TORONTO – Despite relentless digital disruption and CRTC deregulation causing stormy seas for Canadian broadcasters, top Shaw Media programmer Christine Shipton on Wednesday said she isn't ready to build an ark.
The network's chief creative officer instead told Cartt.ca she remains committed to – and after the recent Los Angeles Screenings – heavily invested in, that traditional advertising stalwart – conventional TV.
"It's not like we are going to suddenly readjust our schedule because there are over-the-top competitors. It's not suddenly in our minds to make a left-turn to what we are offering," Shipton said as her network got its 2015-16 upfront presentations underway in Toronto with a media breakfast.
She argued conventional TV is still king with Canadians and Global Television will be able to milk ad revenue from American shows for far longer than doomsday scenarios suggest. "We have to say that we believe in the power of television, and the power of television is great content, and that's what we believe this schedule is delivering," Shipton added, no matter how much Canadian cord cutters and cord nevers have embraced the promise of digital distribution through the likes of Netflix and other on demand brands via their tablets and other devices.
Her faith in conventional TV springs in part from Shaw Media returning from its annual Hollywood shopping expedition with a slew of unconventional action hero series that target a younger and more elusive audience. "We know and believe that young audiences will come to shows with sci-fi and superheroes," Shipton explained.
Arch-rival CTV showed the way with action dramas with brave, heroic characters like The Flash, Gotham, Marvel's Agent Carter, Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Arrow.
Looking to similarly woo millennials, Shipton and her team on Wednesday started unveiling to the media and advertisers rookie U.S. series like Supergirl, from Greg Berlanti, the executive producer of Arrow and The Flash, Heroes: Reborn, a reboot of the original Heroes series on Global TV, and Minority Report, based on the successful Steven Spielberg film.
But, besides younger-skewing shows, Shaw Media president Barb Williams on Wednesday told Cartt.ca her network's pitch to advertisers this year will also spotlight an increasingly aggressive, and behind-the-scenes push by Canadian broadcasters to perfect audience flow analytics to measure cross-platform TV consumption.
"The missing piece of the puzzle here is measuring and understanding that (Internet) audience and using predictive analytics to make that audience so much more available to the advertisers in a successful manner.” Barb Williams, Shaw Media
"The missing piece of the puzzle here is measuring and understanding that (Internet) audience and using predictive analytics to make that audience so much more available to the advertisers in a successful manner," Williams (pictured above with The Blacklist star James Spader) said.
She was speaking ahead of an invite-only dinner Wednesday night for major agency clients, followed by a series of intimate meetings Shaw Media executives with other ad buyers. Williams conceded Google, Facebook and YouTube are far ahead of broadcasters in anticipating viewers’ behaviour to monetize second screen ratings across a range of digital devices.
At the same time, she argued broadcasters are miles ahead on the content side by offering rich dramas, comedies and reality shows that viewers love on conventional, specialty, VOD and SVOD platforms.
"That's why we think we can win here," Williams said. "If we can raise on game on the analytics side, and put it together with the power of our content, then we have a winning combination," Williams said.
To develop that hand, Canadian broadcasters have a surprising ally: the CRTC.
They may all be chasing the same TV audiences and ad buyers as competitors, but the Commission recently convinced Canadian broadcasters to form an industry working group to discuss how to accurately measure cross-platform audiences to boost ad revenues. "We're looking for a new common currency, one that takes into account a broad range of platforms, multiple kinds of viewing at different times and places, and with analytics that tells us more precisely who that audience is," Williams explained. (And, if you take a look at the Cartt.ca job board, you’ll see two Shaw Media job openings for advanced ad data researchers)
"The Commission can play and is playing a constructive role in ensuring a smart industry solution in the evolution of this (analytical) currency," she added.
To be sure, Canadian broadcasters are casting side glances to see how American and other international counterparts solve the same audience measurement puzzle, but Williams said her industry can't drag its feet.
"We are in parallel with the United States. I'm not sure we're ahead of the Americans, but we're not waiting. We see the opportunity here to be seized," she added.
