#comcastsxsw

Text and Images by Veronica Penney

NBC’s new comedy streaming service is here, and they’ve kicked off their release in style.

This past Saturday, Seeso hosted their Denver launch party at The Commons on Champa, a public campus for entrepreneurship.

The gathering in Denver was just one piece of Seeso’s nation-wide launch. The streaming service kicked off their official release on March 12 with a star-studded party at South by Southwest (SXSW) in Austin, TX.

True to SXSW style, the Seeso launch festivities would not have been complete without cutting-edge innovations in mobile technology.

For those who couldn’t make it to the main event in Austin, Seeso held launch parties around the U.S. in Denver, Philadelphia, Nashville, Seattle, Chicago and New Haven. Each community hosted a party featuring local comedic talent, plus a live stream of the main event in Austin played on television monitors, connecting attendees at all of the venues in real time.

Live comedy performances at SXSW showcased stars from some of Seeso’s featured content, such as Nate Bargatze from Conan and The Tonight Show, Todd Glass from Last Comic Standing, Megan Gailey from Conan, Todd Barry from Flight of the Concords and standup comedian Joe Pera. A guest DJ set from Lil Jon rounded out the evening.

Back in Denver, the party served up local catering, an open bar and a live comedy performance by Chris Voth, veteran of Last Comic Standing.

“I’m excited to be part of this,” says Voth, opening his routine. “All the major cities, you heard that they went through the list: Chicago, Philadelphia, Nashville, Seattle and New Haven. When you think of the big cities, Denver is right up there with New Haven,” he deadpanned. 

“I’m a Colorado native, and like most Colorado natives, I was born and raised in California,” continues Voth. “I’ve been here 10, 15 years, but I’ve got a sticker on the back of my Jeep that says I’m a native, and that’s really all that matters. Two dollars at Walgreens and you’re in — you don’t have to show documentation or anything like that.”

Event staff circulated the Denver party with iPhones on selfie sticks, allowing viewers to tune into the event’s live stream remotely using the Stringwire mobile app. Stringwire crowdsources user-generated video, enabling users to collaborate to cover an event. It automatically stores recordings online for future viewing and credits the user with the clip.

Welcome to the Comcast Social Media Lounge, a refuge against the storm of South by Southwest (SXSW) Interactive, where the snacks are hot and the couches are soft. No nappers seen. Yet.

Here, while eating a soft pretzel and enjoying a complimentary Austin Amber ale (yes, there’s free beer and wine starting around 4 p.m.), you just might hear one of the Lounge’s many guest lecturers say something super interesting or, drop a head-turning F-bomb.   

Here’s what happened at the Comcast Social Media Lounge on the festival’s first day.