ShipwreckCentral.com, the online home site of The Sea Hunters television series, is one of the most successful convergent sites on the Web. Produced by Halifax’s Eco-Nova Productions, ShipwreckCentral.com has received various accolades since its launch two years ago, including being named cool site of the day by Netscape, USAToday, and Refdesk.com. The site was also a finalist in the Excellence in Cross Platform category at the 2006 Canadian New Media Awards (CNMA).
As of January 2007, ShipwreckCentral.com has logged more than 350 000 discreet page views, and is averaging more than 1,200 visitors per day. The interactive cornerstone of the site remains the Interactive Shipwreck Map, where users explore a database of media-rich shipwreck records using a fully interactive map-based interface. The main entry and exit page, Live from the Dive, features reports from the Sea Hunter’s location shoots in a video ‘blog format. A two-person production team provides daily reports on the Sea Hunters’ progress.
A partnership with Internet TV service provider Brightcove has enabled the launch of Shipwreck Central Broadband Television, where new video content can be uploaded in minutes. This service helps drive traffic by growing the audience through video syndication, search engine indexing, RSS feeds, and controlled consumer sharing. The site’s capabilities to generate revenue have also increased, incorporating pay media services into the site and offering videos for rental or sale. In the future, Brightcove’s advertising network will also be utilized.
In June of 2006 ShipwreckCentral.com launched a member’s-only subscription section. Expanding on the concept of Shipwreck Central Broadband Television, paying members are offered access to unparalleled amounts of content and the ability to participate in active shipwreck searches. These searches will be filmed and turned into exclusive content for subscribing members.
The continued success of ShipwreckCentral.com will drive viewers to episodes of The Sea Hunters currently airing on History Television and National Geographic Canada. Visit us at www.shipwreckcentral.com!

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