Fremantlemedia Enterprises Gets Personal With The X Factor

To kick start the fourth series of The X Factor in the UK, FremantleMedia Enterprises (FME) has announced the launch of the brand new The X Factor website, which will provide fans of the award-winning TV series, created by Simon Cowell and co-produced by his entertainment company SyCo TV and talkbackTHAMES, with a fully integrated suite of new media offerings in conjunction with industry leaders Lycos, Google, YouTube and MySpace.
FME has developed a comprehensive social networking and user-generated content area on the official The X Factor website (itv.com/xfactor) in partnership with Lycos, one of Europe's leading internet destinations. Entitled 'My X Factor', fans will be able to submit their own, funny The X Factor related video clips, which other users can comment on and rate; the best and funniest clips will be in with a chance to appear on The Xtra Factor show which airs on ITV2. Users can collate this content together with other videos and forum posts they have generated in their very own personalised profile page.
The website will also incorporate additional social networking offerings such as an integrated peer-to-peer messaging tool, forum boards and a 'buddy' tool, which will allow users to become friends with each other and the 12 finalists during the live phase of the series. All users will earn points by interacting with the site, and the users with the most points each week will feature on the homepage.
For the very first time, FME will provide fans of The X Factor with an official Google gadget which they can add to their iGoogle homepage or embed into their own website. As well as keeping them up to date with what's happening on the show, the gadget will also provide them with links to the latest video and photo galleries on The X Factor website.
Also new this year is the launch of a premium The X Factor branded channel on YouTube. Each week, fans will be able to watch and share a selection of new videos with their friends and fellow fans, which are all exclusive to YouTube.
Dominic Burns, Senior Vice President, Licensing, UK, FremantleMedia Enterprises commented: "The fourth series of The X Factor is on course to be our biggest so far. These new developments on the official website have been designed specifically to encourage user participation and interaction, and most importantly, a really compelling user experience for fans of the show beyond the TV screen. Our aim is to bring the most exciting and innovative content to existing online communities while encouraging new engagement and we're confident that this year, we're truly able to offer access all areas to the nation's biggest talent contest, anytime and anywhere."
The third series of The X Factor was the highest rated show on ITV1 in 2006 for 16 to 34-year-olds, and consistently performed above the channel's prime time average. The show consistently won its time slot for its target demographic of 16 to 34-year-olds with the finale attracting a massive audience of 10.8 million viewers.
The X Factor is co-produced by Simon Cowell's SyCo TV and talkbackTHAMES, the UK production company owned by FremantleMedia, for ITV.
For more information www.itvcom/xfactor
(DS/SP)