When it comes to exclusives, no show does it better than the San Diego Comic-Con. The event, which brings in thousands of fans every year, is a huge draw for many film and television studios to showcase upcoming products to its adoring fans. Sadly, online fans don’t get much of a taste of that, outside of possible videos that may be posted weeks or months after the event, or they may turn to illegal video downloads and streams. But there could be big changes on the way, with an opportunity for those that can’t get to the show to still take part in it.
Comic-Con International (which will take place on July 21–24) has announced that it is working on a VOD platform, which will allow fans to check out panels and special events that they would otherwise need to be in person for. Although it won’t be livestreaming (any panels aired would be on a sort of tape delay), it will bring a heavy amount of content to those watching.
Brands can take part in this format by not only adding advertising to the channel itself, but also hosting the content. Several studios “have their own marketing plans” already, and prefer to “control their assets,” said Seth Laderman, executive vice president and general manager of Comic-Con HQ, the official name of the project.
Speaking with IGN, Laderman explained how the project could be a place to “help promote everyone.” It would eventually be up to the studios to see what content goes online, including exclusive film footage and whatnot.
“So there will be studios that are going to want to engage our audience and spread everything out through that, but other ones that are going to want to keep it closer in their own platforms, and I think that’s perfectly fair,” Laderman noted.
The platform’s appeal shouldn’t be limited to big studios, as smaller panels would also get a great deal of exposure. “I still want to get a camera in the smallest rooms because they may not have the broadest audience out there,” he said. “But it’s still an important part of what Comic-Con is and I want to be able to allow everybody to see everything.”
The Comic-Con HQ platform is set to launch on May 7th across both web browsers and mobile devices.
More studios are taking advantage of Comic-Con’s wide exposure. TBS aired many episodes of its hit talk show, Conan, last year from the event, including exclusive Funko Pop figurine giveaways and highlights from various films, including X-Men Apocalypse. Syfy has recently announced plans to air a nightly event with highlights from its upcoming shows and movies for audiences to see from a livestream.
“Our goal with Syfy Presents Live From Comic-Con is to give everyone the experience of being on the convention floor, at the events, or just walking through the frenzied streets of the Gaslamp District… with hundreds of thousands of their closest friends,” said Heather Olander, senior vice president of alternative series, development and production for Syfy.
It sounds like a prime opportunity for companies to get on board, whether their product relates to Comic-Con related franchises or not. It’s almost sure to be a big hit, considering how millions of fans tuned in to illegally posted content from the show last year.
Case in point: Warner Bros.’ first trailer for Suicide Squad found so much exposure through these illegal posts that it relented and posted the full official trailer online days later to avoid compromising the quality of the product. So the demand from Comic-Con fans is definitely there. Now it’s just a matter of seeing what livestreaming and VOD does for it.
