interesting to see similar data for major cable networks.

Clicker’s TV Guide For the Web Opens Up

Harry McCracken — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 22:58:55 +0000

Clicker, the search engine for TV shows on the Web that was announced a couple of months ago at TechCrunch50, is now open to the public. I like the idea, the interface, and many of the features, although it’s still rough around the edges in places.

The site’s mission is simple enough: It wants to help you find and watch the video content that’s scattered all over the Web. (It focuses on professional stuff–much of it repurposed from TV, but also original Web programs such as the ones from Revision3.) You can search for shows, stars, and genres, and get results that include individual episodes and where to watch them online. In some cases, you can watch shows right within Clicker; in others, you need to click away to the originating site.

Most of the programming Clicker points you to is free and ad-supported, but if a particular show is available on Netflix Watch Instantly or Amazon Video on Demand, it’ll find it there. There’s also a nifty TiVo-like playlist feature that lets you subscribe to all episodes (or all new episodes) of a show so they’re waiting for you when you revisit Clicker.

Clicker is slick, useful, and fun. The company says that it’s out of beta as of today, but I did encounter some quirks. For instance, I can’t always figure out its search results: I understand why The Dick Van Dyke Show shows up in the search below, but not why it tells me that The New Dick Van Dyke Show isn’t available, or why Associated Press, Alf, and The Bill Cosby Show do.

I also understand why Clicker thinks that Sesame Street is related to The Electric Company–but not why it thinks a show starring Ollie North is.

Lastly, Clicker lets users add information about shows, IMDb style–but when I attempted to post a memorable quote, I got an entertainingly-designed error screen.

Some of these oddities may be launch-day hiccups. In any event, I like Clicker and look forward to seeing it evolve. If you check it out, let us know your thoughts…

Clicker’s Guide to Online Video

Harry McCracken — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 21:05:08 +0000

I’ve lost track of how many search engines have claimed to be a TV Guide for Web video, or have been described as such by others. This morning at TechCrunch50, another contender joined the fray: Clicker, which is headed by former Ask.com CEO Jim Lanzone. It’s focused on professional content (content from broadcast TV, cable, and some Web-only items); aims to know more than competitors about the shows it finds to make it easier to find programs you’ll like (such as whether they’re comedies or dramas); embeds shows from Hulu, network sites, and other sources; and lets you maintain a personal library of shows so you can come back and watch your favorites.

Looks useful and straightforward enough, but it’s hard to judge until it’s open for business–which it isn’t yet. Here’s a video walkthrough:

Sites like Clicker are going to be important, unless Google and other garden-variety search providers add enough video-specific features to render them superfluous. But to me, the biggest problem with TV shows online isn’t that they’re hard to find, but that too much of the good stuff just isn’t available yet. I’m looking forward to the day when just about anything that’s ever aired on TV in episodic form is available online–including scads of items that never made it to DVD. When that happens–and I’m convinced it will–we’ll really need Clicker or something comparable…