How to Immerse a TV Audience (Hint: Save the Cheerleader, Save the World)
May 7th, 2007 by Wilson TanI’m a Heroes fan and, in my recent talks with students, have cited NBC’s embrace of digital media as a prime example of traditional media “exposing” itself by providing a 360-experience that taps into the fan network. What’s neat about Heroes?
- Heroes Rewind: Free, full online videos available five hours after broadcast; entire season is posted online for free (ad free!)
- Commentary: Full-length cast commentary for each episode
- Novels: Online graphic novel (PDF and Flash) that runs concurrent with the broadcast; new characters are introduced and plot lines intertwined and enriched
- Blogs by director Greg Beaman and most the popular character, Hiro (each post gets hundreds of comments, not bad for a fictitious blog)
- Wiki that captures episode guides, mythology, art, trivia, predictions and speculations, etc.
- Theories: User submitted videos about what happens next in the storyline; available as a widget. (Top Five Theories)
- On the go: Heroes on your mobile device
Kudos to NBC for generating this rich, engaging content. As it matures, I trust that the layout and navigation will get cleaner and slicker. I’m eager to see and learn from the upcoming NBC Social Network.
May 8th, 2007 at 1:26 pm
ABC has similar content on their site as well, and I can say I have definitely taken advantage of the Grey’s Anatomy section! They feature blogs and podcasts with the show’s producers as well.
I think networks are making a wise decision intertwining content from the TV to the web. Their brands are further enhanced, they can track who is visiting their sites, and all the while viewers are receiving the information and interaction they crave.