March 15th, 2011 06:58 PM ET
Having online games and interactive websites to complement a TV show can be an effective way to turn viewers into users.
But these extensions of a TV series are an expensive play that, when poorly implemented or attached to a lame show, can be money wasted. Those fumbles can make it harder to pitch the idea in the future, say people who work in the TV industry.
A panel - one of several "social TV"-themed discussions during the South by Southwest Interactive conference in Austin, Texas - explored the topic of "keeping people engaged" beyond the half-hour or hour per week when the programs air.
ABC's "Lost," and the fervent fans it attracted, are often used as an example. The drama was part of the inspiration for famed game designer Will Wright's new Current TV show.
"What you're looking for when building a game around a show is that cult engagement level," said panelist Kris Soumas, the head of games for A&E Television Networks.
But Soumas acknowledged that building these games is a pricey endeavor and that studio executives sometimes make the wrong bets on which shows to devote resources to. "Creating a social game, in particular, I think is the closest to live television" in terms of cost, she said.
Once funding for a project is secured, getting producers, writers or actors on board generally isn't difficult, the panelists said.
"As a storyteller, it's fun to think of broadcasting your story out" in other media, said Noah Hawley, who's produced and acted in various series. "These actors, they want to do everything they can to make sure their show will succeed."
But actors can be unpredictable. When promoting Hawley's show, called "My Generation," they gave the on-camera talent Flip Cams to film their journey from Hollywood to Austin, he said.
"They don't always do the right things," Hawley said. One of the actors, who he declined to name, chronicled his usage of marijuana during the travels, which the studio unsurprisingly decided not to post on the Web, he said. "It just creates more work."
Whether it's a game to play along with "Family Feud" or extracurricular activities for "American Idol" fanatics, these types of digital apps will become more common, industry insiders predict. That's despite some concerns that even successful games can fail to funnel people back to the program when it airs.
"You can feel the move [toward more "social TV" games]," said David Luner, a vice-president for the company that produces "The Price Is Right." "The movement is going to come because sponsors and advertisers are making us think this way."
Post by: Mark Milian CNN Tech writer
Filed under: Tech
Credit: CNN (www.cnn.com)
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