• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, April 10, 2014

Fired up for the upfronts, BuzzFeed wants to help TV networks drive audiences to specific shows. A new “Social Tune In” program, which the “listicle” king debuted on Thursday, is specifically designed to help programmers plug their shows online.

“Telling your friends about a show you like is one thing, but sharing a post or video about why that show is so great is another level of engagement -- one that we specialize in at BuzzFeed,” Ashley McCollum, vice president, business development at Buzzfeed, said. “Social-enabled, word-of-mouth content marketing is the driver for these conversations." 

Bravo and IFC -- both beta partners in the program -- have stayed on as its official launch partners.

Consistent with Buzzfeed’s very native ad model, it helped IFC create a recurring on-air Saturday night "BuzzFeed Block." The themed double-feature movie lineup was accompanied by one of Buzzfeed’s famous lists, which it fashioned for IFC.

Each “BuzzFeed Block” was supported by IFC through on-air promotional spots and by BuzzFeed through sponsored posts on its site.

A recent block featured the movies Up in Smoke and Cheech & Chong’s Animated Movie accompanied by the list, “13 Signs Your Reflexes Have Been Significantly Dulled.”  

IFC has also signed on an ongoing BuzzFeed advertiser to promote "Portlandia," "Maron" and "The Spoils of Babylon."

Members of the new program will also get early access to new ad products like “TV Tune In” -- a new product developed in partnership with GoWatchIt.com, a universal queue and notification platform for filmed content. The feature will provide contextual tune-in information for TV shows and pump out user-enabled notifications.

Tapping into the social-media revolution better than most publishers, Buzzfeed has become a master at reaching young consumers.  

In particular, millennials -- who now find most of their content on customizable news feeds like those powered by Facebook and Twitter -- count Buzzfeed as one of their top 10 content-discovery resources, according to a recent study from SDL.

Buzzfeed’s popularity among young consumers has not been lost on agencies. WPP’s Mindshare just recently formed a strategic partnership with BuzzFeed, which is designed to identify and activate real-time media and marketing opportunities for clients.

Per the deal, Mindshare is receiving detailed access to BuzzFeed Fre.sh data, which analyzes and ranks how its stories move across social media, while Mindshare has made a commitment to buy ads on BuzzFeed.