Producers miffed as Canadian Idol funded “largely” from Groundbreaker Fund

An unknown portion of CTV Inc.’s massive hit Canadian Idol’s $8-million budget is being provided through the broadcaster’s Groundbreaker Fund, much to the consternation of many in the new media producer community who say the choice is uninspired and fails to move the yardsticks forward on interactivity. A CTV spokesperson confirms the rumour in an email to Canadian NEW MEDIA, writing: " is indeed largely funded through the BCE Benefits’ Groundbreaker Fund. How much - and how it is spent - is not something we will disclose." Nor would the spokesperson confirm CNM’s information that the budget for the show is $8 million, though the figure was not denied. New media producers have apparently been caught off guard by news that the show is using Groundbreaker money. Many of those with whom CNM has spoken say they’re disappointed the envelope would be opened for content they maintain fails to push the boundaries of interactivity. One producer states the initiative lacks creativity - typical, the producer says, of how the network operates. The Groundbreaker Fund is a $23-million, six-year source of funding for convergence projects provided as a public benefit when BCE Inc. acquired CTV in 2000. The fund sat untapped for an extended period as producers struggled to meet the project’s nebulous requirements. The Toronto producer community in particular has been frustrated that the fund’s guidelines require ownership of project intellectual property to remain in the regions outside of the top three production centres: Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver. Canadian Idol is produced in association with CTV by Insight Productions, along with Atlantic Canada-based Rink Rat Productions and Alberta-based Aquila Productions, apparently meeting the letter of the Groundbreaker Fund’s guidelines (CNM, Oct. 30/02; July 25/02). The fund is intended to create cutting-edge new media programming in which content could come from multiple inputs into a story, such as viewer voting, putting complementary content on additional platforms, or even putting original narrative content on platforms other than the television. The Canadian Idol project incorporates many of the elements CTV has been looking to fund. On July 4, it was announced the show had struck an agreement with all four of Canada’s wireless phone carriers to text message votes and play show-related games. The site contains a chat room, program recaps, behind-the-scenes video clips, photo uploads, contestant bios and information on how to vote by text message or by phone. The show has predictably turned into a blockbuster for Canada’s largest private broadcaster, pulling in as many as two million viewers per episode, and even making an unlikely celebrity of unctuous Ben Mulroney, who hosts the show. Last fall, at the International New Media Festival in P.E.I., consultant to the Groundbreaker Fund Andrew Cochran told a packed audience of new media producers that the fund was intended to create new narrative forms and that guidelines were left deliberately vague to see what kinds of new projects could be brought forth. He also noted that the fund could be used to support up to 70% of a project’s costs, which on an $8-million budget would be $5.6 million. Some producers say the choice of Canadian Idol, a mainstream pop culture hit licensed from U.S.-based Fremantle Media, shows a lack of inspiration on the part of CTV for a first project to be funded out of the public benefits package. In the U.S., American Idol has already proven to be a strong brand, even spawning a spin-off movie. The Canadian web site is a near carbon copy of its American parent’s. The same CTV spokesperson defends the decision to use Groundbreaker funding to put the show afoot. " is a good fit…Besides taking the show to eight regions across Canada, the show is produced in part by Atlantic Canada-based Rink Rat Productions and Alberta-based Aquila Productions (along with Toronto-based Insight Productions). also becomes interactive starting on two telephony fronts: voting by telephone and by text messaging. In fact, this is the first time in North American that all wireless companies have converged to cooperate on one initiative. "Besides being the most ambitious interactive series CTV has ever put forward, it allows CTV to take the first step toward more innovation and interactivity with Canadian viewers." Only one other project is known to have been funded through the Groundbreaker Fund - Corner Gas. Details are unknown at this time, but the television component features standup comedian Brent Butt starring as a gas station attendant in small-town Saskatchewan. Cochran, who has finished his consulting contract with CTV on the Groundbreaker Fund, is now working in an unknown capacity with the Corner Gas project.

Producers miffed as Canadian Idol funded “largely” from Groundbreaker Fund

Broadcast | July 11, 2003

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