Upfront News and Views: Crackle is All About Smart TVs and Star Power

Venue The Hudson Theater the Broadwaytheater size space on W 44th St between Broadway and 6th Ave All about formality and few frills here from an orange red carpet area on one side of the long lobby to sodacoffeetea stands on either side back of the theater Cute graphics from the large screen on stage to welcome attendees Grade 25 JacksPresentation At last year39s DigitalContent NewFronts Crackle separated itself from the other participants by emphasizing its distribution over smart TVs and devices that make TVs smart ChromecastAmazon Fire TV etc With the Sony subsidiary breaking away from the NewFronts that point was magnified with help from top Sony executives including TV programming overseer Steve Mosko quotWe39re offering you a TV experience that aligns with your interestquot Crackle general manager Eric Berger told the crowd of advertisers His point They shouldnamp8217t be shut out of advertising opportunities over smart TVsdevices when A many of these services will be offered adfree and B a wide universe of people will develop smart TV viewing habits perhaps by dropping multichannel cable or satellite subscriptions according to a Magid survey showcased here The ad opportunities here will include addressability thirdparty verification of viewership and brand integration Grade 3 Jacks thanks to a stretch of lingo explanations in the ad sales portionNews A new original programming lineup kicks off July 16 with the original movie amp8220Joe Dirt 2 Beautiful Loseramp8221 promoted by Crackle at the Winter 2015 TCA tour a sequel to the popular 2001 film featuring David Spade reprising the title role and Christopher Walken Bryan Cranston whose Crackle retro reboot amp8220Tightropeamp8221 didn39t come to life a shame because it was among the best pilots showcased at any Upfront or NewFront presentation last spring will try again with animated washedup superhero satire amp8220Supermansionamp8221 this fall He39ll will give voice to Titanium Rex with additional voices by Seth Green and KeeganMichael Key and be an executive producer on the series That will be followed in short order by amp8220The Art of Moreamp8221 with Dennis Quaid as star and executive producer set in the world of Las Vegas auction houses Also on deck for late 20152016 A second amp8220Dead Risingamp8221 madefor movie and postprisonmafia drama amp8220Capoamp8221 Beyond programming a new quotAlways Onquot design developed with Adobe Systems will be rolled out where viewers automatically see a program when they click in They can either watch the program or choose something else through an upgraded viewer guide Grade 35 JacksHosts Berger was engaging the advertising presenters less so due to all that lingo noted above Topping both by a mile Jerry Seinfeld in suit and tie mixing an explanation of why his amp8220Comedians in Cars Getting Coffeeamp8221 went to Crackle rather than TV with his views about the Internet quotThe Internet is the most freeing experience I39ve ever had You can be in the world of cat videos and get a great audience Super Bowlsizequot he joked Seinfeld then conducted a short audience questionandanswer session something you never see at events like this Best response when asked about usergenerated videos quotThe less the better They39re a lot of bleep We have a giant garbage can called YouTubequot Grade 3 Jacks for the hosts45 Jacks for SeinfeldOverall Grade 3 Jacks That advertising section jarred the pace and tone set by Seinfeld the Sony executives and a nice bunch of video clipsSpecial notes from the Crackle presentationBest reminder to turn off electronic devices from an announcer so far this Upfront season quotWe have drones watching youquotSony39s PlayStation unit will move into the NewFront time period Crackle would have occupied on April 29 Unfortunately that presentation will be closed to press which doesn39t make sense It39s not too late for Sony to reverse the call and let journalists in or hold a 30minute public debrief or conference call immediately before or after this affairA quick reminder of our Jacks grading system5 Jacks Excellent4 Jacks Very Good3 Jacks Good2 Jacks Fair1 Jack Poor0 Jacks Worse than thatNext up TV One back after a twoyear absenceUntil the next time stay well and stay tunedThe 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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Upfront News and Views: Crackle is All About Smart TVs and Star Power

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