Canadian TV has room for only two or three new specialty channels from the US, and only those with must-watch original programming need apply, according to distributors and broadcasters north of the border.

Outside of news, sports and certain niche genres, the four-person panel convened in Toronto yesterday by organisers of the Banff World Media Festival agreed there was little room in Canada for channels that don’t offer original series and multi-platform rights.

“The need to have original, tent-pole series is really, really important,” said David Purdy, VP of television at Rogers Communications, pointing to last year’s launch of FX Canada and perennial hit-maker AMC, as examples.

A surprisingly tender look at San Diego Comic-Con, an annual pop-culture love-in that attracts 125,000 comic book and sci-fi fanatics, Supersize Medirector Morgan Spurlock’s new documentary is crowded with all the usual freaks and geeks.

There’s Chuck, a sixtysomething collector with a steel grey, 30-year-old ponytail. The comic-book store owner arrives at the convention with a mint edition of Red Raven, a 1940 Marvel comic he hopes to sell for $500,000. Probably won’t happen though. Actor Nicolas Cage, the only enthusiast who might be able to afford The Maltese Falcon of comics, has apparently got rid of his collection.

Cage’s new partner thinks comics are kids’ stuff, Chuck grumbles. “When a woman tells you to grow up, it’s God’s way of telling you to get a new woman,” he advises a nodding, sympathetic colleague. “There are three billion women on the planet and not a lot of great comics.”

Exactly.

We also meet Skip, bartender at a comic-themed bar where drinkers down the hatch with the toast “Harvey Pekar” (author of the comic, American Splendor). Skip has wanted to be a comic-book illustrator forever – since before he was born even. His parents were Trekkies who decorated his birth announcement with scenes from Captain Kirk’s ship.

“I’m practically vibrating right now,” Skip shivers as he enters Comic-Con, a fat portfolio under his arm. “I feel like I’m Flash and I can move through solid objects, I’m vibrating so hard.”

You expect to meet palpitating true believers in Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan’s Hope. And it’s no surprise to see and hear from film and TV directors Kevin Smith (Clerks), Joss Whedon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) and Frank Miller (Sin City). They have the excuse of being here for work, though all are comic-book enthusiasts.

All of the costumed characters Spurlock follows through the convention declare they finally feel at home at Comic-Con. “I’ve seen the look on people’s faces when I’ve brought them there,” Whedon says, smiling. “ ‘My tribe, my tribe, I’ve found my tribe.’ ”

But Spurlock would seem to be suggesting something else: Angelina, Sly, Hasbro Toys and Warner Bros. aren’t here because Comic-Con fans are so weird, but because they are so much like you and me.

Comic-Con is the “best test audience” in the world, Whedon argues. What film franchise has ever been more successful than Star Wars or Lord of the Rings? The entertainment industries believe that the more than 100,000 pop-culture fans that migrate to San Diego every July represent the emerald green tip of the iceberg that is their potential audience.

“[They want to] mine this extraordinary love, because inside it there must be money,” Whedon says.

This is an excerpt. Click here to read the full article in the Globe and Mail

According to Trendrr.TV’s report on social activity for cable television shows, the finale was the most talked about cable show on GetGlue, generating the highest number of social interactions on the check-in service.

This was also the case on Facebook where The Walking Dead topped SpongeBob Squarepants, considered to be the “reigning champion of Facebook conversations.”

The Walking Dead almost made a clean sweep of the social networks, but came second to Pretty Little Liars on Twitter.

This data was captured by Trenderr.TV from Twitter, Facebook and multiple second screen services for more than 4000 telecasts in March.

Click here to read the full white paper from Trenderr.TV.

A crowd of strangers will make ‘life-changing decisions’ for volunteers in a new Channel 4 show.

The Audience will feature a group of 50 ordinary men and women who will answer important questions such as ‘Should I leave my job,’  ‘Should I start again and move abroad?’ and ‘Should we get married or split up?’

The jury will follow the person posing the problem around for a week in a bid to get to know them – including at work, at home and when they are socialising, before making a decision.

Sometimes they will quietly observe from a distance, but at other times they will be able to ask questions.

The programme makes say the crowd will ‘delve into people’s personal circumstances and uncover problems to inform a picture of their lives and how to improve it.

