NBC DEBUTS DICK WOLF’S ‘CONVICTION’ ON iTUNES

As part of its multi-pronged launch efforts for the new legal drama Conviction, NBC will premiere the new series on the iTunes Music Store (www.itunes.com) before it airs on broadcast television. ITunes customers will be able to download the entire episode of the new hour-long drama from Emmy Award winner Dick Wolf (Law & Order) beginning Feb. 21, 10 days before the series’ broadcast debut on Friday, March 3 at 10 p.m. ET. Beginning March 4, episodes will be available for purchase and download for $1.99 per episode the day after airing.

The announcement was made by Jeff Zucker, Chief Executive Officer, NBC Entertainment Group.

“We believe we have a youthful and energetic cast that should appeal to a new audience that is increasingly comfortable with this downloadable format as a viewing option,” said Zucker. “The multi-platform efforts are a buzz-generator for certain shows such as Conviction, and we want to pro-actively reach out to these viewers who have many options for entertainment.”

“Everyone connected with Conviction is excited about being part of the breaking wave of a brand new technology,” executive producer and creator Dick Wolf said.

“We’re thrilled to be making history with NBC premiering a new prime-time series on iTunes for the first time,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s vice president of iTunes. “Millions of viewers will have the chance to watch the pilot episode of ‘Conviction’ on their computer or iPod a full ten days before the show airs on television.”

NBC will be tagging a portion of its show promos with an on-screen graphic promoting the free preview. It will likewise be promoted online on iTunes and across NBC Universal web properties.

NBC describes Conviction as “a fast-paced character-oriented story, focusing on the lives and loves of the young assistant district attorneys in New York, following their career paths as these passionate but naive ADAs are confronted with tough, emotional cases that challenge their limited experience—and force them to mature quickly or be overwhelmed.”

The ensemble cast of Conviction includes Stephanie March, Jordan Bridges, J. August Richards, Milena Govich, Eric Balfour, Anson Mount and Julianne Nicholson. The series was created by Wolf and the pilot was written by Walon Green (Law & Order) and Rick Eid (The Guardian).

Conviction is a Wolf Films production in association with NBC Universal Television Studio. Wolf, Green, Eid and Peter Jankowski are the executive producers.