CSNPhilly.com Invites Fans To Catch ‘Friday Night Phever’

By Carolyn Braff
Even the
world champions of baseball have competition on Friday nights in the
summertime. To combat that, Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia has created
a second-screen
experience, complete with prize giveaways. Beginning tonight, and
continuing
every Friday night throughout the season, fans can log on to www.CSNPhilly.com to play Friday Night
Phever, a free online game developed by Vancouver-based Exponentia that
incorporates predictive contests, interactive chat, and access to live stats to
keep fans connected on their second screen.
“Friday
night is a tough night for television,” explains Brian Monihan, senior vice
president and general manager for Comcast SportsNet. “We want to try to build
viewing levels for Phillies baseball, which have a lot of Friday night games,
and we want to play off the fact that we have really been pushing our Website
and our digital image. We’ve been tying our Website in with the linear network
as much as we can, so this seemed like a logical extension.”
Friday
Night Phever rewards fan interaction — and accurate game predictions — with
cash prizes. A commemorative World Series bat will be awarded weekly, and the
overall leader at the end of the season wins a $500 shopping spree at the Phillies
Majestic store.
“More and
more people, particularly younger males, seem to be having their computer up as
they’re watching the game,” Monihan explains. “This is a way to play off of
that, to interact in between watching the game and competing for prizes. These
days, any time people can compete to win a prize, they’ll get excited about it.”
Comcast
SportsNet tapped Exponentia to develop the Friday Night Phever platform.
Exponentia develops online and mobile applications designed to drive
interactivity for live entertainment audiences. The company has created
applications for NHL and NBA teams, but Friday Night Phever is Exponentia’s
first baseball application.
CSNPhilly.com
was recently relaunched to shift its focus toward incorporating more video and
interactivity.
“We’ve been
trying to make CSNPhilly.com the online sports destination for Philadelphia, and this made a lot of sense in
trying to marry the TV station with what’s going on online,” Monihan explains. “We’re
constantly trying to bring more, and better, experiences to our viewers and our
fans. Friday night’s a tough night because there are so many things to do in
the summertime, and this is a way for us to say don’t just sit back, get
involved, be a part of it.”
Participation
in the Friday Night Phever game is free, but fans must register online at www.csnphilly.com to play. For now, the
game will remain exclusive to Friday nights, but pending success, it could be
expanded to other nights during the week, or even to other sports (CSN
Philadelphia also covers the Eagles, Flyers, and Sixers).
A trial run
on Thursday afternoon ensured that the technology was up and running properly,
and the game debuts tonight, May 15, during the Phillies’ away game against the
Washington Nationals.