Ahoy, squirts! Quint here. Today it was announced via the Official Star Wars Show that Lucasfilm will be livestreaming all of Star Wars Celebration. They did something similar last year. I was on the ground for that one (and even pop up for a half-second in the announcement video when I joined fellow geeky bloggers on the livestream to discuss the now infamous "Chewie, we're home" trailer that debuted at the con), but will be at home for this one, so it'll be my first time experiencing their livestreaming funstuffs.
Here's the announcement and I'll be back afterwards with some thoughts on all this:
First of all, this is excellent news and also a positive step in the right direction. I've been saying for years that all major cons need to follow E3's lead. They livestream everything, footage included, yet still make it a special event for the fans actually there in person.
I'm sitting out Comic-Con again this year because it's such a hellish thing to cover and since most stuff they show on the panels is released as the panel is going on we'll actually be able to get Comic-Con news up on the site faster if we're not actually in the hall. But that's still not the same as SDCC livestreaming all their panels in their entirety.
SDCC is going to be faced with being left in the dust if D23 and Celebration start a trend of livestreaming everything. Distributors are going to see how much less bang for their buck they're getting for their money and start pulling away from that Con.
E3 should be the sterling example of how to handle big reveals. Make it a global event and then have hands-on exlusives for fans and access to top notch talent for reporters. That's the perfect balance. At least I think so.
I'll make sure that we embed the live-streams of all the big Star Wars panels weekend after next, including the Rogue One panel and the Young Han Solo/Episode 8 panel. I'm excited that I'll be able to watch along! What about you?
-Eric Vespe
”Quint”
quint@aintitcool.com
Follow Me On Twitter
