Release
SHOWTIME® IS TRENDING NOW @SXSW®
Network Presents Branded Experience Including An Exclusive Lounge And RAY DONOVAN Watch Party,
Film Festival Shuttle Busses And Sponsorship Of The SXSW GO App
NEW YORK, NY – (March 7, 2013) – SHOWTIME has announced its efforts to bring a special branded experience, and access to some of the hottest content on television to the 2013 South by Southwest (SXSW) festival in Austin, Texas. The impact of the SHOWTIME brand is already being experienced through the multi-platform SXSW GO app, and will extend throughout the festival with network-branded film buses shuttling throughout the city, with an exclusive, invite-only lounge at the W Austin, and a special, first-ever watch party of the highly-anticipated new drama series RAY DONOVAN, which stars Emmy® and Golden Globe® nominee Liev Schreiber and Oscar® winner Jon Voight.
For this year's festival, the official SXSW Go mobile app is presented by SHOWTIME, allowing attendees to view, plan and share their schedule, network with others, and navigate the convention once they are on the ground. Created exclusively by SHOWTIME, a new tool in this year’s SXSW GO app, “Trending Now at SXSW,” will highlight the hottest things happening at the festival. Users can access this experience with one click to the app's schedule banner which links them to a map which includes the top check-in locations around Austin, all powered by Foursquare and Google Maps APIs. Additionally, this tool will aggregate the most discussed SXSW topics via Twitter. The app also gives festivalgoers an opportunity to sample special video clips of some of the network's critically-acclaimed, award-winning series.
SHOWTIME’s culturally relevant, edgy and sophisticated programming will be on display throughout Austin on branded film shuttle buses. Attendees can hop onboard a HOMELAND, DEXTER®, SHAMELESS or RAY DONOVAN bus which will shuttle them from the Austin Convention Center to film venues throughout the city.
Beginning Friday, March 8th through Sunday, March 10th, SHOWTIME will host an exclusive, invite-only lounge at The Terrace, W Austin. Inviting attendees to relax, refresh and recharge amidst the events of the busy festival, the SHOWTIME Lounge will offer exciting giveaways, WiFi charging stations, along with demos of the network's hottest digital properties, including the network's authentication service SHOWTIME ANYTIME®. Guests will have the unique experience of posing on Dexter Morgan’s Kill Table as they enjoy live entertainment, cocktails, The Macallan single malt tastings, and hors d’oeuvres. Coolhaus will be serving gourmet ice cream sandwiches, in addition to testing new flavors for their official Dexter ice-cream sandwich flavor. After taste-testing, attendees can vote on their favorite combination, and the winning sandwich will be available at Coolhaus trucks and select locations this summer.
Then, on Saturday, March 9th, the Network will host an invitation only watch party of the highly-anticipated new drama series RAY DONOVAN, followed by an after-party for select SXSW attendees. RAY DONOVAN will premiere on SHOWTIME on June 30th at 10 p.m. ET/PT. In addition to Schreiber and Voight, the series' all-star cast also includes Oscar winner and guest star Elliott Gould, Paula Malcomson, Eddie Marsan, Dash Mihok, Katherine Moennig, Pooch Hall, Steven Bauer, Kerris Dorsey and Devon Bagby. Johnathon Schaech, Peter Jacobson, Austin Nichols, Ambyr Childers and Josh Pais guest star.
Showtime Networks Inc. (SNI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of CBS Corporation, owns and operates the premium television networks SHOWTIME®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ and FLIX®, as well as the multiplex channels SHOWTIME 2™, SHOWTIME® SHOWCASE, SHOWTIME EXTREME®, SHOWTIME BEYOND®, SHOWTIME NEXT®, SHOWTIME WOMEN®, SHOWTIME FAMILY ZONE® and THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ XTRA. SNI also offers SHOWTIME HD™, THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ HD, SHOWTIME ON DEMAND® and THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ ON DEMAND, and the network's authentication service SHOWTIME ANYTIME®. SNI also manages Smithsonian Networks™, a joint venture between SNI and the Smithsonian Institution, which offers Smithsonian Channel™. All SNI feeds provide enhanced sound using Dolby Digital 5.1. SNI markets and distributes sports and entertainment events for exhibition to subscribers on a pay-per-view basis through SHOWTIME PPV®.
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