One of the largest cruise companies in the world is launching a digital streaming channel
The cruise ship company is launching its own digital streaming TV channel called "OceanView," which will be available across 60 of its 103 ships as well as on Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV and Roku starting today, September 28.
The company is also launching two new digital series, expanding on its roster of existing original show franchises and taking its total tally to six. Carnival already has four shows that have run on network and cable TV including NBC, ABC and A&E Networks, whose 80 plus episodes will also be added to OceanView to increase their reach.
"It was always a part of our strategy that we would have OTT streaming available eventually,"said Michael Jungen, SVP of guest experience design and technology at Carnival Corporation. "We are an experience company, and it would be a missed opportunity for us not to capitalize on our resources and remind guests about the experiences we are capable of providing them."
The two new digital shows are called "Go" and "Local Eyes." While the former focuses on the travels of artist and explorer Trek Thunder Kelly, the latter explores destinations that Carnival goes to from the perspective of locals. Each episode in the two shows is 10 minutes long and commercial-free, to keep the viewers interested and engaged, according to the company.
"It's not about cheesy brand or product placement, it's about showing the authentic experiences that we bring to our guests," said John Padgett, chief experience and innovation Officer at Carnival Corporation. "In a little over a year, we've gone from having zero original content, to having over a 100 episodes of original content."
The brand promoted the channel by setting up a live booth and digital billboards at Times Square on Thursday, and also got its executives to do a bunch of live-streamed videos on Facebook Live. Carnival is also working with media companies such as BuzzFeed to create and promote upcoming episodes.
The channel is the company's latest attempt to venture into digital entertainment. Earlier this week, for instance, it announced PlayOcean, a suite of mobile app games for its vacationers.