How TV Brands Are Using SXSW To Showcase Their Series

03.10.2016

Top TV brands have headed to Austin, Texas to debut their newest series, promote their latest shows, and get people talking with major sponsorships and events.

The week-long pop culture festival runs from March 13 - 21. Following last year's premiere of USA Network's hacker drama Mr. Robot, TV premieres have begun to play a bigger role at the annual festival.

Here's a look at what some brands are doing to interact with fans and make a splash at this year's SXSW.

Comedy Central

Comedy Central's @Midnight with Chris Hardwick, will launch a live broadcast on Periscope to engage fans who didn't score SXSW tickets. This is the first time a late-night show will broadcast a full episode live exclusively on the social media platform.

RELATED: TV Marketers Gear Up for SXSW

USA

Hit hacker drama Mr. Robot, launched at SXSW in 2015, and will take over Austin with a giant activation that includes a 10-story Ferris wheel and a retro arcade in a nod to the series' Coney Island setting.

RELATED: 'Mr. Robot' Hacks SXSW

Showtime

Showtime will throw a three-day music festival featuring 27 bands in celebration of Cameron Crowe's new music series Roadies. In the spirit of paying homage to backstage workers, all roadies working SXSW can join the music festival as VIPs and receive free massages, food, cocktails and schwag. Showtime also is sponsoring the official SXSW app, and created a mobile game inspired by the series Shut the Truck Up.

RELATED: Showtime Releases First Look of Cameron Crowe's 'Roadies'

NBC

Cameron Esposito, an executive producer of Take My Wife, will give a sneak peek of her first ever stand-up special, Cameron Esposito: Marriage Material. NBCUniversal Digital Enterprises also will livestream shows from its ad-free streaming comedy channel Seeso. The lineup includes a special Bajillion Dollar Propertie$ episode featuring co-host Howard Kremer's Who Charted podcast, a first look at the upcoming Seeso original series HarmonQuest and stand-up sets from Esposito and Rhea Butcher.

PBS

PBS is offering its Anywhere Lounge for the second year in a row, featuring photo ops, giveaways, and a daily happy hour as visitors relax and recharge while watching favorite PBS programs, available on multiple devices-anytime, anywhere.

FYI FYI's BiteClub will transform the Driskill Hotel into a hub to "Feed Your Imagination." Hosted by Michael Chernow of Food Porn, programming includes a "Quesoff" competition with nine different styles of cheese, portrait espresso drinks by coffee artist Michael Breach, an edible wall installation, culinary-inspired podcasts and mini studios that teach the art of taking Instagrammable food photos.

AMC

AMC's Preacher won't hit TV screens until May, but the network will launch a world premiere of its supernatural, twisted and darkly comedic drama at the Paramount Theater.

RELATED: Get A First Look at 'Preacher' Character Photos Before SXSW World Premiere

HBO

HBO's new dark comedy Vice Principals, set in a high school, will screen at the Alamo Ritz Theater, followed by a Q&A with cast members Danny McBride, Walton Goggins and Kimberly Hebert Gregory, along with executive producers Jody Hill and David Gordon Green.

HBO will also hold a panel tied to Silicon Valley's upcoming season-three premiere.

Cinemax

Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman is heading to SXSW to present a world premiere of it's latest comic-book adaption series Outcast.