David Glover, the Channel 4 executive who commissioned the series, said: ‘Sometimes I used to daydream about what life would be like if one were constantly being followed around by an audience. This series has huge potential and we are now waiting to see how the ‘wisdom of the crowd’ unfolds.’ 

The producers promise that ‘heartache, resistance and personal revelations,’ will all feature in the programme.

The seven-part series, is due to air later this year and comes from the same team behind the award-winning series 24 Hours in A&E.

Executive producer Jonathan Smith added: ‘We’re finding, during filming, that living with an audience of 50 people for a week is an incredibly intense experience. Although they can sometimes be cruel to be kind, they really do want to help – and we’re seeing lives change for the better as a result.’

Channel 4 are hoping the new format will be as ground-breaking as Big Brother which ran for 11 series, generating £88m in profits. 

This is an excerpt. Click here to read the full article in The Daily Mail. 

“We’re excited to be recognized as a leader in the category of Innovation,” said Shahrzad Rafati, CEO of BroadbandTV. “The idea behind BroadbandTV was to create a company that serviced a growing need that wasn’t being fulfilled. We continue to grow our business based on this ideology. Without innovation there would be no success.” Catherine Warren, president of FanTrust Entertainment Strategies, is a longstanding advisor to BroadbandTV.

Since launching its first online video asset four years ago, BroadbandTV has grown to manage hundreds of thousands of videos online for more than 3,000 companies. Clients such as the National Basketball Association and Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. turn to BroadbandTV to unlock the monetization value behind their online video content. The company does this by leveraging proprietary systems, tools, technologies and an innovative community-centric approach.

“It is great to see BC businesses like BroadbandTV solve difficult problems with true innovation, not just with technology, but also with innovative business models,” said Brent Holliday of Capital West Partners, an Innovator’s panelist. “BBTV’s success in assisting content providers in leveraging the power of social video is expanding globally at an astonishing rate.”

BroadbandTV has received numerous awards and distinctions including being recognized by Marketing Magazine as one of Canada’s Digital Media Companies to Watch. Since January 2011, BroadbandTV has massed close to 300 million impressions monthly. This represents more than 645% growth in revenues on a year over year basis.  The next leap for the Vancouver-based company is to extend their business model to mobile devices.

This is an excerpt. Click here to read the full press release from BroadbandTV.

As if 2012 hadn’t already been the year “Portlandia”  achieved pop culture domination, now the IFC sketch comedy series has won a Peabody Award.

Today, the 71st annual Peabody Awards winners were announced, and among the 38 recipients was”Portlandia,” recognized as “A funhouse mirror reflection of Portland, Oregon, a city that takes its progressivism — and its diet — very seriously. The satire is fresh, organic and cage-free.”

Yes, well. Today’s list of George Foster Peabody Awards, given by the University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, honor the best in electronic media for 2011.

Among the entertainment programs joining “Portlandia” in the winners’ circle: The Showtime series, ”Homeland”; NBC’s delightful ”Parks and Recreation” (if only awards were ratings);”The Colbert Report — Super PAC Segments”; the public radio oral history project,”StoryCorps”: HBO’s ”Treme” (speaking of needing a little ratings help); HBO’s hit, ”Game of Thrones”; ”Austin City Limits”; and ”Jeopardy!”

Click here for the complete list of awards.

This is an excerpt. Click here to read the full article on OregonLive.com 

After having had to postpone the Winners Events due to political turmoil from 2011 to 2012, the highlight of the global WSA contest, the Winners’ Events, can finally take place in Cairo. From over 460 projects and 105 countries, the WSA Grand Jury selected 40 WSA Winners in 2011 on the basis of content depth and creative and valuable technology for users.

WSA will celebrate the best e-content producers worldwide in cooperation with the international trade fair Cairo ICT 2012 and the Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA) under the patronage of the Minister of Communications and Information Technology H.E. Mohamed Salem. FanTrust President Catherine Warren is the WSA Executive Board Member for North America.

“With the winners from World Summit Award in e-Content, Cairo ICT and ITIDA will host the best digital producers, interaction designers and content developers from all around the world demonstrating the richness and diversity of the content industries. This partnership assures an event of the highest quality and a special stage for what can be done with modern ICTs to develop local communities, national social strategies and meaningful jobs”, says WSA Chairman Peter A. Bruck.

Through national pre-selections and contests together with a global jury process, WSA demonstrates the local diversity and rich creativity of ICT use since 2003. WSA is a global hub for everyone who values the crucial importance of local content to make today’s information society more inclusive. Be part of the ceremony and meet the world’s best e-Content producers.

