Microsoft has announced that they have teamed up with the Discovery Channel to give away over 2 million Microsoft points in the Deadliest Catch Sweepstakes (thats 2,500,000 USD for those of you keeping track at home). Apparently the promotion is going to work by texting codes to some number and then you are eligible to receive one of 2,500 prizes.

Interestingly enough, the promotion does not actually require you to watch episodes of the Deadliest Catch in order to obtain these codes. The codes are found in in-game adverts in select Xbox 360 titles such as Madden 09, NHL 09, Skate 2... the list goes on, its most games with a large user base and an infrastructure for in-game advertisements. Deadliest Catch banners are all over the Microsoft network of products right now, from Xbox Live to MSN, but it seems to me the only sure fire way to get people to watch the show is to only make the coveted points accessible by actually viewing the show. Of course, I'm sure they thought about that before deciding on the current sweepstakes model, so I don't quite know what they are thinking.

Either way, the prospect of free points is enticing, and seeing as how I don't actually have to watch the stupid show, I'm game.