TORONTO – Now that the glitzy Canadian Upfront presentations are wrapped and local broadcasters are done dazzling advertisers with magical thinking to sell ads, Blue Ant Media has a simple formula for happiness: Own your TV audiences, don't rent them.
"This Internet thing is here to stay. It's pretty obvious the value chain is edging towards those who create and own (content), to the landlord of the material, and less value is accruing to the tenant," Blue Ant Media CEO Michael MacMillan told Cartt.ca on Tuesday.
His message followed the company’s Upfront glitz at the Royal Ontario Museum by Blue Ant ad sales execs that started with the Star Wars victory-against-the-odds movie theme music and scroll and ended with a stage full of local performing arts high school students belting out Pharrell Williams' uplifting tune Happy.
So what's making MacMillan so darn cheerful these days?
While rival Canadian broadcasters continue to invest heavily in American series they rent, and don't own, Blue Ant has taken a different path to position itself for future growth. MacMillan argues Blue Ant, as a global content producer, distributor and channel operator, aims to own content made with or by international partners that it can exploit around the world.
"Name me an ongoing, long-term media company that isn't international? That's our simple theory," he added.
Jamie Schouela, president of the company’s Canadian media division, whose focus is on homegrown channels like Cottage Life, Makeful and T+E, points to increased investment in original programming, combined with digital extensions to reach footloose Canadian audiences.
"We think of these (channels) as brands and audiences that we connect with, on linear platforms as the core audience comes to us, and as our audience moves around the ecosystem," Schouela explained.
That marks a shift in thinking at Blue Ant from a Canadian broadcaster with channels it fills with licensed product to a global media player with content it owns. Generating its own IP aims to allow Blue Ant's branded channels to land on skinny cable bundles and other inexpensive digital viewing options as they emerge.
"Down the road there will be new pipes and new ways to get the content and we need to make sure we're there on all those opportunities," Schouela said, "and owning the content allows us to do that," he added.
That includes, for example, teaming with Netflix on Blown Away, a new glass-blowing competition series to be produced by marblemedia for Makeful.
"If you're not the established behemoth who can't switch and cut and change, it's a pretty exciting time.” – Michael MacMillan, Blue Ant
All the while, Blue Ant's global business continues to evolve with operations in Los Angeles, Singapore, Auckland, Dunedin, London, Washington, Sydney, Beijing and Taipei. As well, the Canadian company has bought foreign platforms like HGTV in New Zealand to leverage the IP it creates at home for international exploitation. (Ed note: a previous version of this story incorrectly stated that Blue Ant Media owns BBC in New Zealand. The company owns HGTV in that country and BBC Earth in Canada.)
Elsewhere, Blue Ant rebranded its Omnia Media production arm in Los Angeles as Blue Ant Digital Studios to broaden its content creation beyond YouTube to millennial audiences across a range of platforms, including Facebook Watch.
Also, Love Nature 4K, a joint venture between Blue Ant and Smithsonian Networks, continues to drive into the growing Southeast Asian market with carriage deals.
"We have Love Nature, a VOD offering and a channel in many markets, where we produce or commission. That's an original content play, and we're using and reusing it in many countries," MacMillan said.
ZooMoo, an interactive kids nature channel is also available in 25 countries, with the bulk of its content produced or commissioned by Blue Ant.
MacMillan argues that, as Blue Ant expands its capacity to be a creator, producer and owner of content, it can leverage a global media business that is growing, not shrinking. "There's a direct link between developing and owning content, and delivering it. It's not everywhere, in every way. But in Asia Pacific, unlike in North America, the number of homes paying for TV is expanding," he said.
The CEO insisted Blue Ant will continue to focus on organic growth as it works with international partners, rather than buy its way into global markets. “We're ambitious," he said. "We do expect internal growth, through bringing on new creative partners, new brands and acquisitions."
The goal, MacMillan summed up, is ensuring Blue Ant doesn't become a dinosaur in a fast-changing media landscape. "If you're not the established behemoth who can't switch and cut and change, it's a pretty exciting time," he insisted.
