BANFF – While it has certainly morphed, like the media it celebrates, The Banff World Media Fest remains the only gathering of its kind dedicated to the global business of television – particularly in the broadband era – and this 36th chapter opened with a touch of déjà vu all over again.
The Canadian Association of Film Distributors and Exporters lamented that the six major U.S. studios controlled 72% of the Canadian market, leaving only mince for Canadian independent distributors – and there was the expected echo of Canadian Media Production Association, and others, bemoaning that change had inflicted unkind attrition on 30 years of successful Canadian film policy.
That our domestic 1988 film policy could hardly have anticipated Netflix, OTT or digital platforms in general, was given hardly a mumbled word and Canadian broadcasters were getting an earful for not taking our filmmakers seriously and for considering them unfit for prime time.
As well, since it's easier to give a besieged CBC the old boot to the privates, our public broadcaster suffered a disproportionate degree of the griping.
In the theatre of the near-absurd, which accompanies sucking-up to politicians, Heritage Minister Shelly Glover let us know that in November she's "going back to driving fast, kicking down doors and catching bad guys" (she’s a former cop and has announced she is not running again). Perhaps not the most layered farewell anthem for an arts and culture leader, but certainly succinct.
Minister Glover gushed that she was proud to have brought consumer awareness to the film and TV industry, as evidenced in the CRTC's policy decision on unbundling cable packages. The consumer agenda was thankfully and finally driving policy, she said.
She was equally pumped for her accomplishments on the Canada 150 Fund, and for having amended intellectual property protection for sound recordings from 50 to 70 years.
To a certain analog twitter in the audience, the Minister also admonished that these cultural milestones would have been impossible had it not been for Prime Minister Harper having "led the way… as the only G7 leader to have not cut support for the arts.” Harper, we were told, is personally aware that culture and heritage have a $50 billion annual impact on our economy – responsible for 647,000 jobs.
Salient among Minister Glover's clever observations was that University of Manitoba students are currently perfecting eye-glasses that allow users to watch Canadian television on some sort of a bubble. "Mark my words, in the future, we will all be watching TV on a bubble while we walk around the streets" she asserted.
Canadian TV on a bubble you say, and only in Canada? Pity. (Ed note: Anyone know of this project? We can’t find reference to anything like it online.)
But there was more to come…
Will Let's Talk Broadband succeed Lets Talk TV? Why shouldn't it?
This Sunday afternoon flight around nostalgia, science fiction and the glib were not arrested in the keynote address either.
Jean-Pierre Blais, chairman of the CRTC, opened his lesson with clips from the great Back To The Future film franchise, complete with a flying DeLorean.
What we learned was, that the chairman had "told us so" back at Banff in June 2013, but apparently many of us weren't listening. Then, two years ago and at the cusp of Let's Talk TV, we were cautioned that on-demand consumption was heading at us fast, that protection must be replaced by promotion, and that regulation for its own sake was a dud.
So we had best pay attention now in 2015.
In this, Blais' Part Two of his Part One speech to the Western Association of Broadcasters just a few days ago, he laid out several bumper-sticker truths to guide Canadian television through this digital, broadband era.
A sampling includes:
A) "Good content will travel". $4 billion a year is invested in Canadian TV and that investment has given rise to companies such as DHX in Halifax – an ideal model for Canadian media entrepreneurs.
DHX has over 1,500 distribution licenses around the planet, deals with 270 networks around the world, 70% of its library is on YouTube, it is experiencing 200% annual growth on profits of $1.2 billion, and commits 30% of its revenues to content production.
This is how we need to get things done in an on-demand digital era… DHX rocks! Or, in the words of Blais, "DHX is a model for the future of Canada's video industry".
B) "Building Brands For The World"
C) "Discoverability Is The World's Challenge"
D) "Mass Creates Revenue"
These three postulates, above, were detailed by acute observations. For example, in 2020, 80% of the adult world will own a mobile computing and phone device. So powerful is this message for the Ottawa Oracle, that he may well convene a non-regulatory, multi-disciplinary CRTC gathering to further our learning.
Will Let's Talk Broadband succeed Lets Talk TV? Why shouldn't it? Making broadband part of the basic telecommunications services will undoubtedly be the focus of the next review. "Because after Let’s Talk TV, we are well on the road to Let’s Talk Broadband," said Blais, who said 25 Mbps could be Canada's new broadband goal, up from the current 5 Mbps definition.
E) "Click To Retail"
F) "The Future Is About Connectivity"
These last two points spoke to the new reality that producers are increasingly selling directly to consumers.
Why shouldn't a Canadian independent producer connect with a global banking partner and distribute unique content directly to clients? Moreover, in this post-Snowden world, it's increasingly difficult to dispute that education, entertainment, health, even democracy are inter-connected.
With that the chairman took his hoverboard and went home – literally.
The afternoon concluded with international leaders performing various riffs on the themes of the day.
Sure, Neilson claims that 76% of us still watch television just like we used to, but what do they know? Things are changing fast… the multichannel audience has been replaced by an insistent on-demand culture and scheduling, flow, and re-runs are increasingly anachronistic.
Blue Ant Media’s CEO Michael MacMillan shook Graham Spry in his grave by arguing that great content wasn't the end all. Content is King no more, simply another Duchy among the principalities of branding, big capital, and marketing.
Oh yes, and then there was baseball, I mean analytics… yes analytics and data are critical for digital success today.
With "big data" now a worry, the CBC's Heather Conway wisely observed that it was cocktail hour and that, in her experience, drinks made for better outcomes.
Had there been a vote, it would have been unanimous!
Bill Roberts is in Banff this week covering the Banff World Media Festival for Cartt.ca.
