Collected Data
"His piecemeal approach offers no consistent strategy to address the challenges facing Canadian television production in the Netflix age."
Having started by trimming the Canadian programming requirements, Blais is now cutting the money, subtracting from the other side of the equation that is still an effective support for Canadian TV production. Following a decision last fall that reduced the number of Canadian creatives who need to be involved for shows to qualify for investments for certain production funds, this latest move continues a pattern of chipping away at supports randomly without offering a clear vision of what might replace them or where that “compelling and original Canadian content” is going to come from.
CRTC leaves Canadian television to fend for itself in Netflix age
"Three long-time Vancouver-generated reality series have fallen to the axe."
“We are extremely proud of the volumes of strong Canadian original content we have delivered to audiences over the years,” said Godfrey. “After resonating with legions of fans, Chopped Canada, Timber Kings and Yukon Gold have reached their natural end and won’t be renewed for another season. The success that these series had is a true testament to our exceptionally talented production partners at Paperny Entertainment and eOne and Corus applauds the cast, creators, producers, and writers for their dedication to these Canadian originals.
Vancouver-created TV shows cancelled
It was fun while it lasted.
"Mondasian Cybermen – the original version of the Doctor’s deadly enemies who hail from the planet Mondas"
Filming has begun on the final two episodes of Doctor Who series 10, with this first look image revealing the return of a much-feared classic foe.
The Doctor (Peter Capaldi) is pictured with the Mondasian Cybermen – the original version of the Doctor’s deadly enemies who hail from the planet Mondas and have not been seen in Doctor Who for over fifty years.
Original Mondasian Cybermen return to Doctor Who!
"If money was no object, I’d get the men and women of Pioneer Log Homes to build me a house."
Returning for Season 4 on HGTV, Sunday’s premiere is a two-parter beginning at 9 p.m. ET/PT—Timber Kings moves to its regular timeslot next week—that begins with an instalment entitled “Heaven’s Gate.” Of course, building heavenly projects involves a lot of hellish conditions and this is no exception. This season of the show features international build locations in Germany and Scotland, but things kick off not too far from Pioneer’s headquarters in Williams Lake, B.C.
TIMBER KINGS RETURNS FOR HEAVENLY SEASON 4 ON HGTV CANADA
RIP George "The Animal" Steele
WWE;
Steele was one of the wildest and most unpredictable Superstars in sports-entertainment history. Yet, despite his green tongue, hairy torso and insatiable appetite for turnbuckle pads, "The Animal" was a very well-educated man. Prior to breaking into sports-entertainment, Steele received his Master’s Degree from Central Michigan University and became a high school teacher and wrestling coach in the Detroit area.
It was during his teaching stint that he began moonlighting in sports-entertainment, working in the Detroit-area promotions. Steele’s first WWE appearances took place in 1967, when he began a heated rivalry with WWE Champion Bruno Sammartino. For nearly 20 years, Steele was a reviled villain, managed by the likes of fellow WWE Hall of Famers The Grand Wizard, "Classy" Freddie Blassie, Capt. Lou Albano and Mr. Fuji. His classic main events against Sammartino, Pedro Morales and Bob Backlund saw him come close to winning the WWE Championship on many occasions.
George "The Animal" Steele passes away
Timber Kings Season 4 Premiere March 5th at 9pm
The master builders of Pioneer Log Homes in Williams Lake, B.C. stop at nothing to get the job done under tight deadlines and intense pressure to build massive, multi-million dollar homes. The fourth season of Timber Kings carves out a home on the schedule Sundays beginning March 5 with a two-episode premiere at 9 p.m. ET/PT and subsequent episodes airing at 10 p.m. ET/PT. This season, the team constructs everything from a 50-foot log teepee to a breathtaking 20,000-square-foot log mansion in locations spanning from Vancouver Island to Germany. Fans can also watch exclusive, behind the scenes videos and home tours of the cast and crew’s homes on HGTV.ca.
HGTV CANADA SWINGS INTO SPRING WITH RETURNING HIT CANADIAN ORIGINAL SERIES
"One of the greatest privileges of being Doctor Who is to see the world at its best"
Peter Capaldi has confirmed that he will leave Doctor Who at the end of the show's current run, bowing out to make way for a new Doctor.
Capaldi will leave at the end of series 10, with the 2017 Christmas special serving as his last hurrah.
Peter Capaldi confirms he's leaving Doctor Who at the end of series 10
New season starts on April 15th.
"The ultimate apex predator of mixed martial arts is back and he’s determined to find out who’s the best pound for pound fighter in history — among dinosaurs, that is."
While many would assume that St-Pierre would be the modern-day equivalent of a T. rex, he says he wouldn't want to be that particular predator. "I wouldn't want to be a T. rex because T. rex had the hardest life ever," he says. "They hunted some of the most dangerous and ferocious herbivores and they had to compete with other T. rexes. It was probably the hardest life ever."
