Epix, a premium content joint venture between Paramount, Lionsgate and MGM studios, will air the gig in both SD and HD on the Epix television channel, video on demand service, and online, where it will premiere with a special shared viewing event May 15 at 10 p.m. Eastern. The new "social viewing" or "co-watching" initiative, dubbed the Epix Event Theatre, will allow more than 1,000 fans to view the concert online as it premieres and interact with other watchers.
The Event Theatre is made possible by social TV partner ClipSync, whose launch we wrote about way back in 2006. It's interesting to note that social viewing or co-watching experiences online still seem relatively nascent, although recent experiments from Hulu on Facebook, Fox Home Entertainment and CNN's Facebook coverage of the Obama inauguration have explored some of the possibilities of social TV.
Some of the activities planned for those who tune in Saturday night include social tools like live polls, live comments and "interactables" which "connote laughing, applauding, a lighter, rock horns, hearts, kisses, and more" -- sounding sort of like emotes on steroids. The screenshot above gives some idea of what the experience will be like upon logging in May 15 for the live broadcast.
If you're interested in tuning in for the Black Eyed Peas, you can head over to EpixHD.com/invite any time between now and Saturday to snag access to the show. What do you think of the concept of co-watching for live events?