High Jacks For Immersive Syfy; Mixed For IFC's Skate Date - Simon Applebaum

Unique connects the pair of Upfront ceremonies last week showcased in this columnunique venue and programming viewpoint for one channel unique celebration with the otherSyfyVenue So appropriate for a television network to use a television studio for showing off what39s ahead You rarely see that approach taken with an Upfront and that39s what Syfy did using Silver Screen Studios at Chelsea Piers near W 23rd Stfor years the place Law ampamp Order was produced Law ampamp Order Special Victims Unit films nearby One large portion of the studio was used for the presentation another for food drink and celebrity chat resembling the bar scenes on Defiance the network39s new drama Kudos to the DJs for keeping the tunes low on volume as everyone chatted away and the food providers for a nice variety of eats Syfy39s getting a rep for offthenorm sitesMuseum of Natural History last year SpiderMan Turn Off The Dark in 2011 Grade 45 JacksPresentation Didn39t take long for Syfy president Dave Howe to make his main point From now on every series launching on the network will find some way to involve viewers via social media Skype video chat interplay with video games a la Defiance or smart TVsecondscreen applications quotWe39re at the dawn of creative a more immersive experience with our programming where consumers can participate in storytellingquot he said Howe repeated a point from last year39s event recalling Syfy39s target audience quotignitersquot people who quotfind the new do the next and show the bestyour most valuable consumersquot From there programming became the thing in rapidfire fashion with show stars or hosts introducing video after video In an unexpected moment Battlestar Galatica executive producer Ron Moore about to start production on new sciencebased drama Helix offered acknowledgment quotNetworks and network executives take an awful lot of flak for their actions and this team is willing to put on shows nobody else will I39m proud to come back to Syfy and mean itquot Grade 5 JacksNews Jamie Fox will ignite his Rod Serling self via a fiveepisode horror anthology series launching this October title to come For this summer look for two reality series Joe Rogen Questions Everything investigative journeys based on the Fear Factor host39s podcast and Cosworld comic book convention costume designerperformers Moore39s Helix is expected to premiere next year A trio of drama pilots will be filmed soon including No Place from Oscarwinning producerdirector Robert Zemeckis and High Moon from HannibalPushing Daisies creator Bryan Fuller On the miniseries front classic novels Ringworld and Childhood39s End were placed in development Grade 5 JacksHost Plenty to catch all holding up their ends of the presentation Howe included Grade 45 JacksOverall Grade 45 Jacks If you39re out to offer much more original programming with deeper viewer participation start spreading the news from where memorable TV was made5 Jacks Excellent4 Jacks Very Good3 Jacks Good2 Jacks Fair1 Jack Poor0 Jacks Worse than badIFC Venue Roseland Ballroom around the corner from Late Show With David Letterman on W 52nd St hosted one lavish bash for upcoming net Fox Sports 1 earlier this year The place became a combo sports barfood courtvideo game parlor that night For IFC the famed dance floor became a rollerskating rink surrounded by food booths featuring trendsetting Brooklyn eateries Reminded you of being at the roller rink on Empire Blvd near Prospect Park Quite a few attendees gave the rink some runs more feasted on veggie threecheese sandwiches from Milk Truck and glazed donuts from Dough or waited a turn to dunk their favorite Portlandia or Out There actors in water with a ballthrowing game A few people frazzled at their aim got their dunk the direct waywalk up and press the target Grade 5 JacksPresentation Network management labeled their affair quotUnexpectaganzaquot In large part as in don39t expect us standing on a stage and display what we39ve got coming up This is all about enjoying the viewrollerskating food and frolics No formalities let the comedy on wheels unfold You know what The spectacle was so fun people didn39t seem to care that they didn39t get info on network accomplishments or future plans on site Grade 3 JacksNews A year ago IFC had a few series premieres to show offComedy Bang Bang Out There and Maron coming this summer to name three A year later nothing Not one new series with a set premiere date Instead the channel announced 11 series up for 2014 consideration three of them Timms Industrial Piping Garfunkel ampamp Oates and International Plan set to make pilots Will ampamp Grace costar Megan Mullally is represented by Two Idiots which she cocreated and New York Television Festival winner Damian Lanigan a Brooklyn native there39s that subtheme again is working on Wasps Grade 15 JacksHost Noooobody Grade 0 JacksOverall Grade 25 Jacks Hand it to IFC for generating a great event which makes the most of a classic New York landmark and for spotlighting new food places beyond Manhattan in the bargain However you can39t overlook the absence of new series premieres The silver lining given the 2014 outlook don39t expect a repeat outcome5 Jacks Excellent4 Jacks Very Good3 Jacks Good2 Jacks Fair1 Jack Poor0 Jacks Worse than badNext up BET and mun2Until the next time stay well and stay tunedSimon Applebaum is producerhost of Tomorrow Will Be Televised the radio program all about TV Tomorrow runs live Mondays and Fridays at 3 pm Eastern time noon Pacific Time on wwwblogtalkradiocom with replays available at wwwblogtalkradiocomsimonapple04 A weekly TV series edition will soon premiere on the new UBCTV network Have a question or reaction Email it to simonapple04yahoocom or tweet UBCSimonTWBTRead all Simonamp8217s MediaBizBloggers commentaries at Tomorrow Will Be TelevisedCheck us out on Facebook at MediaBizBloggerscomFollow our Twitter updates MediaBizBloggerThe opinions and points of view expressed in this commentary are exclusively the views of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaBizBloggerscom management or associated bloggers MediaBizBloggers is an open thought leadership platform and readers may share their comments and opinions in response to all commentaries

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High Jacks For Immersive Syfy; Mixed For IFC's Skate Date - Simon Applebaum

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