St-Pierre says he would prefer to have been a dromaeosaurus, a small but nasty dinosaur that lived in the late Cretaceous. Think of a meaner version of the velociraptors from Jurassic Park and you’ll have the idea. “It was very smart,” St-Pierre says. “Pound for pound, it was probably the best killing machine ever.”
GSP is back — as host of the dinosaur show The Boneyard
“Even the insects, they could kill us,” he said. “I wouldn't last a day, and it would be a bad day.”
“You know in my sport I try to be, so to speak, the apex predator in the octagon,” St-Pierre explained. “So with this show, I'm on a quest to find out who is the all-time, baddest, meanest apex predator that ever lived.
Georges St-Pierre talks 'The Boneyard,' getting back in the octagon
The 2 pilot episodes premiere April 14th at 9 and 9:30pm.
"He was also a fantastic nerd, a man who despite his chiseled frame, athletic genius, barely concealed rage, and millions of dollars, was willing to admit that he was more interested in dinosaurs than sports."
Now, with MMA light years away from the shadowy spectacle it was when GSP made his UFC debut back in 2004 (his job done, I guess), the former champion of the world has finally found a way to spin his world-changing success in the Octagon into an opportunity to indulge his first and truest love. On April 14th, the History Channel will be premiering a new two-part television special called The Boneyard With Georges St-Pierre in which the former fighter will travel the world looking for dinosaur bones. After two years of self-imposed exile the world's most dangerous nerd has found a new home.
GEORGES ST-PIERRE IS NOW THE HOST OF A TELEVISION SHOW ABOUT DINOSAURS
"When it comes to making tough budgeting decisions, it appears Canadians are more inclined to cut their cable rather than their internet service, which is seen as a necessity these days."
It's important to remember that most Canadian households still subscribe to traditional TV — more than 11 million at last count.
But there's no denying that cord-cutting numbers keep on rising. Some industry analysts had speculated that the new CRTC-mandated $25 skinny basic TV packages would help stem the tide. But there appears to be little interest in the new offering.
Cable cord-cutting numbers soar in Canada thanks to Netflix, high prices, says report
"Facebook killed TV. That is wildly oversimplified, of course, but probably as close to the truth as you can get in three words."
The TV networks already seem, grudgingly, to see where things are going, and have responded by putting their stuff, grudgingly, online. But they're still dragging their heels. They still seem to wish people would watch shows on TV instead, just as newspapers that put their stories online still seem to wish people would wait till the next morning and read them printed on paper. They should both just face the fact that the Internet is the primary medium.
They'd be in a better position if they'd done that earlier. When a new medium arises that's powerful enough to make incumbents nervous, then it's probably powerful enough to win, and the best thing they can do is jump in immediately.
Whether they like it or not, big changes are coming, because the Internet dissolves the two cornerstones of broadcast media: synchronicity and locality. On the Internet, you don't have to send everyone the same signal, and you don't have to send it to them from a local source. People will watch what they want when they want it, and group themselves according to whatever shared interest they feel most strongly. Maybe their strongest shared interest will be their physical location, but I'm guessing not. Which means local TV is probably dead. It was an artifact of limitations imposed by old technology. If someone were creating an Internet-based TV company from scratch now, they might have some plan for shows aimed at specific regions, but it wouldn't be a top priority.
Why TV Lost
"The Boneyard with Georges St-Pierre"
Mixed martial arts superstar Georges St-Pierre is regarded as one of the greatest champions in the history of the sport, but there’s something he loves even more than fighting: dinosaurs and prehistoric beasts. Now, in his first ever break from the ring, Georges is embarking on a globetrotting journey into the heart of modern palaeontology.
The Boneyard with Georges St-Pierre
Tune into History Canada on April 14th at 9pm ET/PT.
"Without broadcast regulation and Canadian ownership requirements, spending on Canadian programming could be less than a third of what it is today,"
In launching the hearings into local TV, the regulator said it's convinced there's already enough money in the broadcasting system to ensure stations can create quality local programming, including local news coverage.
But it said there may have to be a rebalancing of resources within the system.
But "robbing Peter to pay Paul" won't alleviate the revenue crunch that has backed some TV stations against a wall, said Friends of Canadian Broadcasting.
"Just redistributing the funds that the cable and satellite companies pass on from their subscribers would be, at best, a stop-gap measure and not a solution to the problem," said group spokesman Ian Morrison.
CRTC hearings on local TV get dire warning that half of all stations could close by 2020
"The time to start worrying about the consequences of our editorial decisions was before we raised a generation of people who get all of their information from television"
If you got all of your information from TV and movies, you'd have some pretty dumb ideas. You'd be convinced blowing stuff up works, because it always does in our movies. You'd have no empathy for the poor, because there are no poor people in American movies or TV shows - they're rarely even shown on the news, because advertisers consider them a bummer.
Politically, you'd have no ability to grasp nuance or complexity, since there is none in our mainstream political discussion. All problems, even the most complicated, are boiled down to a few minutes of TV content at most. That's how issues like the last financial collapse completely flew by Middle America. The truth, with all the intricacies of all those arcane new mortgage-based financial instruments, was much harder to grasp than a story about lazy minorities buying houses they couldn't afford, which is what Middle America still believes.
