Bell Media‘s specialty channel Space has partnered with audio recognition app Shazam as part of a new multi-platform premiere strategy for its prime time series The Expanse.
The promotion strategy includes streaming the show’s premiere episode on Space.ca – as well as the channel’s YouTube and Facebook pages – three weeks in advance of its Dec. 14 broadcast premiere.
“It’s one of those shows where people will really have to follow along closely to get into it, but once they’re into it they’re going to be hooked,” said Justin Stockman, vice-president of specialty channels for Bell Media.
The pre-release program debuted on Monday, with Stockman telling Marketing that viewership of the pilot episode via Facebook has been “really impressive” (he declined to provide actual numbers).
The partnership with Shazam, meanwhile, means viewers can watch The Expanse’s debut episode via the mobile app. Viewers are granted access to the episode by interacting with a Shazam-enabled promo spot currently running on the linear channel.
It is the first time Shazam has premiered a program in advance of its broadcast career in Canada, and only the second time the strategy has been used in North America.
Earlier this month, Bravo Media streamed the premiere of its show Après Ski via the hugely popular app, which has a reported 120 million monthly active users and has raised more than US$130 million in nine funding rounds since 2002.
Space is also introducing a new after-show hosted by its flagship show Innerspace called Innerspace: After the Expanse. The show is currently available on Space.ca, and will air immediately after each new broadcast episode.
The 10-episode series has its two-part TV debut on Monday, Dec. 14 and Tuesday, Dec. 15, before settling into its regular Tuesday 10 p.m. time slot on Dec. 22.
Based on the best-selling book series, the Toronto-shot series is set 200 years in the future, after humans have successfully colonized the solar system. It stars Thomas Jane (Hung, The Punisher) as a hard-boiled detective who joins together with a rogue ship’s captain (Magic City’s Steven Strait) in what begins as a case of a missing woman before becoming a race across the solar system. Confirmed guest stars for season one include Jonathan Banks (Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul) and Jay Hernandez (Suicide Squad).
Space is supporting the show with a significant marketing campaign that includes promotion across Bell Media channels and a takeover campaign on the video streaming site Twitch.tv, as well as paid advertising on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube and out-of-home advertising in Toronto, Edmonton and Vancouver.
“We’re getting behind the show in a big way,” said Stockman. “We think it’s got a lot of potential. It’s a really strong series and if we can capture an audience we think it will be really big for us.”
The Expanse is expected to join established shows such as Orphan Black and Doctor Who – along with the Canadian productions Killjoys and Dark Matter – as tent-pole series on Space.
The network, which underwent an extensive brand refresh in 2013, is currently the top-rated entertainment specialty network among adults 18-34 in primetime according to Numeris, while its 2+ prime time audience has grown 13% year-over-year.
“The channel is stronger than ever,” said Stockman. “We’ve gone from having three or four really strong series to having closer to 10. We’ve got a lot of shows that people religiously watch.”
The company also wanted to present the channel to advertisers as a “hip and forward-thinking brand,” said Stockman. According to CRTC data, Space attracted $26.5 million in national advertising revenue in 2014, down 4% from a record high of $27.6 million in 2013.
