CTV benefits fund seeks industry direction as cash goes untapped; hired gun on board

A little publicized cash pool offered by CTV Inc. to encourage convergent TV/interactive products is struggling to find projects to fund, according to numerous sources. The $28-million, five-year Groundbreaker Fund, offered by BCE Inc. as part of its 2000 benefits package arising from its takeover of CTV, appears set for changes to satisfy industry concerns that it is poorly targeted and structured. Several sources have indicated to Canadian NEW MEDIA that executives from the fund were heard bemoaning a lack of qualified applicants during the recent Banff Television Festival. Further inquiries by CNM has identified the fund’s regional structure and ambiguous funding goals as reasons for the dearth of companies at CTV’s door. Groundbreaker Fund executives referred CNM to CTV’s communications team. Staff in that department say only Ed Robinson (CTV’s senior VP, variety & comedy programming) can publicly speak to the challenges facing the initiative. Robinson was unavailable for comment. Communications staff did, however, confirm that longtime industry veteran Andrew Cochran has been brought on board in some capacity. Since Cochran is serving only as a consultant to the project, he may not speak to the media about it. In truth, says one source close to the situation, Cochran has been hired to bring focus to the project – something lacking to date. Cochran built up a reserve of respect in the industry for his vision of interactive content while at the head of Nova Scotia’s Cochran Interactive, known for its Thomas the Tugboat, and Pit Pony TV series. That company went bankrupt, but insiders have welcomed news that Cochran will help revive the moribund CTV fund. One of Cochran’s first challenges will be to better define how the cash pool will be put to use. Guidelines posted to CTV’s web site indicate only that the fund is intended to help new TV series in which an interactive component is a key element of the concept and which are expected to have the potential to bring in large audiences and with the potential for international sales. A blurb on the site reads: "We are very flexible in terms of format. Groundbreaker programs could be series, mini-series, specials, a game show, a reality show, a music show, a comedy program, a hybrid of all these genres or something completely new. It must be an innovative and creative entertainment program, using interactivity to extend the experience." The description stands in stark contrast to the precisely defined content requirements for both the Bell Broadcast and New Media Fund and Telefilm Canada’s Canada New Media Fund. It will be up to Cochran, sources say, to find a similarly sharp focus for the Groundbreaker Fund. Those changes may already be in the works, reflected in a rumoured name change to The WOW Fund – still unconfirmed. Regional structure problematic It’s not clear whether the funding structure will be changed to allow companies in Canada’s three major urban centres to participate. One reason why the fund has yet to give away a penny, say observers, is that a majority of the copyright in any of the productions must reside with a company based in the regions. Companies in those centres where most production is done are unlikely to partner with regional companies if it means holding less than majority copyright, and there aren’t enough interactive/TV companies outside Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver to make the fund worthwhile. There is a clear demand, however, for multimedia funding in Canada. For example, only 32 of 183 projects submitted in the latest Canada New Media Fund round were approved – bespeaking a huge demand for help that’s currently going unfilled. With a properly targeted and structured fund, there’s little doubt CTV would also be turning even excellent projects away. That may mean, however, that CTV will have to listen to industry demands that the fund be opened up beyond regional programming.

CTV benefits fund seeks industry direction as cash goes untapped; hired gun on board

Broadcast | July 25, 2002

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