TORONTO – Public broadcaster TVOntario is about a year into its digital transformation and said today it is on its way to becoming a top Canadian source of unique, multi-platform digital media content.
This transformation includes a rebuild of its Toronto-based studios to a fully digital HD-ready production facility, and a state of the art Digital Asset Management (DAM) system.
"Like all media organizations that are based on a broadcast model, TVO is greatly interested in expanding our reach and our impact through digital media," said Lisa de Wilde, TVO’s CEO, in a press release. "What sets TVO apart is that we exist to serve the public good. Our job is to use our content assets to empower people to be engaged citizens, and going digital enables us to become more relevant and responsive to today’s audiences."
Backed by special government funding, TVO’s digital rebuild “reflects a significant investment in equipment, training and business process re-engineering to position the organization and its employees for success in the digital future,” says Monday’s press release. TVO’s new production studios, home to in-house programming such as TVOKids, the online webcast Your Voice and The Agenda with Steve Paikin, will be fully operational by early 2008. Augmented by state of the art digital field cameras and post-production facilities, "we will in short order be producing our content entirely in digital format," added de Wilde.
Along with new production facilities, a key component of TVO’s digital strategy will be its ability to archive and manage digital content. “(W)ith Digital Asset Management capabilities, we will have the ability to open up access to content from our vast media archives – consisting of over 35 years of educational media – from both inside TVO, as well as to users outside the organization," explained de Wilde.
This digital archive will simplify searching, retrieving, re-versioning, translating and organizing all TVO content. "Over the next 18 months, consumers will begin to be able to build their own TVO ‘experience’ from our inventory of educational in-house content: video clips, curriculum-based kids’ web games and activities, research articles – almost anything we’ve produced can be made available," said de Wilde.
In the meantime, TVO has begun actively pursuing new business development opportunities to make its content accessible via alternative web-based distribution channels. "Transforming TVO into a multi-platform digital media organization will enable us to get our unique content to more people in more ways, while strengthening our business model," she added.
With this "Going Digital" strategy underway, TVO has already achieved significant success in multi-platform content distribution. For example, says the press release:
* With a view to testing new distribution and revenue models, TVO signed a revenue sharing agreement with QuickPlay Media in 2006, enabling TVO to offer TVOKids programs on mobile devices.
* TVO is among a small group of Canadian broadcasters participating in an IPTV (Internet Protocol TV) pilot project at the University of Waterloo, with INUK Networks.
* TVO has long been a leader in educational media, having pioneered the integration of broadcast and online content a decade ago with TVOKids and TVOKids.com. With more than 150 curriculum-based games and activities, TVOKids.com continues to be a trusted source of interactive learning for young minds.
* TVO is home to the first and only interactive online show for parents, Your Voice, webcast live every Tuesday afternoon or available for streaming 24-7 on TVOParents.com. Your Voice provides parents with unique access to world renowned experts in children’s education issues.
* All of TVO’s in-house programs for adults are available as podcasts. Over the last year, the lecture-based series Big Ideas has consistently been among the top three podcast downloads in the Higher Education category of iTunes.
* TVO’s flagship show The Agenda with Steve Paikin offers a rich online resource centre at tvo.org to actively engage viewers in the complex current affairs issues of our time: featuring producer and citizen blogs, interactive viewer discussion forums, video, research, and supplementary downloadable resources.
* In partnership with Kensington Communications (the independent producer from whom TVO commissioned the documentary Diamond Road), we created Diamond Road Online, offering viewers an intense and immersive user-driven online exploration of the international diamond trade.