It's Too Late to Turn Off Trump
"Canada's top TV providers have lost almost seven times more customers so far this year compared with the same period in 2014"
"Canadians are moving toward mobile technology."
"Campbell is the king of the nerds, or at least a particular kind of gore-loving nerd that's slightly more self-aware than most."
During his Comic Con panel, Campbell jokingly expressed a bit of pessimism about his track record as a TV star. "Every time I star in a series it lasts one season," he said, referencing his runs on the short-lived The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. and Jack of All Trades, both of which were action-adventure series featuring a steampunk influence. Meanwhile, Campbell said, "Every time I'm second fiddle it goes on for fucking ever."
Bruce Campbell Will Never Die, But You Will
Watch: "Under the Lake: Next Time Trailer - Doctor Who: Series 9 Episode 3"
"There could be no more cruelly perfect metaphor for the ultra-efficient sorting processes of socioeconomic privilege."
In short, Sesame Street was founded to help low-income kids keep up with their more affluent peers. That is literally why it exists. It succeeded beyond anyone’s expectations. And now it is becoming the property of a premium cable network, so that a program launched to help poor kids keep up with rich kids is now being paywalled so that rich kids can watch it before poor kids can.
Why Sesame Street’s Move to HBO Is Both Great and Extremely Depressing
Cory Doctorow at Boing Boing sums it up pretty well…
This turn of affairs comes from the austerity brought on by the economic crisis, which has deeply cut the public broadcasters on whom Sesame Street depends. In other words, the richest people in America, having first looted the world's bank-accounts through an act of incredible fraud, and then having benefitted from the bailouts that followed, and then having used the Republican Congress to create tax-breaks and preserve tax-loopholes, have so starved public services in America that programming created specifically to serve poor children must be optimized for the viewing of rich children, and delivered only to the poor children it was intended for after the children of the rich have tired of it.
"This has been coming for a long time"
This is just the first shot in a new system of distribution that has been building for quite a while; I’m really surprised it has taken traditional media this long to notice that frankly, they’re in long term trouble. There’s no way this trend is turning around, and what happens next is -as far as I can see- that Netflix gets bigger and bigger, and traditional media becomes less and less relevant to millennials.
A Bad Day For Traditional Media
"Further down the carpet, I saw someone interviewing a dog. The dog, I later found out, is Instagram famous"
"Today’s television assumes that viewers can pay close attention because the technology allows them to easily do so."
As shows craft ongoing mysteries, convoluted chronologies or elaborate webs of references, viewers embrace practices that I’ve termed “forensic fandom.” Working as a virtual team, dedicated fans embrace the complexities of the narrative – where not all answers are explicit – and seek to decode a program’s mysteries, analyze its story arc and make predictions.
Why has TV storytelling become so complex?
"Get ready, Timber Kings fans: There are a new group of kings in town."
“I am tough, but deep inside my toughness, I like to let people know I’m an old-fashioned mama’s boy.”
Once known as one of Hollywood’s tough guys, the one-time bouncer and mohawked member of TV’s “The A-Team” will show a tender side as he helps people in need of redoing kitchens and living rooms as part of a new show on Scripps Networks’ DIY. Mr. T’s “I Pity the Tool” is the latest in a growing series of programs on the cable network that place celebrities in the midst of tricky home repairs and remodels.
Mr. T to Wield Sledgehammer for DIY Home-Renovation Series
"A roadmap to maximize choice and affordability for Canadian television viewers."
By March 2016, Canadians will be able to subscribe to an entry-level television service that costs no more than $25 per month.This service will prioritize local and regional news and information programs given that many Canadians spoke of their importance during Let's Talk TV. News and information programs enable Canadian citizens to better participate in Canada's democratic, economic, cultural and social life. Canadian consumers also expressed frustration that the basic packages offered by cable and satellite companies had become too large and costly. Canadians will now have alternatives.
Canadians, who choose to do so, will be able to supplement the entry-level television service by buying individual channels that will be available either on a pick-and-pay basis or through small, reasonably priced packages. If they so choose, they will have the option of selecting theme-based packages—such as sports, lifestyle or comedy—offered by their service providers.
By December 2016, Canadians will be able to subscribe to channels on a pick-and-pay basis, as well as in small packages. In addition, Canadians will have the choice of keeping their current television services without making any changes, if these continue to meet their needs and budgets
Let's Talk TV: CRTC sets out a roadmap to maximize choice and affordability for Canadian TV viewers
Broadcasting Regulatory Policy CRTC 2015-96
"How can we be in the golden age of TV when Canada has not produced any shows with the stature of Downton Abbey or Game of Thrones?"
The Canadian Media Production Association estimates TV production volume in Canada was $2.3 billion in 2014 with more than 125,000 full-time jobs associated with the sector.
last week's announcement that more expensive dramas are to be encouraged could remove money from genre productions, such as cooking shows, children's programming and documentaries, areas where Canada already has proven excellence.
Most of those people do not make dramatic programming.
