http://bellfund.ca/annual-reports/2010/en/home.html

2010 Highlights

·         $11,133,214 was invested in the production of 83 cross-platform television and interactive digital projects

·         $860,575 was invested in the development of 22 projects

·         $122,000 sponsored 22 professional development activities across the country

1997-2010 Highlights

·         $93,222,308 invested in Canada’s cross-platform industry

·         $86,072,915 has been invested in the production of 614 cross-platform television and interactive digital projects

·         $6,291,833  has been invested in the development of 175 projects

·         $857,560 sponsored 149 professional development activities across the country

The Board of Directors salutes its Vice Chair and Treasurer for the past decade, Chris Frank, as he retires from his various duties this year.  Thanks to Bell TV’s contributions to the Bell Fund and his dedicated participation in Bell Fund activities, the Fund has invested $93 M in 938 cross-platform television and interactive digital media projects, since 1997.

If you guessed Netflix, you win. In the eyes of Canada’s telecommunications authority, the CRTC, Netflix, which allows viewers to stream video content via their computers, Blu-ray players or game consoles, isn’t considered a “broadcaster.” But some industry groups think it should be.

Part of being a broadcaster in Canada means that you’re obliged to support Canadian programming. It’s right there in the Canadian Broadcasting Act: “each element of the Canadian broadcasting system shall contribute in an appropriate manner to the creation and presentation of Canadian programming.”

Practically speaking, this means that Canadian broadcasters are required to give a percentage of their annual revenues to organizations like the Canadian Media Fund, which helps pay for new Canadian content. Basically, if you want to run a TV station, you need to help pay for Canadian TV programming. Broadcasters have to do this.

But here’s the thing: the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission doesn’t consider online video streaming services like Netflix to be broadcasters, so they can distribute movies and TV shows without the same requirement to help fund new Canadian productions.

Excerpt from Dan Misener’s article on CBC.ca. Click here to read the full article.

"I don't think that fan cult and fan culture is new. I think what we're seeing is how it unfolds and how it manifests in real time." - Photo by Dominic Schaefer

If there’s one thing Catherine Warren has learned from her media career, it’s how powerful an audience can be.

It’s what convinced her 10 years ago to launch FanTrust Entertainment Strategies, through which she has helped broadcasters, game companies and TV and film producers around the world to use digital media to build fan bases and drive revenue.

“The audience used to be looked at as an amorphous group,” said Warren. “They were not looked at as a community or as individuals who could provide things like viral marketing and context.”

FanTrust [Warren] has helped everyone from the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. and Microsoft Corp. to British Columbia Lottery Corp. expand their fan bases using the web and other communication channels.

When Nokia and Orange Telecom France formed a strategic alliance to increase video game use on their mobile products, they called on FanTrust to build game developer momentum for the alliance.

When the Public Broadcasting Service’s KCTS station wanted to penetrate the Canadian market, it turned to FanTrust [Warren] for the initiative’s finance and business strategy.

Warren’s reputation and roles in the media world continue to grow thanks to her ability to bring together the right content, communications channels and partners to build fan-base passion.

Among her loftiest roles is jury chairwoman for the experimental stream of the newly created Canadian Media Fund. The $27 million fund supports high-risk interactive digital media content and application creators.

During the stream’s first round of funding in October, 27 projects were approved for a total of $12.9 million.

Lynda Brown-Ganzert, another Vancouver-based digital media mover-and-shaker, who also sits on the experimental stream’s board [jury], describes Warren as a great synthesizer.

“Catherine has the ability to take things in what can be a pretty confusing space and link them together,” said Brown-Ganzert. “She’ll look at what’s happening around the world – different trends, emerging technology platforms and human behaviour – and she’ll weave it all together into a well-thought-out strategy.”

Warren is a jury member for both the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, which hosts the Emmy Awards, and the Rose d’Or, a European festival that recognizes quality television.

