Category: 91Èȱ¬ THREE; TV Ent
Date: 20.10.2005
Printable version
Ash Atalla's new comedy sketch show Man Stroke Woman, which starts on 91Èȱ¬ THREE on 20 November, will offer audiences a new way of engaging with 91Èȱ¬ TV programmes when it becomes the first series to make use of all elements of the 91Èȱ¬'S TV cross-platform opportunities.
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Stuart Murphy, Controller of 91Èȱ¬ THREE, says: "This is the first time that we have been able to exploit all available elements together on one show: broadband premiere, broadband stacking and catch-up and preview clips for mobile phones.
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"All of them offer audiences more control and greater access to our programmes, complementing the linear channel broadcast which is not impacted."
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Audiences will be able to watch the comedy - which is produced by TalkbackThames - when they want on bbc.co.uk/bbcthree and catch up if they've missed an episode.
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All episodes will be available to view for up to seven days after the final programme of the six-part series transmits on 91Èȱ¬ THREE.
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In addition, sneak preview sketches will be available to download on video-enabled mobile phones (by texting Man to 81010) and to view on bbc.co.uk/bbcthree.
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91Èȱ¬ THREE will be doing the same for new series of comedies Ideal and Tittybangbang early next year.
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"Growing up is a total pain in the arse," says Ash Atalla, producer of The Office, "but we've all got to do it at some point.
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"Man Stroke Woman is a sketch show that takes a comic look at everyday life; scenarios at work, in friendships, love and life, that will strike a chord with any self-respecting thirty-something."
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The sketches are delivered by the best in British acting talent - Nick Frost (Shaun of the Dead), Nick Burns (Nathan Barley), Daisy Haggard (Green Wing), Amanda Abbington (Teachers), Ben Crompton (Ideal, Clocking Off) and Meredith Macneill (Festival).
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The director is Ric Cantor, the producer is Richard Webb and the series producer is Ash Atalla.
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These trial services are part of the 91Èȱ¬'s TV Plus project spear-headed by Director of Television Jana Bennett to exploit the opportunities that new technologies offer to extend a programme's life beyond the traditional linear broadcast.
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In July, 91Èȱ¬ THREE became the first UK channel to premiere its programmes on broadband when it streamed hit comedy The Mighty Boosh a week ahead of its transmission.
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In September, clips of award-winning comedy Nighty Night were available to download on mobile phones, while episodes were available to view on broadband.
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All of these developments follow 91Èȱ¬ THREE's pioneering Sunday night Best of Three Multiscreen trial which was launched in May and continues until the end of this month.
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From 9.00pm on Sunday nights, digital satellite viewers are prompted to press the red button and are offered the choice of three of their favourite 91Èȱ¬ THREE programmes - such as Casanova, Trauma Uncut and The Making Of Little Britain - in addition to the channel's live transmission.
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Notes to Editors
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The 91Èȱ¬'s TV Plus pilots offer audiences a new way of engaging with 91Èȱ¬ TV programmes to enhance their viewing experience.
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The pilots include preview clips on mobile phones, programme premieres on broadband a week ahead of their TV transmission and a rich interactive experience on-demand through broadband and digital TV.
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There were 670,000 broadband requests for The Mighty Boosh over the seven-week period that episodes were available to watch.
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The service was used more for catching up than for premieres: approximately 60% of requests were after the linear transmission.
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There were 4,165 WAP requests for promotional clips of Nighty Night to video-enabled mobile phones, and 27,276 to view them via broadband (as of 30 September 2005).
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328,000 Digital Satellite viewers have pressed the red button to interact with the Best of Three Multiscreen trial (between 1 May and 18 September), which represents eight per cent of the available audience.
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Most recently, 91Èȱ¬ THREE was named Best Non Terrestrial Channel of the Year 2005 at the Media Guardian Edinburgh International Television Festival; and Best General Entertainment Channel 2005 at the Broadcast Digital Channel of the Year Awards.
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Recent research for the 91Èȱ¬ showed that, among 16 to 34-year-olds in digital homes, 91Èȱ¬ THREE is the best channel for alternative British comedy.
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Glossary
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TV Plus operates using the following devices in the following ways.
It's worth noting that it is rare for aÌýTV Plus initiative to use all these methods. More usually, they use a combination of them.
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Mobile
preview clips - available in advance of transmission (to help drive awareness of the programme)
'mobisodes' push along a programme's narrative while a series is underway.
Because of policy issues, mobile content also has to be available on the web.
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DigitalÌýTV
Interactive - red button programming that extends the television experience outside of the programme's transmission.
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On demand - we currently have trials going on with ntl and 91Èȱ¬choice to offer up to 50 hours of 91Èȱ¬ programming 'on-demand' for up to a week after the shows have been broadcast on TV. This allows you to see the programme whenever you want to watch it, free of charge. Ìý
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Internet - there are lots of different ways that the web can be used:
premiering - ie broadcasting an episode in advance of its TV transmission (usually for a week);
on-demand - as with digital TV, this allows viewers to catch up on a programme if they've missed it;
series stacking - with some series (ie where we have the rights cleared)Ìýwe give viewers the opportunity to store individual episodes, which allows them to catch up on episodes they might have missed, or to watch episodes back to back.
