OTTAWA – Glenn O’Farrell’s plan to sell ad time on US specialty channels’ local avails in Canada is one step closer to fruition.
The former CAB president and CEO’s new company, Mediadenovo, learned Wednesday that its application will be considered as part of a CRTC public hearing scheduled for February 22, 2010. If approved, Mediadenovo would become a new programming undertaking that would sell the two minutes per hour of local availability ad time to national advertisers, and in turn, direct the majority of the revenues to Canadian programming.
In a move designed to further demonstrate its public policy credentials, the company announced the nominees to its fund board on the same day. The board, a third party, independent, and self-governed group of industry veterans, will be responsible for distributing the ad revenues based on direction from the CRTC.
The members are Janet Yale as board chair; Allan Gregg as vice chair; Ambassador Gordon Giffin; Alex Himelfarb; Elizabeth McDonald; Robert Rabinovitch; Elizabeth Roscoe; MP Monte Solberg; and Andrée Wylie.
“Those individuals that we were successful in attracting is a significant demonstration of the confidence and support (behind this concept)”, O’Farrell told Cartt.ca. “To me, that shows that there is consensus building around this at a time where we need to adopt practical measures that are going to make a positive difference. Seeing consensus emerge is a good thing.”
Mediadenovo’s CRTC application proposes that 70% of the revenues from the sale of ad spots on US cable channels, which are currently not for sale in Canada, be used to support “priority programming” as designated by the Commission. The spots will be priced on a cost per thousand basis, and the company estimates that it could bring an estimated $100M in new funding to Canadian programming in the first three years alone, without any added cost or inconvenience to TV viewers.
“We’re hoping that people will see… a sensible, practical solution that is achievable”, O’Farrell continued. “We don’t pretend that this will solve all of the problems that the broadcasting industry has, going forward. We just think that this is one measure, amongst others, that needs to be taken to make sure that Canadian voices continue to have access to Canadian audiences, and Canadian audiences have access to Canadian voices.”