Baker argues that there is no formula for making a hit — and giving it a $2 million an hour budget is not going to solve the quality problem.
"We need quantity, just like they do elsewhere in this world, especially in the U.S. and U.K., where they have a tremendous quantity of shows so a few of them can rise to the top," he said.
This ruling feels like it was made by an accountant with no understanding of how other counties industries succeed.
You don’t buy hit shows. You buy 9 failures for every success. And that success pays for the failures.
CRTC quest for quality set to shake up Canadian production
"Television quotas are an idea that is wholly anachronistic in the age of abundance and in a world of choice"
The national broadcast regulator said Thursday it was cutting the quota for the ratio of Canadian programs that local TV stations must broadcast during the day from 55 per cent to zero. That's a recognition that stations have sometimes been broadcasting the same program episodes many times over the course of a day, or even over years, simply to satisfy the old Cancon rule.
CRTC eases Canadian-content quotas for TV
I’ll wait until smarter people review, but I have a bad feeling about this.
Broadcasting Regulatory Policy CRTC 2015-86
"One part of interactive playable content with one part of scripted television style content."
Alex Wawro reporting for Gamasutra;
"For instance, if you play the interactive episode first, certain elements of the scripted episode portion will be tailored to reflect some choices made in your interactive play through," Bruner told EW. "If you watch the show before playing, some elements in the interactive portions may be presented differently than if you played first. The interactive episodes will never release without a scripted episode, they will always come out together."
He went on to add that non-interactive versions of the scripted entertainment would be made available on streaming networks and broadcast TV some time after the release of a given "Super Show" episode.
Lionsgate deal primes Telltale to make episodic TV/game hybrids
I’m not convinced that this is the future. Hybrids are tough. It’s a fine line between combining and compromise.
See also;
LIONSGATE INVESTS IN LEADING GAME DEVELOPER TELLTALE GAMES
Telltale Games CEO Kevin Bruner discusses new venture The Super Show -- exclusive
"Make no mistake: mass media exists because it permits mass marketers to do their job."
For fifty years, TV and TV-thinking was the shortcut. Make average stuff for average people (by definition = mass) and promote to every stranger within reach. It worked.
But mass is fading, fading faster than our desire to be mass marketers is fading. The shortcut doesn't work every time now, and the expectation that success is the same as popularity is still with us.
Mass production and mass media
"I’m a guy with a point of view who goes to a place, looks around, comes back and tries to give as honest an account of my experience as I can, but it is my experience."
There are two important things I’ve found in television. One is to understand that most people in television are frightened all the time. They’re frightened of losing their jobs. They’re frightened of making the wrong decision. When they encounter someone who really and truly doesn’t give a f*** about losing their job, that is a relatively immovable object, it’s something they’re not used to encountering. That attitude was always helpful to me.
Another is that television, generally, likes to repeat what works already. My partners understood early on with No Reservations that whatever worked and made people happy last week, it’s the smart thing to do something completely different next week.
Realscreen’s Trailblazers for 2014: Anthony Bourdain
Watch: "Animal vs Rich"
From Season 5 of the Muppet Show. It aired in 1981. Buddy Rich was 64.
"Watching everyday American commercials would be no great gain over watching everyday Canadian ones"
But the most serious problem with simultaneous substitution is that it creates a strong incentive for Canadian broadcasters to show U.S. programs. They can double or triple their market share when they’re showing what U.S. channels are showing. Is it any wonder our networks’ primetime schedules are dominated by U.S. shows, or that when U.S. networks move a show’s time slot, Canadian broadcasters jump to do the same?
Watson: Why does the CRTC subsidize U.S. television?
Mr Watson is wrong.
Watch: "Old Dog, New Tricks" Timber Kings Season 2, Episode 1
Timber Kings - Old Dog, New Tricks
The video above is a Teaser for Season 2. To watch the episode, follow the link above.
"Although the sample size is small, these results indicate that not everything in Hollywood is immune to change"
10. The Studios Might Just Learn to Innovate. Warners and Turner have had their incubators for some time now, helping to give rise to platforms like Reelhouse. Now Disney is also in the soup. Incubators and accelerators might teach a few folks some new tricks, although it has also been said that such ploys are just attempts at employee retention as some of the big BizDev guns would flee the ship if they didn’t have sparkly new toys to play with.
Ten Really Good Things in Film Biz 2014
"The audience is disappearing—and it won’t be coming back."
Hollywood is a “hedgehog,” good now at only one thing (making tentpoles), and no longer a “fox,” fluid and adept at many things. We have reached a point where we should accept the death of the Hollywood film for adults. Hollywood is a one-horse town.
Ten Really Bad Things in Film Biz 2014
UPDATE: Mr Hope decided 10 Bad Things wasn’t enough…
30 Really Bad Things In FilmBiz 2014
"2015 may be remembered as the year everything changed in the TV business."
Wheeler wants the category of "multichannel video programming distributor" to become "technology-neutral," which would allow the Internet to be used as a method of transmission, alongside cable and satellite, for television providers seeking access to programming. "The definition of an MVPD should turn on the services that a provider offers, not on how those services reach viewers," Wheeler wrote. "21st century consumer shouldn't be shackled to rules that only recognize 20th century technology."
