CONtv, Cinedigm’s subscription-video service dedicated to all things Comic Con, will provide more than 15 hours of live-streaming coverage of Wizard World’s Comic Con Chicago 2015 this weekend — which the company is touting as the most extensive access of its kind to date.
The CONtv Live coverage, running from 10:30 a.m. CT Saturday and concluding Sunday afternoon, is set to include panels with Jeremy Renner (“Avengers,” “Mission Impossible”), Ben McKenzie (“Gotham”) and mustachioed ’70s icon Burt Reynolds (“Cannonball Run,” “Archer”) along with discussions on “Deadpool,” “Jurassic World” and other topics.
The live program will be hosted by standup comedian and veteran Comic Con host Erin Darling (above right) and Fullscreen-affiliated YouTuber Andre Meadows of Black Nerd Comedy. Special guest appearances are to include cast members from “The Evil Dead,” “Mortal Kombat X” and “Tales of Halloween.”
“This is the most ambitious Comic Con coverage ever attempted in a live stream,” said Erick Opeka, Cinedigm’s EVP of digital channels.
The live stream will be available to subscribers of the CONtv VIP package, which costs $6.99 per month, available on multiple connected devices. The service, launched earlier this year, currently provides 2,500 hours of original programming, including films and TV episodes as well as exclusive Comic Con panel coverage from dozens of annual nationwide events.
Cinedigm launched CONtv this March in partnership with Wizard World, which produces nearly 30 Comic Con events across North America but is unaffiliated with Comic-Con International: San Diego. Separately, Lionsgate has a deal with Comic-Con International for a Comic-Con-branded subscription VOD service, now slated to launch in early 2016.
