Channel 4 is partnering with newly launched social TV venture Zeebox for its new reality series Desperate Scousewives.
The broadcaster hopes to create a bespoke social TV experience in what is the first such tie-up of its kind. The two will be looking to explore how the Zeebox app experience can be optimised through specially commissioned content.
Desperate Scousewives will be screened on Channel 4’s sister channel E4 and follows the lives of a group of women on Merseyside.
In addition to Zeebox features, including related Twitter feeds and news, instant chat with friends and information on tagged programme content via Wikipedia, Channel 4 is working with Zeebox to provide Desperate Scousewives viewers with a raft of tailored interactive content, linked from the zeebox app itself and therefore bringing social engagement live to viewers’ iPads, laptops or smartphones as the show is broadcast.
This includes a bespoke Twitter visualisation app, cast videos, music information available via iTunes, a Scouse glossary and a Google map introducing key Liverpool locations to the audience.
This content, commissioned by Thom Gulseven at Channel 4, will also be made available to fans on the official Desperate Scousewives website on E4.com.
Jodie Morris, senior producer for entertainment, Channel 4 Online, said: “We know that E4’s core 16-34 audience are highly engaged with social media, and we have a track record of commissioning innovative online content that complements the on-air offering for our audience. This first partnership with zeebox will be a fantastic way of enhancing the appointment to view experience for our viewers, creating and curating online buzz around the show.”
The first episode of Desperate Scousewives will air on E4 on November 28th
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