COUCH POTATOES GO INTERACTIVE TV NETWORKS HOPING TO LURE NEW AUDIENCES WITH SHOWS' GROUNDBREAKING CONTENT ONLINE.Byline: David Kronke Television Writer Call it must-experience TV. As networks reveal their fall lineups this week, there's an emphasis on drawing people in not just as viewers, but as online participants as well. For example, NBC's ``TV 360'' will offer Webisodes of ``The Office'' and online mysteries from ``Law & Order: Criminal Intent.'' It'll even have an animated comic book comic book Bound collection of comic strips, usually in chronological sequence, typically telling a single story or a series of different stories. The first true comic books were marketed in 1933 as giveaway advertising premiums. tied to the new series ``Heroes,'' about a group of people who discover they have superpowers. Programmers hope that using innovative and interactive online elements will prove an effective way to attract a broader audience to their shows, and one that's far cheaper than advertising. ``We all live in an online universe -- more and more of people's time is spent on the Web and less in front of the TV,'' says Jon Vlassopulos, vice president of Endemol New Media and Strategic Planning Strategic planning is an organization's process of defining its strategy, or direction, and making decisions on allocating its resources to pursue this strategy, including its capital and people. , who helped develop ``Deal or No Deal's'' online game for NBC NBC in full National Broadcasting Co. Major U.S. commercial broadcasting company. It was formed in 1926 by RCA Corp., General Electric Co. (GE), and Westinghouse and was the first U.S. company to operate a broadcast network. , which lets visitors get the experience of being a contestant online. ``The idea is for the viewer to not stop thinking about our shows. It's our responsibility as producers to provide entertaining experiences beyond the TV window.'' We're not talking about blogs for TV series or inventive pages offering character biographies at sites like MySpace.com, which have helped shows like ``The Office'' and ``Nip/Tuck.'' We're talking about campaigns that transform TV viewing from mere passive couch-potato behavior to a more participatory experience, and one that often creates community. Here are five cutting-edge online strategies that have brought fans closer to their favorite shows than was possible in the past. ``The Lost Experience'' http://www.thelostexperience.com Perhaps the most ambitious of the new marketing campaigns is an online mystery providing a parallel narrative to ABC's hit drama about plane-crash survivors stranded on a bizarre island. ``The Lost Experience,'' created in conjunction with 20 different networks across five continents, offers further insights into the island and what might be transpiring tran·spire v. tran·spired, tran·spir·ing, tran·spires v.tr. To give off (vapor containing waste products) through the pores of the skin or the stomata of plant tissue. v.intr. 1. there. Clues in the online mystery were first revealed on the May 3 episode. ``It's a parallel story line related to the island, not the characters on `Lost,' nor specifically about what's going on What's Going On is a record by American soul singer Marvin Gaye. Released on May 21, 1971 (see 1971 in music), What's Going On reflected the beginning of a new trend in soul music. on the show -- it's a whole other mystery,'' explains Mike Benson, senior vice president of marketing for ABC Entertainment ABC Entertainment is a network production company owned by The Walt Disney Company and ABC that created in 1982. It produced shows like America's Funniest Home Videos, America's Funniest People, and H.E.L.P.. . ``It's broken apart in different puzzle pieces hiding all over the world, not just on the Internet. ``What we're seeing happening is, a global community has come together (to discuss the series),'' he continues, adding that online response has ``exceeded expectations almost tenfold.'' ``Once you figure out the story, when it all comes together by the end of the story, you'll have more answers to what's going on on the island.'' Like the show itself, ``The Lost Experience'' offers a serpentine serpentine (sûr`pəntēn, –tīn), hydrous silicate of magnesium. It occurs in crystalline form only as a pseudomorph having the form of some other mineral and is generally found in the form of chrysotile (silky fibers) and , convoluted series of incidents, clues and minutiae mi·nu·ti·a n. pl. mi·nu·ti·ae A small or trivial detail: "the minutiae of experimental and mathematical procedure" Frederick Turner. . ``It really is almost overwhelming,'' Benson concedes of the campaign. ``Some people are diving so deep into it. It's very much like the show itself. We're getting people more engaged in the show.'' Some of the characters in the online mystery, Benson says, may turn up on the show next season. ``Rather than just having fans sit through summer repeats, we're rewarding them with another way to engage with the program,'' he says. ``We're giving core fans more, and it's a very unique Internet experience that gets people engaged so that they want to watch more `Lost,' and also share it with their friends.'' ``The L Word'' fanisode http://lword.fanlib.com Fans of Showtime's drama about Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. lesbian friends were invited to collaborate on an online script contest. While the screenplay was being crafted, the series' ratings jumped 50 percent. ``It helped our fans find content while not watching the show, and it extended the story,'' says Rob Hayes, general manager of digital media at Showtime show·time or show time n. 1. The time at which an entertainment, such as the showing of a movie, is scheduled to start. 2. Slang The time at which an activity is to begin. Noun 1. . ``We have a robust message board community. People were already writing stories and scripts, so this was a natural extension of that. They'd tell friends to check out what they wrote, so that helped us introduce the show to a new audience.'' While no decision has been made yet whether to shoot the resulting script, Hayes says, ``We gave fans a site they could get involved in. You could spend a lot of time on the site voting and revoting (on what scenes and story lines to use in the script). It deepened fans' relationship with the show.'' ``Rescue Me 2.5'' http://television.aol.com/feature/rescue-me-tv-show-video-clip FX's sardonic drama about emotionally scarred New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of firefighters is offering a hilarious 15-minute film online. Written by series co-creator Denis Denis, king of Portugal: see Diniz. Leary, the Webisode concerns a large, apparently menacing animal infiltrating the firehouse, sending otherwise brave men into paroxysms of unbridled panic. ``It chronologically fits in between seasons two and three of the show,'' says John Landgraf John Landgraf is the FX Network President and Executive Producer of the show 30 Days. References