She has been a board member of the $18 million Bell Broadcast and New Media Fund for 10 years and is the fund’s communications chairwoman.

In September 2009, Warren was appointed to the board of the United Nations’ World Summit Award for New Media, which promotes digital content and information and communication technology applications that can improve lives.

More than 20,000 applications from 157 countries were included in the 2009 awards competition.

Excerpt from Curt Cherewayko’s article in the January 11-17, 2011 issue of Business in Vancouver.

Click here for the full article.

This fan activity may be your own, for example, if you have a website with respectable traffic stats; but you can also get great, relevant stats by pilfering fan data from show, film or game properties similar to your own.

I recently introduced 42 Entertainment’s executive team at VIDFEST 2008 (read VIDFEST’s “liveblog” of the session here). 42 Entertainment bills itself as an original content production company – media agnostic, focused on “monetized entertainment experiences” for distribution partners of all stripes – including broadcasters, broadband, telcos and publishers. Their work is legend, earning them a feature in a recent issue of Wired magazine for their ARG for Nine Inch Nails.

42 Entertainment lives (and pitches) by the mantra: “Experience is King”, “Content is Queen”, and “All the world is our stage”. With this resonating, content producers will hold court when pitching to a broadcaster, studio or game publisher.

Above: The Nine Inch Nails Resistance Meeting, part of the experience created by 42 Entertainment on the request of band frontman Trent Reznor, outlined at length in the December 2007 Wired article.

Think of digital fan communities as focus groups waiting to be mined.

• Count your fans
• Use fan reviews
• Cite fan forums
• Use fan art/fan productions

Package this up in a colourful pitch that demonstrates your depth of knowledge about your key audience, its demographics and psychographics. Show your buyer that you are ahead of the game when it comes to supporting publicity, promotion and sales efforts.

Ultimately, many buyers such as broadcasters and publishers, want to see your whole multiplatform plan built into your pitch. If your fan data and your multiplatform thinking does nothing more than help you land that traditional TV or game deal, then it proved to be your competitive advantage.

Sci Fi Channel has greenlighted “Sanctuary,” the first television series to use live-action actors against virtual sets in the style of the features “300″ and “Sin City.”

Sci Fi has ordered a full 13-episode season of the new scripted drama series, which originated online as the first high-definition sci-fi Web series.

“Sanctuary” hails from the “Stargate SG-1″ trio of star Amanda Tapping, writer-producer Damian Kindler and producer-director Martin Wood, who are executive producing the series with Sam Egan …

Sci Fi’s decision to forgo a pilot and go for a straight 13-episode series order for “Sanctuary” dovetails recent statements by NBC Universal chief Jeff Zucker that the company’s new mandate is to order more projects straight to series. [Sci Fi Exec VP Original Programming Mark Stern] called that a coincidence, noting that the network’s decision was based on the fact that execs already had seen material from the Web series.

Read the full article about FanTrust client Stage 3 Media, its multiplatform approach to “Sanctuary” and its broadcast deal with Sci Fi Channel.

TORONTO, ON The Bell Fund is thrilled to congratulate the Canadian nominees and award recipients at the second International Interactive Emmy Awards held in Cannes, France earlier today at the 2007 MIPTV featuring MILIA event. The Bell Fund is particularly pleased to announce that two Bell Fund supported projects, Zimmer Twins by zinc Roe design and ReGenesis Extended Reality Game produced by Toronto-based Xenophile Media with ReGenesis TV series production company Shaftesbury Films, won the top prize in the Interactive Program category.

“We thank the International Interactive Emmy’s for this award and we are proud to be in the company of such truly impressive Canadian talents this year,” said Patrick Crowe, Producer at Xenophile Media. “With organizations like the Bell Fund committed to investing in the development and production of new media projects, Canada is the best place to work on innovative new media projects. We are extremely grateful for its support in helping us to realize this project.”

