Prior to the show's episode #1113, "The Two Mrs. Grissoms," the Facebook Page housing CSI: Crime Scene Investigation: Crime City will pose a question to fans that can only be answered by watching the episode. The game's new component coincides with February sweeps and will run through the end of the month.
To make this possible, game developers at Ubisoft, the creator of the CSI game, were given access to upcoming scripts from the show. The cross-media promotion comes at the same time that Kia is running its "One Epic Ride" promotion, challenging viewers to find clues in a 60-second Super Bowl spot to win a 2011 Optima. And ABC has announced plans to revive its Sync iPad app, which will provide extra content from Grey's Anatomy for users as they watch the show.
"It's not surprising that this is being done," says Brad Adgate, senior vice president of research for media services firm Horizon Media. He notes that research indicates many viewers watch TV with their cell phones or iPad at their side. In the case of CSI, though, the show has been trying to win over younger viewers for some time -- it even had Justin Bieber star in an episode last fall. "The thing with CSI is, the median age is in the mid 50s," says Adgate. "I don't know how many of them are on Facebook."