OTTAWA – Family Channel’s manager of original production, Sandra Walmark, told an audience of animation professionals at the Ottawa International Animation Festival that the pay channel is looking to follow The Movie Network’s lead in making video-on-demand programming available to subscribers. Both services are owned by Astral Media.
She made the comments as part of a panel discussion at the Ottawa International Animation Festival’s Television Animation Conference, held here last week.
Speaking to Cartt.ca after her panel, Walmark said that although Family isn’t announcing definitive plans, executives have been meeting with distributors to discuss the possibility.
“Looking at future business models is, we feel, important to the growth of Family Channel’s subscriber base.” She adds that if a new service goes ahead, “we will be offering F-O-D or Family-On-Demand.”
They hope to begin the service “within a six month period.”
Walmark says Family’s “priority” audiences are “middle-aged kids,” aged 8-14, and youngsters aged 2-7, adding Family is “number one with M.A.K.s.”
In advance of an F-O-D launch, Family would intensify promotions for its 6 a.m. to noon programming block. Currently, she acknowledges, Corus is “the only kid on the block” to supply on-demand service for the preschool set, via treehousetv.com. And that site offers a range of extras, including videos from Treehouse Direct, on-demand programming, DVD alerts, commercial-free music for preschoolers and Treehouse TV for cellphones.
Susan Tolusso is an Ottawa-based writer who covered the Ottawa International Animation Fest for Cartt.ca.