FCC Warns Cable Industry: The TV Biz Is About to Change Forever
"If the battle over strong net neutrality rules comes down to who has more clout and influence, especially with consumers, the networks are in a stronger position."
The degree to which networks support net neutrality depends entirely on how much they want to disintermediate TV providers, which in turn depends on how successful their online efforts become. If they do well, they won’t think twice about their old partners.
CBS goes online: net neutrality to get a major boost
"This new subscription service will deliver the most of CBS to our biggest fans"
CBS is a broadcast network, meaning anyone in the U.S. with an antenna can pick up the station's live signal for free. Subscribers to CBS All Access, however, will be able to stream on their Mac, iOS or other device with no need for a television set or antenna.
CBS All Access offers on-demand & live streaming content for $5.99 per month
"They were basically saying, 'Let's appeal to the masses"
But the executives who had championed A Cook's Tour eventually left, and Bourdain says the network started pushing for episodes on middle-of-the-road American fare, like barbecue.
Bourdain now has a term for such corporate meddling: being asked to "eat a shit sandwich." It's one of the few meals he flat-out refuses to consume. "Given a choice between eating the sandwich and not having a television career, I would happily not have a television career," he says. "Most people eat the sandwich." He quit, taking the show to Travel Channel.
ANTHONY BOURDAIN HAS BECOME THE FUTURE OF CABLE NEWS, AND HE COULDN'T CARE LESS
Watch: "Mummy On The Orient Express" Next Time Trailer - Doctor Who Series 8 Episode 8
"Viewers would be up in arms if U.S. cable networks denied them access to popular American TV shows."
Watch: "Kill the Moon" Next Time Trailer - Doctor Who: Series 8 Episode 7
"Life is sweet. But that’s about to change. "
Specialty channels in Canada are facing a shakeup in their industry that will likely result in the death of at least a few of them and reduced profit margins for many others. Two issues are at play as the CRTC moves to reset television regulation in Canada: pick and pay and genre protection.
Specialty TV channels risk failing with CRTC changes
"In 2013, the time spent watching traditional television each week decreased slightly across all age groups."
Television • Average weekly viewing of traditional television remained consistent, going from 28.2 hours in 2012 to 27.9 hours in 2013. Among Canadians 18 years of age and up, average weekly viewing decreased slightly, going from 29.5 hours in 2012 to 29.3 hours in 2013. • The percentage of households subscribing to cable and satellite services decreased slightly from 85.6%, or 11.93 million, to 84.9%, or 11.92 million. • For Canadians 18 years or older, average weekly viewing of Internet television increased from 1.3 hours in 2012 to 1.9 hours in 2013.
CRTC issues 2014 report on state of Canadian broadcasting industry
The sky is not falling. Yet.
For more detail (and charts) go to the full report.
"I've never promised that pick-and-pay would be cheaper"
There is enough political will and consumer desire to make pick-and-pay television happen, but consumers should not underestimate either the cost or the complexity of bringing the concept to life.
Pick-and-pay cable TV would offer greater choice, CRTC boss says
Careful what you wish for...
"Entertainment One’s footprint in the Canadian production landscape increased again"
eOne has been on an investment and acquisition streak of late, recently acquiring another West Coast producer, Paperny Entertainment, home entertainment distributor Phase 4 Films, and investing in Toronto digital powerhouse Secret Location.
eOne acquires Force Four Entertainment
"We really can't just be a how-to channel anymore."
In a market where many networks are scrambling for a homegrown hit, HGTV Canada boasts a startling number of highly rated Canuck shows (the network's licence dictates that 50 per cent of its shows be Canadian). Eight out of the top 10 shows on the network during the winter/spring 2014 season were Canadian, among them "Timber Kings," "Canada's Handyman Challenge" and "Leave it To Bryan."
How HGTV Canada built a specialty powerhouse and a global following
Yes. I’m tooting my own horn a bit.
“The way of watching TV is morphing. It’s evolving with time and we don’t want to be stuck in a regulatory framework"
Consumers could wind up with many more choices about what they watch on TV and how they pay for it, given sweeping new proposals from the country’s broadcast regulator announced Thursday.
CRTC proposes pick-and-pay TV plan in draft paper prior to September hearing
The section to pay attention to is this...
For the first time, broadcasters could be allowed to count what they spend on original programming produced for the Internet toward what they are required to spend on Canadian programming. According to the draft, this would encourage broadcasters to make more Canadian content online. And it proposes allowing television stations and networks to count revenues from online or other delivery platforms toward their overall revenue base.
"Both companies need a strategy to woo new customers, as traditional cable sales are flat"
Although the company is a joint venture of Shaw and Rogers, it will operate as a stand-alone entity. With almost one third of anglophone Canadians already subscribing to Netflix, it will be a struggle for the service to attain a significant subscriber base.
Rogers, Shaw launch rival Netflix-like service Shomi
Good luck with that.