“We are thrilled to be the recipients of such an award and to be in the company of so many outstanding Canadians at this year’s event,” said Jason Krogh, Producer at zinc Roe design. “Canada is truly the envy of the world when it comes to leading edge work in the field of new media. With the Bell Fund’s ongoing support of company’s like ours, Canada will continue to gain international recognition and acclaim for furthering excellence in the field.”

By encouraging the development of convergent new media projects, Canada is at the forefront as a world leader in the field of new media. Three of the four nominees in this year’s Interactive Program category were Canadian. In addition to this year’s winners, multiple Bell Fund recipient marblemedia was nominated for Shorts in Motion: The Art of Seduction, produced in partnership with BravoFACT! and the NFB.

“The awards represent a premier platform for the interactive television community to celebrate their achievements and we are pleased to see so many Canadian producers being recognized on a global stage,” said Catherine Warren, Bell Fund Board Member and President of FanTrust Entertainment Strategies. “With the assistance of the Bell Fund, Canadians continue to set a high standard of excellence for new media innovation.”

In her capacity as a Bell Fund Board Member, Catherine Warren was invited to be on the selection jury for the Interactive Channel nominees at this year’s International Interactive Emmy’s. She also sat on the National Film Board’s jury for the Content 360 pitching session, a competition calling for creative ideas that explore the potential of digital platforms, also taking place at MIPTV featuring MILIA 2007.

Presented by the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, the annual International Interactive Emmy Awards is a key event for television, broadband, mobile and Internet professionals. The event recognizes outstanding achievement and excellence in new media and interactive television programming produced outside of the United States.

About The International Academy
Founded in 1969, the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences is the largest organization of broadcasters in the world, with over 500 members from nearly 70 countries and over 400 companies. The Academy was chartered with a mission to recognize excellence in television programming produced outside of the United States, and it presents the International Emmy Award to programs in fourteen categories: Arts Programming; Best Performance by an Actress; Best Performance by an Actor; Breaking News; Children & Young People; Comedy; Continuing News Coverage; Documentary; Drama Series; Interactive Channel; Interactive Program; Interactive TV Service; Non-Scripted Entertainment; TV Movie/Mini-Series.

About The Bell Fund
The Bell Fund provides grants to Canadian independent producers who develop and produce outstanding television content complemented and enhanced by innovative, interactive content designed for digital delivery. These new media projects reflect state-of-the-art technology and are helping traditional television producers and broadcasters to discover the value added benefit of a web presence.

The Bell Broadcast and New Media Fund receives annual contributions of approximately $8M from Bell ExpressVU as part of its broadcast distribution undertaking (BDU) contributions to the industry. In addition, the Development Program is supported by the interest generated by a $10M endowment resulting from BCE-CTV benefits. The Bell Fund is incorporated as a not-for-profit organization, governed by an independent Board of Directors representing various sectors of the television and new media industry. The Fund is administered by the Independent Production Fund.

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For more information please contact:

David Gollom
High Road Communications
Tel: 416-644-2267
Email: dgollom@highroad.com

“Emerging sectors such as digital and new media technologies are key to strengthening Canada’s competitiveness in the global marketplace,” said James Moore, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Works and Government Services and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for the Pacific Gateway and the Vancouver-Whistler Olympics on behalf of the Honourable Carol Skelton, Minister of National Revenue and Minister of Western Economic Diversification. “These investments will build British Columbia as a world leader in new media technology.”

New Media B.C. will design and develop a “Digital Coast”, to increase collaboration and research within the industry. The University of British Columbia’s New Media Interdisciplinary Research Centre will develop a two-year pilot program to accelerate technology commercialization. The Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design will establish a new media Industry Liaison Office for research, development and commercialization. Finally, Western Economic Diversification Canada is supporting the 2006 Vancouver International Digital Festival, a global event for new media representatives to meet and develop new strategies to further the industry.

Western Economic Diversification Canada is the federal department mandated to support economic diversification in communities across Western Canada.