PBS is using a social network in the hopes of engaging a wider audience for a new documentary airing in April.

The public broadcasting station is airing its new documentary film, Earth Days: the Seeds of a Revolution, on Facebook eight days before the film is scheduled to first broadcast on television. This is the first time a major broadcaster has introduced a full-length documentary on the social networking site, PBS says.

During the Facebook premiere, users can watch communally while interacting with each other and with the filmmaker and producer in real time, according to The New York Times. (via MediaBuyerPlanner).
The event uses a new social screening application from Brand Networks, a marketing company which claims it helps to 'socialize' brands. Viewers can RSVP to watch the event on the Earth Days Facebook page. The event is an opportunity to reach a younger audience that may not tune in for the Monday night showing on PBS, executives say.

The film traces the origins of the modern environmental movement through the eyes of nine Americans who propelled the movement from its beginnings in the fifties to 1970 and the original Earth Day. Prior to the Facebook airing of the documentary, the film traveled on a 40-city theatrical tour.