New York Comic Con 2020 to partner with YouTube for virtual convention
The year of COVID-19 impacting conventions continues. ReedPop announced on Tuesday that they are officially partnering with YouTube to host a virtual version of New York Comic Con in lieu of an in-person event.
“We are thoroughly disappointed that we can’t gather together, in-person for the New York Comic Con we love to build and our fans love to revel in," ReedPop President Lance Fensterman said in a statement. "We look forward to this weekend all year long, just like you, and with this being our 15th edition, we were particularly excited. I will miss walking up and down artist alley and seeing friends that I’ve made since we were in the basement at the Javits Center. While this year will definitely be a different experience, we are going to look to bring the best and most engaging event to our fans, exhibitors, and studios through our partnership with YouTube.”
From Oct. 8-11, the official NYCC YouTube account will exclusively stream live panels from various pop culture franchises. There is not an official list of panels yet, but ReedPop's announcement singled out Starz's American Gods and CBS All-Access' Star Trek shows as specific examples of panels that will be held. DreamWorks Animation and Hulu/FX were also mentioned, though not for any specific shows. Earlier this week, FX announced that season 4 of Fargo (starring Chris Rock) will premiere on Sept. 27, so could potentially be a timely inclusion.
As anyone who's been to NYCC knows, a major element of convention panels is the chance to ask questions of the panelists. ReedPop and YouTube will try to replicate that experience virtually via YouTube’s Community and Live Chat functions. Instead of an in-person Artist Alley, ReedPop will create a virtual marketplace for fans to explore the newest items for sale from exhibitors and comic creators. More specific details about those will be rolled out in the coming months.
In the meantime, later this week ReedPop is hosting the MetaVerse August event, which will similarly feature virtual panels and workshops with creators and celebrities.
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