Inkjet & Digital Printing
HP Broadcasts Live Streaming Comedy Show on YouTube, Inspired by Audience
Monday 24. January 2011 - Comedian Rob Riggle hosts HP ePrint Live, a six-day showcase of crowd-sourced improv comedy
HP today announced the launch of HP ePrint Live, a crowd-sourced live event and video series hosted by comedian Rob Riggle that will be broadcast live on YouTube and feature actors from the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre (UCB Theatre).
HP ePrint Live puts viewers in control by allowing them to send ideas for skits via HP ePrint technology.(1) Viewers simply email submissions for the cast to turn into a performance.
The two-hour live show will broadcast on the HP ePrint Live YouTube channel as well as the HP for Home Facebook page. Viewers also can participate for five days following the show, as suggestions will continue to be converted into original comedy shorts for viewing and sharing across online networks.
“HP continues to explore new ways to engage with its consumers and give them unique content experiences whether they are at home or on the go,” said Tariq Hassan, vice president, Worldwide Marketing and Communications, Imaging and Printing Group, HP. “HP ePrint Live exposes YouTube viewers to a new technology by making it the central communications tool for an original, fun and engaging online event.”
Viewers can submit their ideas. The accepted messages will print to one of the HP printers on stage. Riggle and the team of UCB Theatre comedians will choose skit ideas and perform them live before millions of YouTube viewers. Submissions(2) will be assembled into an ePrint gallery viewable on the live stream.
“Both YouTube and HP focus on bringing to market innovative solutions and services that streamline and improve the way that consumers interact with technology and with each other,” said Suzie Reider, director, Advertising, YouTube. “HP ePrint Live not only redefines content control for our community, but also pushes brands to think differently about the value they can bring to the people they want to engage. HP is pioneering a new form of branded entertainment.”
The show will be featured today on the homepage of YouTube. The live event begins at 3 p.m. ET and will be followed by five days (Jan. 22 – 26) of rapidly produced comedy shorts based on new ePrint submissions.
Crowd-sourced comedy on demand
Consumers can email skit ideas in the form of photos, single words and drawings. Members of the UCB Theatre will turn these ideas into free-form improv performances.
If a consumers HP ePrint submission is selected by the UCB Theatre, he or she will receive a link to the personal video via email. The skit also will be posted online at the HP ePrint Live YouTube channel and the HP for Home Facebook page.
If a consumers skit idea is not chosen on Jan. 21, he or she can send in additional suggestions through Jan. 26. Members of the UCB Theatre will continue to accept ePrint submissions for performance during the custom comedy short period and ideas chosen will be posted online at the HP ePrint Live YouTube channel and HP for Home Facebook page, as well as emailed to the sender. Each day will feature a different theme and setting, including home (day 1), office (day 2), school (day 3), travel (day 4) and “anything goes” (day 5).
Users going to YouTubes mobile site on Jan. 21 will see a mobile advertisement featuring HP ePrint Live. Once clicked, iPhone and Android users will be taken to
http://www.hpeprintlive.mobi
, a mobile site that will feature the live stream. Users will have the option to select from four different camera angles on their mobile devices.
Best Buy will serve as the exclusive retail partner and will feature an All-on-Sale of HP Photosmart e-All-in-One printers in store and online through Jan. 29.