Sony and News Corporation announced
that they have formed a partnership to co-program a new big-screen video
display in New York City's Times Square and sell advertising on it. The first
big event to be shown on the new 35'x40' digital LED screen, located at the
busy intersection of Broadway and West 43rd Street, is Fox Sports' broadcast
tonight (July 13) of Major League Baseball's All-Star Game.
The new screen, which delivers native
10mm pixel resolution, features a News Corp. logo at the top and the Sony logo
at the base. ESI Design created the media master plan, including the video
templates; the interactive experience for the sign; and the branding motion graphics
for News Corp. and its divisions. Strategic marketing agency Song Plus was
engaged by Sony to create short-form, branded, animated content for the screen
that showcases the scope of Sony's properties.
In addition to major events such as the
All-Star game, the screen will show movie trailers, newscasts and commercials
as well as interactive experiences, such as inviting Times Square visitors to
submit responses to poll questions via text messaging with results displayed in
real-time. Sony says that visitors could also compete against each other in a
real-time PlayStation 3 game, broadcast live to the screen, or see themselves
displayed live in larger-than-life, high-definition video.
"The Sony brand is one of the most
recognized in the world," said Gregg Walker, senior vice president,
corporate development, Sony Corp. of America, in a statement. "It's
appropriate that we're back at the center of Times Square, one of the most
popular destinations in the world, to showcase the strength and breadth of
Sony's entertainment and electronics assets. The best part of the new
arrangement is the creative, interactive experiences we'll be able to create
for the public in this extraordinary space.'"
"News Corporation is pleased to
continue our longstanding presence in Times Square, offering the world's best
in news, sports and entertainment in dynamic new ways to our millions of viewers,"
added Jack Horner, VP of corporate affairs and communications for News Corp.
