Following the news that NBC would release an entire season online, USA announces its plan to release the pilot of Mr. Robot online before its linear premiere.
The hacker drama will launch online on a variety of English and Hispanic VOD and streaming sources on May 27, several weeks before the June 24 linear premiere on USA Network, according to Variety. The pilot will be available to view until the linear premiere on USANetwork.com, Hulu, iTunes, YouTube, and others.
Additionally, other services will stream the pilot until June 5, including IMDB, EW.com, Telemundo.com, and Latina.com, according to Adweek. USA is in talks will additional partners as well.
USA is hoping it’s broad rollout will garner interest in the show and reach a larger audience. While other pilots have been released online before their premiere, this is one of the most expansive digital releases, according to Variety.
“It is more important than ever to push boundaries in order to break through the clutter and reach new audiences,” said Chris McCumber, president of USA Network. “Mr. Robot, which has already garnered awards before it has even aired, gives us a unique opportunity to make some noise and drive word of mouth through this innovative pre-linear strategy.”
USA is also targeting Hispanic audiences with its Mr Robot strategy. The network is going to release the pilot with Spanish subtitles on various platforms including YouTube and Telemundo.com.
“Our goal is to get as many influential, diverse and passionate general market and Hispanic fanbases to watch the pilot well in advance of its linear premiere so they become evangelists for the series,” said Alexandra Shapiro, USA’s executive VP of marketing and digital.
In addition to its pre-linear premiere strategy, NBC Universo cabler will simulcast the June 24 linear premiere with subtitles and will release the other episodes on Spanish-language VOD services with subtitles, according to Variety.
Mr. Robot follows Elliot (Rami Malek), a young hacker who works in cyber security during the day but practices vigilante hacking by night, when the leader (Christian Slater) of an underground hacker group recruits him.