In addition to seeing the film online, cable and satellite providers are offering it on demand, and FX also presented it on a Times Square electronic billboard. The network accepted the added expense of creating a mini-episode, Landgraf explains, because ``this is a tremendously critically acclaimed show, and it's a hit show as we define a hit. But we're not a complacent bunch of people -- our impulse is to keep digging and try to find it an even larger audience. ``So we asked, `Can we grow an organic buzz factor with a piece of material like this?' We could never afford to buy all this (attention) three weeks before its premiere (the show returns May 30). This is entirely unknown territory to see if something can inspire new viewers.'' ``Texas Ranch House's'' ``Mootube'' http://www.mootube.com For PBS' reality series plopping participants in the rustic world of 19th-century ranchers, the network created a cheeky Web site offering a cow's-eye view of Texas plains. ``Cow-cams'' affixed af·fix tr.v. af·fixed, af·fix·ing, af·fix·es 1. To secure to something; attach: affix a label to a package. 2. to cattle present pastoral images alongside comic blogs from cows and TV crews. ``Every now and again we come up with a good idea,'' allowed Jim Dreesen, PBS' director of advertising for prime time. ``Part of the game is staying one step ahead of everyone else. We can't outspend out·spend tr.v. out·spent , out·spend·ing, out·spends 1. To spend beyond the limits of: outspends his earnings. 2. the broadcast networks -- we can never approach their spending. All we can do is outthink out·think tr.v. out·thought , out·think·ing, out·thinks 1. To outdo (another) in thinking. 2. To outwit by thinking. them. In a world where you're bombarded by the media, this was a peaceful alternative to everything else in the marketplace.'' More than half a million visitors were herded to Mootube, resulting in 2.7 million viewers to the ``Texas Ranch House'' Web site at PBS PBS in full Public Broadcasting Service Private, nonprofit U.S. corporation of public television stations. PBS provides its member stations, which are supported by public funds and private contributions rather than by commercials, with educational, cultural, .org, reports Cindy Johanson of PBS Interactive. Which is important, she says, because ``66 percent of those who go to PBS.org watch more on PBS because of their engagement with our Internet content.'' CBS' ``innertube'' http://www.cbs.com/innertube CBS recently introduced an advertiser-supported broadband network featuring both original programming such as the sketch show ``BBQ BBQ barbecue Bill'' and the reality series ``Greek to Chic'' as well as behind-the-scenes investigations of ``Survivor'' and ``Big Brother.'' Pilots developed for the network that weren't picked up will likely be available, as will supplemental material from ongoing series. ``We assume two things: We assume that some of the audience will come from our existing television audience because they're interested in CBS and many of these shows are extensions of their favorites,'' says Larry Kramer Larry Kramer (born June 25 1935 in Bridgeport, Connecticut), is an American playwright, author, public health advocate and gay rights activist. He was nominated for an Academy Award, was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, and was twice a recipient of an Obie Award. , president of CBS Digital Media. ``We also assume we're going to attract a more Web-centric audience that will be somewhat younger, that's used to getting programming on the Web and may not be used to CBS programming.'' Nancy Tellem Nancy Tellem (born December 1, 1953, in Danville, California) currently serves as President of CBS Paramount Television Network Entertainment Group. She is responsible for deciding which shows appear on CBS, supervises the current prime-time, daytime, late-night, and Saturday morning , president of the CBS/Paramount Network Television Entertainment Group, adds, ``This gives us a whole new opportunity to develop new ideas "New Ideas" is the debut single by Scottish New Wave/Indie Rock act The Dykeenies. It was first released as a Double A-side with "Will It Happen Tonight?" on July 17, 2006. The band also recorded a video for the track. on a platform that doesn't demand the high costs we experience on the network side. A lot of producers are excited about exploring ideas that just may not make sense to develop for the network but can be seated in this broadband channel and, certainly, if something's really working, it can migrate back to the network.'' But creativity's shelf life gets shorter every day. As FX's Landgraf says, ``By the time the fall season rolls around, all this will become standard operating procedure standard operating procedure Medtalk A technique, method or therapy performed 'by the book,' using a standard protocol meeting internally or externally defined criteria; a formal, written procedure that describes how specific lab operations are to be performed. . Basically, every network will be doing it, and it will become less effective. ``Even as we're talking about this innovative thing, I'm sitting here thinking, `We've got to come up with something new.''' David Kronke, (818) 713-3638 david.kronke(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): 6 photos Photo: (1 -- cover -- color) `Net gains TV uses extra online content to increase audience involvement (2 -- 6) Clockwise from top, ``Rescue Me,'' ``Lost,'' ``Texas Ranch House'' and ``The L Word'' are among the shows with cutting-edge, specialized Web features; opposite page, ``Deal or No Deal's'' site. |
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