MTV is giving its second screen audience a sneak peak at a new documentary a week before its TV audience will get to see it.
“Generation Cryo,” a documentary following a 17-year-old who uncovers she has 15 half-siblings, will debut at midnight tonight on the MTV app, available to be watched all week on iPhone, iPad, and xBox 360 (for Xbox Live Gold members) before it debuts on TV next Monday at 10pmET.
“We’ve been actively experimenting with introducing new shows on the app to help build awareness and buzz leading to the premiere on television,” said Robyn DeMarco, Executive Vice President of Programming and Content Strategy for MTV. “Our audiences are living on these devices and these platforms provide new opportunities to super serve exclusive content to our fans while simultaneously creating new ways to integrate our ad partners.”
This continues MTV’s second screen push, as it recently pre-released the full season of “Wait Till Next Year” in its app before it debuted on television, seeming to borrow from Netflix’s hallmark release of entire seasons at once. This proved successful for the channel, as MTV’s app scored its biggest streaming week to date, jumping 47% from the week before, also increasing the TV audience for the show when it premiered.
VH1 also struck second screen gold with the opposite formula: placing content exclusively in its app after its television premiere, as it’s “CrazySexyCool: The TLC Story” garnered 1.4 million app streams in the week that followed its TV airing.
Read press release
New York, November 18, 2013 – MTV today announced it will pre-release the first episode of its groundbreaking docu-series “Generation Cryo” tonight at 12AM ET, exclusively via the MTV app, available on iPhone, iPad, Xbox 360 for Xbox Live Gold members in the U.S., a week before its on-air premiere on Monday, November 25 at 10:00pm ET/PT.
“We’ve been actively experimenting with introducing new shows on the app to help build awareness and buzz leading to the premiere on television,” said Robyn DeMarco, Executive Vice President of Programming and Content Strategy for MTV. “Our audiences are living on these devices and these platforms provide new opportunities to super serve exclusive content to our fans while simultaneously creating new ways to integrate our ad partners.”
The series documents the journey of 17-year-old Breeanna who recently learned that she has at least 15 half-siblings fathered by the same anonymous donor, #1096. Armed with this newly obtained information, Bree sets out to meet her half-brothers and sisters and encourages them to help her find out more about their donor. Realizing that they are more similar than any of them could have imagined, Bree immediately connects with her siblings who accept her unconditionally. Along the way, what starts off as a meeting of strangers becomes an intense and emotional bonding of family. For a link to the trailer, click here.
“Generation Cryo” is produced by Off the Fence for MTV with OTF’s Michael Lang, Ellen Windemuth and Rob Schwarze serving as Executive Producers. Marshall Eisen, Nomi Ernst Leidner, Betsy Forhan, and Dave Sirulnick are Executive Producers for MTV. Dave Wadsworth is the Supervising Producer for OTF. Jonathan Mussman is Executive in Charge, MTV. Wendy Kramer is the Associate Producer and the Founder and Director of the Donor Sibling Registry.
This marks the latest in a line of recent innovative experiments by Viacom Music and Logo Group aimed at providing fans with immediate access to exclusive content within its brand apps. Recently, MTV became the first network to pre-release an entire season of a series, “Wait ‘Til Next Year,” in its app prior to premiere on television. During the pre-release, the show helped drive the app’s biggest streaming week to date per person and increased downloads 47% week-over-week. Additionally, the series’ television premiere drew an 8% uptick in P12-17. When fans banded together to tweet #UnlockMiley to access two new clips for the “Miley: The Movement,” MTV app installs increased more than 80 percent week over week.
In addition, following the television premiere of “CrazySexyCool: The TLC Story,” VH1 placed the film exclusively in the VH1 app for a week and generated 1.4 million streams of the film and other TLC content. With the launch of the CMT app, the first episode of the new season of Sweet Home Alabama was pre-released in the CMT app a week before its television premiere.
The MTV, VH1 and CMT apps provide fans unmatched access to a library of current as well as retro favorites via TV Everywhere. Access to full-length episodes in the apps are included as part of a subscriber’s TV service package from any one of ten distributors, including AT&T U-verse, Bright House Networks, Cablevision, DIRECTV, EPB Fiber Optics, Hawaiian Telcom, RCN, Suddenlink, Time Warner Cable and Verizon FiOS, which collectively reach almost 50 million homes. Subscribers simply need to sign in with their TV provider credentials to watch full episodes. All users will be able to access original content that extends the narrative of the show, including after shows, cast interviews and original webisodes. In the coming months, Viacom Music and Logo Group will launch similar app experiences for Logo.
For additional information and photos of Generation Cyro, please visit www.mtvpress.com
About MTV
MTV is the world’s premier youth entertainment brand. With a global reach of more than a half-billion households, MTV is the cultural home of the millennial generation, music fans and artists, and a pioneer in creating innovative programming for young people. MTV reflects and creates pop culture with its Emmy®, Grammy® and Peabody® award-winning content built around compelling storytelling, music discovery and activism across TV, online and mobile. MTV’s sibling networks MTV2 and mtvU each deliver unparalleled customized content for young males, music fans and college students, and its online hub MTV.com is a leading destination for music, news and pop culture. MTV is a unit of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIAB, VIA), one of the world’s leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms. For more information, go to http://www.mtvpress.com