Sinclair will offer a rare look inside the making of two “CSI” franchises during a new television event called Charge Con later this month, the broadcaster announced on Tuesday.
The two-day event will include a behind-the-scenes look at the development of “CSI: New York” and “CSI: Miami,” which air in syndication on Sinclair’s multicast network Charge, as well as exclusive interviews with CSI creator Anthony E. Zuiker.
“For 25 years, I’ve had the honor of telling stories that put science and justice at the center of prime-time. CSI wasn’t just a television show — it was a cultural shift,” Zuiker said in a statement on Tuesday. “What started as a bold idea became a global franchise, and I’m endlessly grateful to our fans who helped turn a microscope and a mystery into a movement. Thank you to my partners in crime: Sinclair and Charge Con.”
Charge Con will see Zuiker offer commentary during a curated schedule of hand-picked CSI: New York episodes on Friday, May 16 from 12 p.m. to 10 p.m. Eastern Time, and again with CSI: Miami episodes on Saturday, May 17 from 12 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET.
“The CSI franchise is iconic and has had a lasting impact on television,” said Adam Ware, the Senior Vice President of Growth Networks at Sinclair. “We’re excited to launch the inaugural Charge Con with CSI: NY and CSI: Miami, two series that helped define the genre. Having Anthony Zuiker share his insights and favorite episodes offers an extraordinary experience for our viewers, and a fitting tribute to these renowned shows.”
The Charge Con initiative builds on the momentum Sinclair has seen with the multicast network over the past few years. The channel is widely distributed on free broadcast TV across the country, and is offered on the digital sub-channel of major CBS-owned stations in some key markets, including Philadelphia and Dallas.
In April, The Desk reported that the NCAA March Madness tournament aired on CBS provided a lift to Charge’s audience when sports fans sampled across the dial in some major markets. Charge saw its audience increase by 326 percent during March Madness when viewers in Houston moved from CBS to Charge on KTVT (Channel 11), according to Nielsen ratings viewed by The Desk. Other multicast networks, like Comet and Roar (formerly TBD), experienced similar trends.
Sinclair executives believe that the company’s approach to carving out identities for its multicast networks and programming them with dayparting in mind — the very thing that, historically, larger broadcast networks like ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox have done — are responsible for winning over viewers.
Events like Charge Con (stylized as CHARGECON) and another called Comet Fest — an in-person convention built off Sinclair’s sci-fi infused multicast network Comet — are designed to enhance engagement and super-serve audiences at a time of renewed interest in broadcast TV.
