Discovery will up the ante with its Shark Week streaming this year, adding Meerkat to its list of digital partners.
Shark Week 2015 kicks off July 5, offering viewers shark footage of all kinds, even a late-night show Shark After Dark hosted by Eli Roth with even more discussion of all things shark. And the action doesn’t stop on TV.
Discovery’s partnership with Meerkat will also add embeddable video players that can add live streams of Shark Week to any website.
The live streams will be featured on Discovery’s new site DLive, but will also be searchable through Meerkat and available on several social platforms.
Conal Byrne, digital executive at Discovery, told Variety that the Meerkat plan simply came at the perfect time for Shark Week live streaming actions already in place. “That’s what we love about the Internet. If you turn around, it’s all changed again,” she said.
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The live streaming options add to a well-known social strategy that Discovery has been adding on to each year. The current plan is to post two or three live streams each day. A live-streamed shark feeding is in the works, as well as interviews with shark experts and filmmakers with behind-the-scenes footage.
Discovery knows that the live streaming may take away from the TV event, but in the end it’s all about awareness. The more viewers Shark Week gets all around is good for the stunt week and the network, converting Shark Week into an even more solid brand.
Read more at Variety.
Brief Take: Discovery has proven that Shark Week will always be digitally and socially focused, and continue to innovate with the newest tech out there. This year is no different, adapting to live streaming options that are just now beginning to take hold in TV.
[Image courtesy of Discovery]
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