​Certain late-night hits are known to work well in digital environments (take Jimmy Fallon’s consistent success with taking his videos viral, for example). So it’s only natural that the big names of late-night are starting to enter the world of SXSW in Austin.

Bravo’s Andy Cohen went to the festival last year, and “Late Night’s” Seth Meyers is making his presence known this year with a panel, sponsored bikes and a food truck. This year, Jimmy Kimmel joins SXSW regulars like Cohen in airing a week of original shows from Austin with the hopes of attracting its younger, digital-savvy audience. “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” boasts a guest list for the festival that includes Rick Perry, Willie Nelson, Snoop Dogg and Seth Rogen.

Kimmel promoted his Austin appearance using #KimmelinAustin:

Andy Cohen, who had Kimmel on his Sunday show of “Watch What Happens Live,” will be doing a week of shows from the Ballet Austin Academy, playing up its interactive format at the festival.

Craig Ferguson of “Late Late Show” on CBS used his platform at the festival to introduce his newest project, “I f*cking love science.” Based on the popular and widely shared Facebook name, Ferguson is acting as executive producer to bring the brand to Science later this year. TBS’ Pete Holmes will combine his TV show with his podcast with a panel at SXSW on Monday called The Pete Holmes Show Makes It Weird.

Read more at The Hollywood Reporter.

Brief Take: With the Episodic track, SXSW is becoming a more and more important place for TV brands to make their mark. Using late-night hosts for a network’s promotion is a smooth transition for the interactive festival and sometimes interactive, inherently viral shows.

[Image courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter]

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