IT AIN’T EASY BEING an independent broadcaster in the unlimited channel universe.
There are so many channels (traditional and otherwise) which serve the same niches of Stornoway’s three channels – news and current affairs service ichannel; dance station bpm:tv; and The Pet Network – that injecting them into the collective conscious psyche of viewers is difficult.
It means a lot of grassroots marketing work. A lot of pavement-pounding, because the budget to be able to afford a mass-marketing campaign just isn’t there.
Then there are the rumors of the company’s imminent sale, or demise, to deal with. By the way, it isn’t for sale and not about to go under.
However, Martha Fusca (right) and Stornoway have persevered. The company’s background is production but this fall marks it’s fourth year as a broadcaster. Four years of “intelligent television” in ichannel. Four years of often cutting edge dance music on bpm:tv. And, 10 months of pets.
What follows is an edited transcript of a conversation last week with Fusca and www.cartt.ca editor and publisher Greg O’Brien.
Greg O’Brien: So, it’s closing in on a year since the launch of your latest channel The Pet Network. Are you satisfied by year one?
Martha Fusca: I’m delighted. Fortunately, or unfortunately, I’m one of those who really takes public opinion very seriously. So, between the e-mails and the community events – which I’ve actually gone to myself – the response has been so amazing.
We wanted a channel that was really family-friendly because Frank (Bertolas, EVP) and I think that there are very few channels on the air these days that are really family-friendly. And when we say that, we mean for the five-, seven-, eight-year-olds, too.
It’s a lot of fun, It makes it all worthwhile when your subscribers are e-mailing you and people on the street are telling you it’s a terrific channel that’s fun with a lot of good information.
GOB: But what about distribution?
MF: We’re really pleased with that so far.
GOB: Because (The Pet Network) is only on Rogers and Cogeco, right?
MF: We’re on Rogers and Cogeco and actually, I bumped into Pierre Karl Peladeau the night before last at a function and I think it would be nice to have it on Videotron – and I know that we’re going to be working on that over the next little while.
GOB: Is it on ExpressVu?
MF: No, it’s not. It’s interesting. Originally, I was disappointed but in retrospect I think that given the fees that Bell charges and the return, you’re paying for what?, unfortunately. But I’d love to be on Bell ExpressVu and I know that they’re experimenting with (IPTV) so we’re quite excited and wishing them well on that front because if it really works, at the end of the day it’s a neat means of distribution.
GOB: Oh, they’ll definitely make it work. Other companies have IPTV working elsewhere now in the U.S. and in Europe. But Bell’s saying they won’t have theirs ready until next year.
MF: For me, telephony is really exciting because that means that you’re not held hostage to satellite capacity. That’s very exciting for people like us where we still haven’t managed to get bpm:tv on Star Choice or Shaw – and it would be nice to do that, too, one of these days.
GOB: With the two older channels, how has the programming on bpm:tv and ichannel matured since launch?
MF: I am just so thrilled with the programming on bpm:tv. We’re on the street, all the time, so there’s very, very little studio production. We’ve managed to cover a good chunk of Ontario and Quebec and we’re hoping to be able go out west and to Atlantic Canada at some point and just be out on the street and in the scene.
If you watch, you’ll see that it’s just “out there”. It’s given a new infusion of energy to bpm:tv. We produce virtually everything that’s on it, which means that we’re producing something like 500 hours of programming. It’s a lot – a challenge – but really, really exciting.
The subscribers to (bpm:tv) are the most vocal of our three channels… But keep in mind that we don’t have Star Choice or Shaw, which continues to be a huge problem. If you have between 550,000 and 600,000 subscribers (like bpm:tv) and add those two systems, you’re getting really close to that million mark.
GOB: Bpm:tv is available on most of the other large systems, though, right?
MF: Definitely. It’s on Rogers, Cogeco, Videotron and Bell.
GOB: Let’s talk about ichannel. How has it evolved over the past few years?
MF: It’s becoming far better. The knowledge of ichannel is increasing but we’ve discovered that sometimes when people are watching ichannel they’re not even aware it’s ichannel, which is a bit of a problem and something we’re going to have to work on.
We’re partnering with a lot of community organizations to co-sponsor and co-cover events. So, for example, we’re doing a series on the environment with the environmental awards people and we’re going to be doing something on youth with one of the youth science organizations – so it’s that kind of work that we’re doing – getting ichannel out into the community to get greater recognition of the content.
