20.05.02
Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ
Worldwide secures first interactive licensing deal
Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ
Worldwide and ABC New Media in Australia have concluded a deal which
will bring Australian audiences a groundbreaking, interactive service
to accompany the six-part blue-chip Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ science series Walking With
Beasts.
Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ
Walking With Beasts Interactive will be broadcast through the ABC's
services on the Austar digital satellite platform and Optus' digital
cable iTV service from 4 July at 8pm. The service will offer an
enhanced viewing experience for the audience, with an array of additional
elements - from alternative commentaries and extra video footage
to textual information - all at the touch of a button.
By
special arrangement, ABC on Austar and Optus will broadcast the
interactive version of each episode continuously for twenty-four
hours, allowing viewers to explore the documentary at their leisure
and in which ever way appeals to them.
Jonathan
Crane, Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Worldwide's Director of Commercial Broadband said; "This
agreement represents a major milestone for Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Worldwide. It is
a tribute to the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ's pioneering work in developing interactive
TV and to the commitment and enthusiasm of ABC, Austar and Optus
- getting the project off the ground was a technical challenge and
it is thanks to their dedication that it was possible. We are looking
forward to working with ABC New Media closely on what we predict
will be the first of many similar projects."
ABC
New Media Director, Lynley Marshall added, "We are committed
to delivering to our audiences innovative, interactive content across
a range of platforms, including interactive TV and online. We believe
the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Walking With Beasts Interactive offers audiences a whole
new experience in engaging with content and will challenge and inspire
documentary makers in the future. This initiative also provides
a valuable opportunity for ABC New Media to gain skills in working
with interactive content."
Each
episode is designed with intuitive navigation and easy-to-follow
prompts that lead the viewer through the service, whilst offering
a high level of choice and interactive features. The content is
synchronised for play out on four parallel video streams, providing
the world's first truly interactive TV documentary experience.
With
various levels of interactive content designed to suit all entry
levels, viewers can view the programme in a linear format, change
narration for a more in-depth scientific running commentary or can
call up on screen facts during the transmission.
Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ
Walking With Beasts Interactive has won BAFTA and Emmy awards for
the most innovative enhancement to a linear programme. Over 2.1
million digital satellite viewers on Sky (of a potential nine million
households) used the service in the UK and it won critical acclaim
amongst the new media industry.
In
total, the interactive version of Walking With Beasts provides four
hours of additional video content (all shot on digi-beta), three
hours of alternative commentary and 700 complementary text boxes.
The programme makers interviewed over 50 of the world's top palaeontologists
in eight different countries, and consulted over 400 leading experts
in mammalian evolution to compile the additional information.
Walking
with Beasts is a Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ/Discovery Channel/TV Asahi and BS Asahi/Pro
Sieben Co-Production and is distributed internationally by Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Worldwide.
Notes
to Editors:
Walking With Beasts is the sequel to the international hit Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ series
Walking With Dinosaurs. The six-part landmark science series, narrated
by Kenneth Branagh takes viewers back 49 million years to when the
dinosaurs had died out and a new world was about to emerge. Walking
With Beasts is recreated in a classic natural history format, using
state-of-the-art animatronics and computer generated creatures.
The programme makers bring viewers face to face with the ancestors
of the whale that walked on land, giant killer pigs the size of
rhinos, sabre-tooth cats, woolly mammoths and the first origins
of man. Each episode covers a different period in mammal evolution
and charts the rise of mammals as they take over the planet.
Walking
With Beasts will be broadcast in its linear version on ABC TV, ABC
TV digital and the ABC on Foxtel, Austar and Optus from 4 July.
The interactive version will be broadcast on Austar and Optus parallel
with the linear version.
ABC
New Media has also secured the rights for the accompanying website
which will be online in June at abc.net.au/beasts.
Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ
Worldwide will be releasing a fully illustrated hardback book, three
children's books and a video, DVD and CD-Rom game to accompany the
series in Australia.
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