TORONTO – Canada’s biggest broadcasters still haven’t found a way to make their digital ventures pay off in this on-demand world, and continue to rely on their linear television channels to drive the bottom line.
Speaking Tuesday evening at a Canadian Women In Communications-sponsored panel entitled ‘Perspective on the Broadcast Landscape Revolution’, Christina Litz, vice president of digital content and engagement for Corus Entertainment, said that her department’s mandate is to leverage social media specifically to drive live tuning to the company’s women and children-focused television channels.
“And we don’t see that going away any time soon”, she said, adding that online sales margins remain “digital dimes (compared) to the broadcast television dollars”. “But we all know we have to be there because of the way that advertisers are spending right now. We have a lot of opportunities to offer revenue-generating brand extensions and we work with advertisers on deep integrations… but the question is, will it be fast enough to offset the decline in viewership on the (linear broadcast) side? I think that’s still a question, but what choice do we have at this point, we have to be going that way.”
Christine Shipton, vice president of original content at Shaw Media, said that the big broadcast companies are leery of investing in multiplatform initiatives that don’t provide a clear return on investment. “The challenge that the broadcaster is having at the moment is that we can’t measure eyeballs well enough on our other platforms. We can tell you everything about who watches us on linear television, but we can’t tell you everything about who is watching on our websites, or downloading them through the apps on mobile devices; we don’t have the metric system in place yet.” But demand from advertisers for this data has spurred talks and collaboration within the broadcast industry, she added.
And the days of watching popular primetime shows online for free may be numbered, cautioned Susan Wheeler, vice president of regulatory, media, for Rogers Communications.
“Now we’re really in a pickle in the sense that we’ve been giving this content away for free, and we’re not able to monetize it to the extent that we hoped with digital advertising. So while we’re re-aggregating the audiences, we’re not re-aggregating the advertising revenue. At some point, with what’s happening in the States, and with plans for ‘TV Everywhere’, I do foresee a time when that content will be taken behind the wall and when you will have to pay for it.”
“But that model is going to collapse under the weight of content pirating,” countered Tecca Crosby, senior vice president of creative affairs for film and TV producer Entertainment One. “Right now there’s too many savvy people who have figured out how to steal it.”
“But then let’s make our experiences better”, responded Corus’ Litz. “As we look at the other industries that have faced piracy challenges, like the music industry, there are now emerging business models based on quality, simplicity and value-adds, and we have to get there as well. But we’ve got to get there soon.”
