Do you find yourself watching a lot of TV? Maybe some football here, HGTV there, and a little Duck Dynasty in between? Wouldn’t it be great if you were rewarded for all that TV-watching you’re doing each day?
Luckily enough, there is an app that does just that! Viggle, available in the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store, tracks your TV-watching habits and gives you points based on the amount of time you’ve been watching TV.
Audio Tracking
Think that you’re going to need to scroll through a TV-Guide like list of what’s on TV so that you can select your show? Think again! Viggle integrates audio-tracking technology to listen to your TV for 10-20 seconds. The app then send that information to its audio servers, which then tells the app which show you’re watching! You just need to click to confirm that that’s the program on your TV and you’re all set to start earning points. Since many people switch channels or turn off the TV after their show is over, you do need to have Viggle ‘re-listen’ to each new show that comes on. Points are earned at the rate of about 2 points per minute of TV-watching. Certain events, like Viggle-sponsored shows, special events like the Oscars, and pro sporting events can offer further chances to earn more points. Viggle also holds double points weekends where all shows earn double points!
Earning Gift Cards and More
So what can you do with all of these points that you’ve earned from your hours of TV watching? Spend them, of course! Viggle offers a range of redemption options from gift cards to electronics or even a cruise! Most of the gift cards are food or retail-focused, with Starbucks, McDonalds, Chilis, and Papa John’s rounding out the food menu, and Spotify, Groupon, and Lowe’s taking the retail section. Larger prizes include a Kindle Fire HD for 375,000 points and even a Royal Caribbean cruise for 4,000,000 points! Those four million points would take nearly for years of 24-hour TV watching to earn, so if you’re gunning for the big prize, make sure you’re taking advantage of points weekends and watching Viggle-sponsored events.
Privacy
There are those that worry about their privacy with these kind of apps, but Viggle does a good job of letting the user know what does and doesn’t fly with them. Up front, Viggle says that they can use your watching data as they want, but on an anonymous basis. They are a business and their main product is you. However, as the app is set up, you don’t have to tell Viggle about every show you’re watching. Want to earn points for watching COPS but don’t want to have Dancing with the Stars on your permanent record? No problem – just don’t sign in to DWTS. You won’t earn any point for the dancing show, but you can be sure that Viggle and it’s data buyers don’t know about it.
Overall, Viggle can be a fun app that rewards you for something that you already do – watching a lot of TV! Good prizes start at about 12,500 points, and you get a free 5,000 points at signup, so get watching!
