OTTAWA – The success of Canadian screen-based content hinges on a few critical factors, according to a panel of content creators at the Canadian Media Production Association’s annual Prime Time event in Ottawa.
Mark Bishop, co-CEO and executive producer at marblemedia, said in a nutshell, it boils down to giving viewers more great content on the platforms of their choice for less money.
“It’s about having that content available on all screens and creating content that is unique for those different screens,” he said. “But in addition to that, it’s actually about discoverability of that content, and helping audiences on that journey to find that content.”
This new environment requires a change to the current system, though.
“We do have a great system but it’s changing and it has to be able to adapt as quickly as audience behaviour is changing,” Bishop said, referring to new consumption models driven by technology. “We need to have a system that can adapt to that, empowering creators and connecting directly with audiences in different ways.”
One of the challenges is that the digital and traditional broadcasting platforms have largely developed in silos and to further the system, they need to be broken down. This was a theme highlighted in the opening Prime Time panel.
“I think we have to really take the opportunity to try and break down those silos and say how are we telling the best story on the most appropriate platform and with that then leveraging the partners,” he said. “It’s not about repurposing content on one platform or the other, but it’s really trying to get to take away the distinction (between the two). It’s just screen based content.”
But there are still a number of barriers to success for Canadian-based screen content. The regulatory system is one of the biggest, argued Tom Perlmutter, strategic advisor at the National Film Board. He described the Canadian system as great in terms of producing and promoting Canadian content, but said there was also a downside.
“The downside is that we created walled gardens and for many years, not the case now, but for many years, Canadian content was just a cost of doing business for broadcaster. So there wasn’t that kind of sense of experimentation and investment in pushing those kinds of boundaries,” he said.
This walled garden legacy has negatively affected broadcasters’ ability to take risks and adapt rapidly to changes in the system, Perlmutter said. “We had the ability to think about how to do things, be responsive and innovative, but partly because of regulations, they were protecting revenue models.”
Bishop agreed with Perlmutter that there are regulatory challenges to move the sector forward. The regulations around funding is one area. There may be programs that are equally well suited for either or both platforms, he said, but have difficulty getting financed because of the way the funding is doled out.
“The challenge that exists,” explained Bishop, “is either it doesn’t qualify in Canada for the broadcasters condition of licence or the funding agency has a bucket for television money and a bucket for digital money.”