It’s very much in keeping with “intelligent television”. That whole notion is really growing.
GOB: Given the glut of news channels out there, how hard is it to get noticed?
MF: Very difficult because not only are you competing with the channels, you’re competing with the means in which to market those channels. You’re competing with the same companies that own the radio stations and the newspapers and the magazines. We could buy advertising but it’s incredibly expensive.
Our strategy is we don’t really feel that mass-marketing would work well for us. We believe that we have to go directly to the people who want this kind of information.
There’s a really huge need – and a very keen need – for in-depth, in-context information, so you’re not just getting news bites.
GOB: Switching back to bpm, how is the marketing of bpm:tv different than ichannel?
MF: In fact, it’s not. We actually learned a lesson from bpm:tv and I don’t know why we were a little slow on this but the fact of the matter is that with all of our channels, we’ve decided to go out into the community. Go to the people who have the interests, go to the events. We do flyers, we have CDs, we have the TVs on. We’re present. We’re there with the people who care.
GOB: How closely do you keep an eye on the ratings and have you seen growth there?
MF: We got the Nielsen ratings for a number of years and I think the entire industry was recognizing that the data was just not up to snuff, whether it was the fact there weren’t enough households or enough viewers or boxes or whatever. So Frank, when he started here (in mid-2004) asked “why are we subscribing to this stuff? It’s not really useful. It’s not helpful.” So, we don’t subscribe to Nielsen.
We actually go from surveys of our own that we’ve done and those have been helpful in trying to identify who’s watching, when they’re watching and we’re taking it from there.
GOB: Have you made any progress with – or dived into – the on demand market, where you’re making your shows available for VOD?
MF: We’ve had some very preliminary conversations with Rogers on that and it’s something we’re not only open to, but have material for. It’s still early days though.
GOB: The other issue that cropped up recently that may have an impact on you and bpm:tv is CTV’s new deal with MTV. Have you had a chance to look at what’s been announced (CTV is changing talktv into MTV Canada and applying for a new music category two digital channel) and do you think that will have any effect on bpm?
MF: I don’t hear anything there that I feel threatened about. There are two potential problems, however, more with CHUM than for us because bpm is really not about music, we’re about dance.
But, if they decided to move into the dance area, that could be a problem because they’re just so much bigger.
But there’s a real alienation between the dance people – and by that I mean trance, house, electronica and all of that – and “the establishment”. MTV is the establishment and is not (a channel) you go anywhere near (as a true dance music fan). So, it’s unlikely that people who are anti-establishment are suddenly going to switch.
GOB: As a company, have you been able to move beyond – because you had some trouble after your launch and had to cut back and do certain things – the rumors swirling around that you are going to be sold or simply close up shop? And how have you been able to do that?
MF: Just being does it. I remember someone saying to me “Martha, don’t get excited, the proof is always in the pudding,” and just relax and you’ll be fine. Do your thing and people will see for themselves. So, here we are, completely independent and we’re here to stay.
Like anyone else, building a company from scratch takes time. The proof is that we’re still here and have fabulous channels and everybody knows that. I think there’s a new admiration and respect out there because I believe people thought that “they’re just going to go nowhere” but I’ve heard some really nice comments from my peers and that means a lot to me.
GOB: Any plans for additional channels?
MF: Not over the short term.
GOB: Because, don’t you have a Work TV license?
MF: Yes, I do. It’s @work.ca and I still love that concept but it still doesn’t exist as I envisaged it. Somebody can go rip it off, mind you – but… I’m very happy with these three channels and I think I want to continue to grow them, continue to put the polish on them – which is just about finished, I might add, although you’re never really quite finished.
I’m conservative by nature and to grow slowly but steadily is what I tell my senior staff. “Let’s just be blue-chip, shall we?” I don’t need to grow in leaps and bounds.
GOB: On the production side of your company, you’re having to make the transition to produce in HDTV. So, knowing what you know there, when might HD come to your channels?
MF: It’s funny you ask that because we’re actually looking at it right now. I don’t have a definitive date, but it won’t be too long in coming. We were actually poised for it a couple of years ago.
Stu Turner works here and is actually one of the best engineers in the country and when we actually built the plant, Stu made sure that we would be poised to move over to HD. It’s not going to be some big cumbersome transition for us.
I feel bad for the early (HD) adopters and I’m one of them. We’re all ready and we have to wait. But it’s growing and that’s a good thing.
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