"Global TV advertising spend is set to reach US$236 billion in 2020"
The biggest TV ad market gains between 2010 and 2020 are tipped to come from Latin America and the Middle East and Africa where ad spend is expected to double.
TV ad revenues to near $240bn in 2020
The numbers are not interesting. Where the numbers are growing is very interesting.
"It's about building an audience that is loyal," she said. "And if you want to be loyal to them, you can't just sell them everything. They're not stupid."
"The potential for a YouTube creator to become a global star has increased, and that opens up all sorts of new doors," said Jamie Byrne, YouTube's director of content commercialization. But "the core of their popularity, and the core of their fan base, is really driven by their activities on YouTube."
YouTube's biggest stars are cashing in offline
"The VIFF Film and Television Forum has a new name, VIFF Industry"
This year’s forum will see more industry guests and speakers from LA., and will expand its focus from film and television to broad-based screen entertainment, in recognition of Vancouver’s growing visual effects, animation and gaming industries.VIFF Industry also wants to promote Vancouver as a production and post-production centre, by participating in trade missions, for example, and helping to facilitate international co-productions, in particular with India and China.
Vancouver film festival revamps its focus
This is unfortunate. While I’ve been very critical of VIFF’s programming for the past 10 years or so, turning into an “industry” promotional tool is not the way to make things better.
“People stayed on the job yesterday out of respect for the long relationship with the show, but respect has to go both ways,”
Watch: "The Gift Shop Sketch"
“Bar chart gauntlet”
They came to preach the value of using Live + 3 stats at the very least, in light of how popular delayed viewing has become – particularly of scripted primetime series, with drama series leading the way. “We all provide projections [for Live + 3 Day]. We understand your skepticism about using our projections,” Poltrack said. “The one thing you can be sure about our projections is that if one of us starts giving you a lot of bullshit, the other ones are going to let you know. You’ve got us to check each other,” he said.
TCA: Networks Urge Press To Abandon Live + Same Day Ratings Reports
eOne buys Paperny Entertainment
Recognizing the increasing appetite for unscripted content internationally, eOne is now turning its focus towards expanding its unscripted & factual portfolio to balance the company's diverse multi-genre overall offering. This deal will see eOne ramp up its activity in unscripted television production across North America.
Entertainment One Acquires Factual Television Leader Paperny Entertainment
I received the company email about this last night. Looks like I now work for a large corporation.
Congratulations to David, Audrey and Cal.
"The $1,000 fee required to hire a foreign worker is perceived as "a cash grab"
speaking in Vancouver to gathered journalists, Immigration Minister Chris Alexander said the reforms should actually make the process of acquiring a work permit for foreign workers quicker."In those cases where there is a real need that Canadians can't be found to fill, the service will actually be faster than ever," said the minister."Our reforms to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program have been broadly well-received. People want us to ensure that Canadians across the country have first crack at available jobs and that wasn't happening before the reforms."
Temporary foreign worker reforms raise ire of film, TV industry
"There’s money to shake out of that little screen in your pocket"
Right now, most “second-screen” usage is more distracting than it is enriching, but that’s about to change. Soon your tablet will spring to life when you tune into your favorite show, and you’ll have more opportunities than ever to engage. The million-dollar buzzword here is Automatic Content Recognition, or ACR.
In a multi-screen future, phones don’t control TVs, TVs control phones
"Bell Media is cutting 91 employees from its production staff as it makes big changes to programming."
The layoffs are part of a plan announced by parent company BCE Inc. last month to cut 120 jobs from Bell Media's Toronto workforce due to "financial pressure" in its advertising and subscription TV services.A notice sent by Bell Media's human resources department outlined some of the cuts, which included editors and producers at Much, formerly known as MuchMusic. All of the changes will be made before mid-October, the letter said.
Bell Media cuts dozens of staff at MTV, Much and M3
"Where once the CBC's newscasters put on a brave face about doing more with less, now it's becoming clear that the CBC's governmental paymasters expect it to do a lot less with less."
The BBC had planned to clear the online rights to the vast quantities of material in its vaults, and change its commissioning so that any new material would also be pre-cleared. This material – a rich, publicly funded archive of the nation's collective cultural memory – would have been put online under a generous, creative commons-style licence for Britons to download, share, remix and re-contextualise decades' worth of material both beloved and forgotten.
What Canada's national public broadcaster could learn from the BBC
"When we speak of the true ‘holy grail’ of content and entertainment, consumers want the ‘Three W’s': whatever content they want, whenever they want it, wherever they want it."
Consumers don’t care where or how they get their content. They don’t care if it comes to them via cable, satellite, broadband, wi-fi, or wireless. They also don’t care who provides the hardware (smart TV, set-top box, smartphone or tablet) to deliver the service that they want. They want an integrated, easy-to-use system to get their content. Period.
The Future of TV Isn’t Apps. We Need All Our Channels in One Place
The Future of Television
"Get used to a lot less CBC."
