The global hit TV series Sherlock is expanding its fan base thanks to a second screen app created by Australian-based digital production company The Project Factory (TPF) .
Chinese internet giant Tencent has signed an exclusive agreement to distribute a Chinese-language version of the app for Android devices in China, where the show has 65 million viewers.
Sherlock: The Network – the Official App was launched in English in 37 countries in January as a premium app on iOS. TPF has now made the app available on the Android platform via the Amazon Appstore.
Developed in tandem with the show’s producers Hartswood Films, the app is a totally original Sherlock story that builds across 10 cases and one central mystery.
Users get video, voicemail, text and email messages from the main characters to help Sherlock as a part of his ‘Homeless Network’ of trusted associates.
Guy Gadney, Group Executive Director at The Project Factory, said: “It's becoming ever harder to engage across multiple media formats. With audiences fiercely attentive during the 'livespan' of a TV series duration, they are left wanting for an ongoing hit of their favourite characters when it concludes.
“That's a gross mismatch of audience engagement, digital experience and potential revenue opportunity for the asset owner. However, on this occasion, Benedict Cumberbatch and his team of sleuths continue to live and interact beyond the TV ensuring audience loyalty and increasing engagement – this is the new world of interactive storytelling.”
TPF’s credits include the Emmy-nominated work for The Great British Property Scandal, social engagement for Downton Abbey and Ripper Street, and a multi-platform project for the soap opera GTST for RTL Netherlands.
Among its other clients are Sky, Channel 4, NBC Universal, BBC, ITV, Endemol, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Tiger Aspect Productions, Film 4, BFI, PBS, ABC and the Ten, Nine and Seven networks