Multicultural public broadcaster SBS is set to launch a new in-house team dedicated to boosting innovation in television and online content.
The SBS Digital Creative Lab will be headed up by the network's manager of multiplatform and interactive John-Paul Marin, who plans to expand digital technology and social TV to enhance event programming and drive engagement with audiences.
The Lab will employ five existing SBS senior producers and creative developers to create interactive storytelling projects and social TV during programs such as the Cronulla Riots documentary, the Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras, Eurovision and The World Cup.
Marin, who has worked in online production for SBS for the past eleven years, said social TV is an area the broadcaster “wants to be prolific in.”
“Events like Eurovision and Tropfest generate whole bunch of conversation and audience chatter so they are ideal for getting the audience to participate through social TV, besides just the standard tweets on screen.”
Marin said one of the first Lab projects will be developing a “rating tool” during the Tropfest broadcast so the audience can judge films themselves and come up with their own winners.
“We will also run a poll during the broadcast of Mardi Gras to see what propensity the audience has towards homosexuality so we can understand a bit more about where people sit on the spectrum.”
“Its about being provocative, having fun and giving audiences new ways to interact with programming,” he said.
Last month fellow public broadcaster ABC launched in-house agency ABC Made to service all of the ABC’s divisions, including television, radio, news, international, commercial and digital networks.
The Digital Creative Lab follows the relaunch of streaming service SBS On Demand in June, with the service now offering over 4000 hours of free video content.
Have something to say on this? Share your views in the comments section below. Or if you have a news story or tip-off, drop us a line at adnews@yaffa.com.au
Sign up to the AdNews newsletter, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for breaking stories and campaigns throughout the day.