...the CBC should aim "to avoid excessive commercialism and to encourage Canadian content and the use of Canadian talent" in order to focus on its main goal: telling the stories of Canadians to Canadians.It's those stories that knit a country together. And that's really tough to do when you're readying to cut back evening newscasts and shut down in-house production of documentaries altogether at a downsized public broadcaster.
7 ways CBC helped build the Canada we know today
"Canada’s so-called “legacy media” players are voyaging into the digital space a bit late."
While analysts dismiss these “TV everywhere” offerings as defensive moves geared at protecting the media cos’ ecosystem of cable subscriptions, the companies say they are laying the groundwork to provide more of what audiences are looking for –namely, episodes of a show’s current season stacked in a library for binge-watching and past seasons available at a price...
The battle’s on, everywhere
"Branded entertainment is not an ad. Period. It’s a long-term investment in your audience"
In my opinion, branded content’s main goal is selling, while branded entertainment is inspired by a brand’s philosophy and culture, but created to be authentic, true content a network would commission.
Branded entertainment is not an ad
I hate arguing over semantics.
"The channels that will win are ones with strong affinity, exclusive programming and specialized niches."
“In a pick-and-pay world all the channels will potentially suffer subscriber loss,” she says. “But the notion is building channels with programming that people want to see. Original programming is becoming more important because then you can bring viewers to a show they can’t get anywhere else.”
Choose your own adventure: Specialty TV edition
"Specialty TV services made $4 billion for the first time last year."
Money to these services has been rising at a rate of 7% over the past five years, according to numbers from the CRTC.
Specialty TV by the numbers
Commercial ratings, platform-agnostic TV and streaming video stats, and measuring the entire consumer experience around screens, all remain elusive.
It’s status quo right now. Everyone says we need cross-platform measurement, and there are ad hoc solutions in place, but no one has a solution for the root of the problem, which is that different companies maintain different data sets.
The analytics dilemma
Read: "The Real Cost of Reality TV"
The study found that violations of New York wage and hour lawsare endemic in the nonfiction television industry. Almost all the writer/producers in our study areincorrectly classified by the production companies as exempt employees, who work long hours butreceive no overtime pay, among other violations.
Keep in mind that the WGA is not an unbiased third party.
"Long hours, stolen wages, and sometimes dangerous conditions faced by workers in the reality TV industry."
while reality production companies like ITV Studios are profitable and expanding (ITV recently acquired New York production company Leftfield for $360 million), the writers and producers who create their shows continue to struggle.
NYC Council Probes ‘Sweatshop Conditions’ for Freelance Reality TV Workers
NPA’s formation comes after the latest round of mergers, acquisitions and consolidation that has seen broadcast companies such as ITV and Discovery as well as major superindies snapping up myriad production companies
In its first statement, the NPA offered the following regarding its formation: “Nonfiction content is a significant part of the programming landscape and, thus, warrants an Association dedicated to the advancement and protection of all those whose talents, hard work and commitment literally created the industry.
Unscripted prodcos form Nonfiction Producers Association
Two of Canada's biggest telecommunications companies, Bell and Rogers, are clashing over the future of local television and who should pay for it.
Some concerns within the industry were that the pick-and-pay concept could dramatically increase the price of paying for a single channel, basically pushing consumers into buying specialty channel packages they didn't want in the first place.
Pick-and-Pay cable would mean changes to local TV funding, say Bell, Rogers
Watch: "Am I a Good Man?" Dr Who Series 8 Trailer
The “feature length” first episode airs on August 23rd.
"People often forget there is the word ‘pay’ in the pick and pay option.”
“We’re trying to get ahead of the curve. We’ve got three big proceedings this fall and they’re all about setting the stage for the future of Canada’s telecommunications system,” said Jean-Pierre Blais, chair of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission... “We’re trying to get Canadians, regulated industries, producers, those that watch TV together in a room and say ‘OK how can we prepare in a sustainable way for the next five to 15 years?’”
CRTC races to stay ahead of telecom system in flux
"But while CBS and ABC investors may be throwing around high fives at the sop from the Supremes, the average consumer just took a bath."
.In crippling Aereo, you see, the six judges made a choice to entrench the current, badly broken model of TV. That model has let the TV business largely defy the logic of digital distribution, and instead impose a form of cartel pricing on consumers — requiring people to buy a slew of channels they don’t want in order to watch the handful of ones they do
Why the Supreme Court just set TV innovation back a decade
“We used to lead with television and radio. Web came and then mobility came. We are reversing, we are inverting the priorities that we have”
“We’re going to lead now with mobility, we’re going to lead with whatever widget you use” says CBC president and CEO Hubert T. Lacroix. “You’re going to see an investment in mobility that’s going to rise as the investment in perhaps television ... is reduced.”
CBC to cut back supper-hour news, in-house productions
A smart move.
Google TV returned for a… oh, never mind. Nobody cared. Next!
Since 2010, Google has tried easing itself into the living room with various boxes, dongles and gadgets that put its software and services on your TV. Each attempt has been a little different and usually a little better, but there has yet to be a critically acclaimed box-office hit. Perhaps the previously reported Android TV, formally introduced today at Google I/O, will be different.
