iPowow Expands Participation TV Partnership With USA Network In A Suits Marathon

Los Angeles, California (PRWEB) June 04, 2014 -- Expanding on their partnership, USA Network and iPowow have teamed up once again to engage fans with a second screen TV gamification experience. On the heels of the record-breaking “PSYCH All-Night” marathon, the two media innovators are now using the iPowow Participation TV platform to power “Suits After Hours” airing on Friday, June 6 from 12AM-6AM.

iPowow’s gamification platform will place real-time interactivity in the hands of fans tuning in to the six hour Suits marathon. During each episode, fans will compete against each other as they answer polls and trivia questions, watching their responses update live on-air. Through iPowow’s platform, Suits fans will be able to participate in the Participation TV experience by simply logging in via Facebook from any connected device. Each hour a live on-air leaderboard will showcase top fans’ names and photos in real time, where they will have a chance to win a range of Suits prizes.

“We’re delighted to be working with USA Network again and we’re confident the ‘Suits After Hours’ event will be a smash-hit,” says iPowow CCO Gavin Douglas. “This is not Social TV, this is Participation TV where the viewers get to influence the results and graphics on the TV screen in real-time. The team at USA Network understand the mechanics of successful second screen participation and by using the iPowow platform to gamify the TV show, the fans becomes part of the story, enhancing the viewer experience and deepening their level of engagement.”

This isn’t the first interactive marathon on USA Network. Back in March, iPowow’s Participation TV platform was used in Psych-Off Live to celebrate the final season of Psych and engaged record numbers of viewers in real time. Over 20,000 Psych-Os played The Psych-Off, making it one of the largest LIVE activations ever.

During the marathon the same Facebook-fueled leaderboard was used to rank the top viewers—a world first for Facebook, who had never before appeared on television in that sort of interactive capacity.

In the Suits live telecast, fans will be constantly interacting with their favorite episodes, while also being treated to exclusive Social TV on-air content as Suits stars share their favorite moments from each episode. Additionally, fan-generated After Hours Instagram videos will be selected from the online gallery and showcased on-air throughout the night.

The expansion of iPowow’s Participation TV experience into another series marathon builds on the past successes and also signals future growth of the gamification platform, as television shifts towards connecting with a more engaged audience. It undoubtedly enables the viewers of scripted shows to participate in a ‘live’ experience and is designed to engage the viewers for longer. iPowow has reported viewer engagement levels of around 10% against an industry average of 1%.

USA Network has implemented iPowow’s Participation TV platform in a number of its programs—Modern Family, Chrisley Knows Best, Psych—showcasing a real investment and confidence in the way gamification platforms are paving the way for viewer loyalty and interaction.

About iPowow:

iPowow is an interactive media company, based in Santa Monica, on the leading edge of the global shift towards Participation Television. iPowow gives TV producers and Advertisers the power to create a new breed of Participation TV with compelling engagement for the viewer. On the second screen, iPowow clients are achieving TV viewer engagement levels of 10%, against an industry average of 1%. As the specialists in Participation TV, iPowow's clients include ESPN, Fox Sports, A&E, Comcast and USA Network.

For more information: http://www.ipowow.com.

Zachary Weiner, Emerging Insider Communications, http://www.emerginginsider.com, +1 (312) 933-5205, [email protected]