Bingers has officially launched as a new TV and movie-tracking platform, aiming to fill the void left by the abrupt shutdown of TV Time. Developed by Antonio Pinto, one of the original co-founders of TV Time, the app seeks to restore the beloved community features that were abandoned when parent company Whip Media shuttered the service to pivot toward AI-focused initiatives.
A Community Left Behind
Whip Media’s decision to sunset TV Time sparked widespread frustration among its loyal user base, which had accumulated over 26.4 million installs. In a final attempt to keep the platform alive, more than 28,000 users signed a petition, offering to support the app through crowdfunding or subscription models. Despite these efforts, the service was permanently decommissioned.
Reviving the Social Connection
TV Time stood out because it was more than just a checklist; it was a social hub. Users flocked to the forums to debate episode theories, create memes, and connect with fellow fans. Pinto noted that the community remained surprisingly active even when the app suffered from years of neglect and lack of updates.
“I believe TV Time was a diamond in the rough that kind of lost its way,” Pinto stated. “To me, that was the sign that TV Time had something unique that no other social platform has.” With the launch of Bingers, Pinto is prioritizing this interactive social experience and providing a pathway for users to import their historical data from TV Time’s previous GDPR-compliant export tool.
Features and Sustainable Tech
Bingers is structured around three core pillars: content tracking, discovery, and social engagement. Like its predecessor, it allows fans to build profiles, rate episodes, use emojis to express reactions, and share media such as GIFs and photos within episode threads.
To avoid the financial pitfalls that hampered TV Time, Pinto has architected Bingers to utilize on-device processing. By handling heavy tasks like watchlist management and calendar syncing locally on the user’s phone, the app significantly reduces server-side costs. Initially, monetization will rely on direct user contributions to cover operational expenses, with plans for a long-term business model that may eventually bridge digital interactions with real-world events.
The Bingers app is available for download on both iOS and Android.
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