I New Dr. Who Leaked on Purpose?

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

------ Forwarded Message
From: Dewayne Hendricks <dewayne () warpspeed com>
Reply-To: <dewayne () warpspeed com>
Date: Wed, 16 Mar 2005 04:34:55 -0800
To: Dewayne-Net Technology List <dewayne-net () warpspeed com>
Subject: [Dewayne-Net] New Dr. Who Leaked on Purpose?

New Dr. Who Leaked on Purpose? 
By Daniel Terdiman
Story location: 
<http://www.wired.com/news/digiwood/0,1412,66913,00.html>

02:00 AM Mar. 16, 2005 PT

The pilot episode of the BBC's highly anticipated new Doctor Who series
may have been intentionally leaked onto file-sharing networks to
generate buzz, a source who instructed the network on viral advertising
told Wired News.

  Earlier this month, the 45-minute premiere episode, entitled "Rose,"
showed up on BitTorrent. The appearance of the episode generated a
flood of discussion in online forums, blogs and the mainstream media.
As a result, interest in the show, which debuts March 26 on BBC One,
has skyrocketed.


  The new series stars Christopher Eccleston as the time-traveling
doctor. The long-running sci-fi series began in 1963 but has been
absent from TV screens since 1989, except for a one-off TV movie, which
was widely panned.

  To one advertising consultant, the leak is clear evidence the BBC is
taking advantage of some recently learned lessons on the power of viral
advertising it got from a collection of hired guns known as the
Broadcast Assassins.

  The Broadcast Assassins were a group of entertainment and technology
veterans brought in last year by the BBC's entertainment group to
"discuss the impact of new technologies on viewing/listening behavior,"
said Asa Bailey, a veteran advertising expert and member of the group.
"We told them all about the how-tos, and how to do viral advertising,"
said Bailey, who is also founder of the Viral Advertising Association.

  Bailey said the BBC asked the group how to use viral advertising to
inform the public of its programming.

  "I told them they should release things before their time, like what
they've done with Doctor Who," he said. "Give out the first episode
online, because it's going to be valuable. You've got that cool factor,
and it's the whole, 'I've seen it before you have' kind of thing."

  Bailey said the leak "is great, and it's the first time we've ever
seen them do it, and so we're really impressed with them."

  Bailey said although he didn't have definite knowledge the leak was
official, the quality of the episode is highly suspicious. If it were
an unofficial leak, it would likely be of poor quality, he said.

  The BBC denied any part in the distribution of the episode.

  "The leak of the first episode on the internet was not a publicity
stunt," BBC spokeswoman Annie Frederick told Wired News in an e-mail.
"It was a significant breach of copyright which is currently under
investigation. The source of it appears to be connected to our
co-production partner. We would urge viewers not to spoil their
enjoyment and to wait for the finished version."

  Frederick didn't say whether the leaked pilot is the final version.
Although the episode is high quality, it may be a rough or incomplete
cut.

  The co-production partner, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, also
denied involvement, and said it is conducting its own investigation.

[snip]

Archives at: <http://Wireless.Com/Dewayne-Net>
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