Android TV: Google Aims for the Living Room … Again
Perhaps.
Google did not have concrete hardware plans to bring Android TV to the world, but stated it's working with a number of manufacturers on both streaming devices and TVs.
While the platform is still a theoretical implementation than a concrete product, Google is flexible about whether it can be used for a smart TV, a set top box, or another format entirely.
Google makes a comeback in the living room with Android TV
So, basically, they announced a Demo. Nice “Moon Shot” Google.
"Insofar as there are differences, those differences concern not the nature of the service that Aereo provides so much as the technological manner in which it provides the service"
"Feels like it’s time for a big, new show that’s completely different to arrive"
“You need the same skills for any unscripted show, which is basically storytelling. The only difference is rather than completely creating the stories, you have to be able to respond to events, and to mold stories, and to present them in such a way that’s interesting for the audience.” - Conrad Green
Reality Check: Conrad Green On ‘Utopia,’ Singing Shows & Technology’s Promise
"The director confesses, promises not to do it again"
"The DGA tracks all nonunion reality productions, investigates any situation in which a member is suspected of working on a non-guild-covered project and takes disciplinary action as appropriate," said DGA spokeswoman Sahar Moridani. "In no way do we allow members to work nonunion."
DGA & WGA Members Use Fake Names To Work Nonunion Reality Shows
“It’s been a whirlwind,” says Grad. “It’s been a great experience and helped my business tremendously. I hope it lasts forever because I love it so much.”
Six days a week, tour busses on the Pawn Stars circuit pull up outside his store on Fremont Street and unload their passengers. “We have tours that come through here – 30 to 120 people a day – all because of the show,” he says. “They might only spend 15 minutes in our shop, but they come back or do transactions by email. We’ve made some customers for life from those tours.”
Reality Check: ‘Pawn Stars’ Experts Trade Fame For Treasure In Lieu Of Paychecks
The country lives under threat – we are surrounded by enemies. And that makes people be very creative.
“The very big change came when we began to produce TV formats. We didn’t think that our culture” would be so embraced. But with globalization, “you see that your problems are human problems. Now we understand that a good story or a good format is something that can make must-see TV.” - David Yardeni
Reality Check: Israel’s Star Continues To Rise As Source Of Innovative Formats
"Unable to respond on the business side, the old guard turns to political power to develop a legal (but short-lasting) containment strategy."
Historical players had experienced nothing but a cosy competitive gentlemen-like environment, with a well-defined map of players. This left incumbents without the genes, the culture required to fight digital barbarians. Whether they are media dealing with Google, publishers negotiating with Amazon, hotels fighting Booking.com or AirBnB, or taxi confronting Uber, legacy players look like the proverbial deer caught in the headlights. - Frederic Filloux
Legacy Media: The Missing Gene
"You’ve got to do things, you’ve got to keep it fresh, you’ve got to try to keep it relevant."
You know, it’s interesting to see where this genre has gone into the more sort of character-led, personality-led forms of reality TV. At the same time, things are cyclical. I think every generation, each genre of programming has a star, and it might be every 20 years or maybe even every 30 years. Look at game shows. They were sort of out of fashion, out of favor. They weren’t fresh, there was nothing new, so they were pushed into the daytime schedule. Then along came something fresh and it was Who Wants To Be A Millionaire. - Trish Kinane
Reality Check: Trish Kinane On ‘American Idol’ Ratings, Simon Cowell & Harry Connick Jr & The Next Big Thing
"Viewers sent 1.92 million tweets on May 13, including a record 310,000 at 8:59 PM EST"
"I think it is about jeopardy in unscripted drama, which is something that a lot of producers fail to spot."
For me, the essence of Reality TV is all about drama. So, I think bringing pressure is healthy whether it’s a professional chef or a domestic chef. Because the only way ever to really identify the true purpose of how good they are is submerging them under pressure. So I say it’s no different than a live football game because it’s about the intensity. - Gordon Ramsay
Reality Check: Gordon Ramsay On ‘MasterChef Junior’, His Gentler Side & Taking Nothing For Granted
"The great thing is, there are new ideas every day, and that’s what’s exciting."
It cannot be phoned in, it has to continue to be great, and my philosophy of when you find something that works, it creates an anchor. It’s an emotional anchor for people. - Mark Burnett
Reality Check: Mark Burnett On ‘Survivor’, ‘American Idol’, ‘Shark Tank’ & Anchoring Values
“I think there is a bit of a crisis.”
“The reality genre is maturing,” she said. “There was a while there – a heyday – when anything you put on was fresh and new. But not everything’s going to work now.” - Nancy Daniels
RSW ’14: Revisiting the “creative crisis,” four months on
"I say, what a wonderful butler! He's so violent!"
“The audience is tired of conflict-oriented, super structured and over-produced reality.”
“Don’t wait for the network to tell you what they’re looking for,” added Linn. “Go after the things you’re most excited about and would want to watch on TV. Somebody is going to want it or some variation of it.” - Chris Linn
RSW ’14: TruTV, Leftfield execs talk reinvention strategies
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