Alibi launches 8 crime shorts to puzzle audiences and drive retention during ad breaks
UKTV has unveiled a new dynamic short crime drama called 'the Alibis' which will encourage viewers to pay attention during the ad breaks as they try to solve a murder.
The shorts, created by Rubber Republic, will be interspersed among the traditional Alibi schedule to entertain and engage viewers with a single clue granted in each slot.
Each episode will help viewers piece together the ‘whodunnit’ jigsaw - also encouraging multiple viewings.
Esther Pilgerstorfer, UKTV commissioning producer, said: “In an era of increasingly immersive storytelling The Alibis feels like a great way to enhance our audience’s link with our crime channel by actively involving them in their own real time crime drama.
“We’ll be watching the audience’s reaction to this closely to guide our future innovation.”
Matt Golding, director of the Alibis and co-founder of Rubber Republic, added: “In an increasingly competitive multi-channel world keeping audiences engaged with your channel is hugely important. Alibi, UKTV’s crime channel, are taking an innovative approach to keeping audiences hooked in 2015 by creating a miniature crime series that the audience have to solve.
“We are delighted to be making content outside the traditional worlds of advertising and viral campaigns. And while we remain committed to making great content that people want to share, it’s great to be putting our skills to the test by working on exciting, innovative briefs like this.”
Such programming strategy helped UKTV acquire a nine per cent share of the British TV advertising market in 2014, with Alibi responsible for 0.43 per cent of that chunk.
As a brief taster of the series, catch the first episode below.