TORONTO – Alliance Atlantis launched blogTV.ca this week, meaning everyday Canadians with a web cam can all now be broadcasters ("blogcasters"?).
The company that owns such brands as HGTV Canada, Showcase, National Geographic Channel, Food Network and others is offering blogTV.ca in partnership with GS New Media, a global entertainment distribution company.
This initial website beta launch is the first of many planned milestones for blogTV.ca, said the company.
BlogTV was first introduced in 2004 by Tapuz, a publicly-listed Israeli company based in Tel Aviv, specializing in communities, blogs and chats, and is "the next step in social media as it empowers users to broadcast live video shows 24 hours a day as well as record and save their shows," says the press release. This is the first North American launch of blogTV.
On blogTV.ca, Canadians are now free to showcase their talents (or utter lack thereof) as broadcasters, or watch and interact with other users as they webcast.
All blogTV.ca content will be moderated 24/7, and is available only to Canadian Internet users.
"BlogTV.ca fits perfectly into our ongoing strategy of targeting niche audiences and taps into the growing phenomenon of user-generated content," said Claude Galipeau, senior vice-president of digital media for Alliance Atlantis.
"BlogTV.ca refines user-generated content while expanding a world of programming choices for online audiences," added Shemi Levi, CEO, GS New Media.
Upon entering www.blogtv.ca, users can create an account and start broadcasting live, right away. Users are also being encouraged to provide feedback and ideas for improvement during the beta phase.
