X Factor inks MySpace deal

by Hayley Pinkerfield, Revolution UK 22-Oct-07, 12:00

LONDON - The X Factor has signed an exclusive deal with social networking site MySpace, giving show finalists their own dedicated profile pages to connect with fans.

Throughout the series, fans can log on to http://www.myspace.com/thexfactoruk to view exclusive content, including weekly blogs and videos documenting each act's individual experiences of the show. MySpace users can befriend finalists, leave comments and compare the acts' popularity.

Profiles of the final 12 acts went live as the first performance show aired on Saturday. All finalists started on an equal footing, with only MySpace welcome host Tom as their friend. The site has attracted more 1,654 friends in the three days since launching.

"For X Factor fanatics, the Saturday show is just not enough - now fans can connect with their idols every day on their MySpace profiles. It's another great content exclusive for MySpace."said Dom Cook, marketing director of MySpace UK.

Robert Marsh, FremantleMedia's VP of interactive & telephony, added: "It's important that we embrace social media principles with our shows, and engage with our viewers in a way that's meaningful and compelling, wherever that audience may be."

The X Factor is also being supported by an official web site at http://www.xfactor.tv/, featuring videos and photos from the series, news and a gift shop.