For more information, visit:  www.wsis-award.org.

This is an excerpt. Click here for the full release from the World Summit Award.

Rovio Mobile is launching a series of 52 shortform animations for its Angry Birds in Autumn, but has ruled out a movie until after 2014.

“We’re going to roll out a weekly animation series later this year of shortform content,” said Rovio’s head of animation Nick Dorra, speaking at the MIPTV conference in Cannes.

The series will consist of 52 episodes lasting between two-and-a-half and three minutes each. “We’re going to roll it out on all possible devices,” said Dorra.

“We’re looking at building a video app for that, and we’re also looking at partnerships and so on… We want to be on all screens.”

Those partnerships include a deal with Samsung announced in January 2012 that involves an app for the company’s range of Smart TV internet-connected televisions.

Rovio acquired Finnish animation studio Kombo in June 2011 to help develop Angry Birds into more than just a gaming brand. The same month, it recruited former Marvel Studios chairman David Maisel as an adviser, sparking talk of a full Angry Birds film.

“It’s in development, but it won’t be out in 2013 or 2014,” Dorra told the MIPTV audience. “You’ll have to bide your time and first watch all of our shorts!”

Animation is a key part of Rovio’s growth strategy going forward, not least because it provides more leeway to flesh out its characters than the games do, while also attracting new fans who might not want to play the Angry Birds games.

“It’s about telling more engaging stories… and deeper thoughts, deeper feelings of the characters, such as why are they always angry?” said Dorra.

“Angry Birds is not just about the gameplay, and will be in the future less and less about the slingshot, actually, and more and more about the characters.”

Dorra was asked what the television industry can learn from the boom in mobile apps and games, and noted that usage of the latter is continuing to grow rapidly.

“In the US, people watch 150-160 hours of television every month, but the top apps are already bringing 20 hours per month. That’s huge, and it’s just the beginning,” he said.

This is an excerpt. Click here to read the full article from The Guardian.

SHUJAAZ FM (Well Told Story), a multi-media communications project, designed to inspire and motivate millions of Kenyans to take action to improve their lives and engage with urgent issues that shape their future, garnered the first Digital Emmy Award for Kenya by winning the Children & Young People category.

Endgame Interactive: Facebook Episode (Secret Location/Shaw Media/Thunderbird Films), a transmedia episode created to extend the Showcase television drama Endgame online, won the Fiction category. Live from The Clinic (Maverick Television for Channel 4), a medical series enabling viewers to apply through the show’s website to be seen live over webcam during transmission by the show’s resident doctors and leading specialists, won the Non-Fiction category.

“This year’s winners have masterfully woven social media into the fabric of their programs, “said Bruce L. Paisner, President & CEO of The International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. “We congratulate them on their boundary-breaking.”

2012 INTERNATIONAL DIGITAL EMMY® AWARDS WINNERS

Digital Program: Children & Young People

SHUJAAZ.FM

Well Told Story (Kenya)

Shujaaz.FM is a multi-media communications project, designed to inspire and motivate millions of Kenyans to take action to improve their lives and engage with urgent issues that shape their future. Shujaaz is delivered simultaneously across multiple interactive channels to inform and involve Kenyans starved of opportunities and eager to build better futures for themselves. Shujaaz.FM follows the lives of four young Kenyans. The star is Boyie, who’s built a pirate radio station in his bedroom from which he broadcasts his show Shujaaz.FM as DJ B. The other characters are fans of his show and call-in with stories and ideas for him to share. Together they reveal tried and tested ideas about making money, growing up, entrepreneurship, and democracy.

Digital Program: Fiction

Endgame Interactive: Facebook Episode

Secret Location / Shaw Media / Thunderbird Films (Canada)

Endgame Interactive is a transmedia episode created to extend the Showcase television drama Endgame online. The audience participates in an interactive mystery where they take on the main role in the narrative, which is populated with information from their Facebook account. Fans interact with the cast, search for clues, question suspects, and unravel the mystery in a cinematic and personal experience. The episode seamlessly integrates elements of the viewers Facebook profile into the video and places the users friends at the center of a kidnapping mystery. The online experience is built on a platform that builds social media directly into the story, posting cryptic messages to viewer’s Facebook accounts and weaving the need to share the content right into the story’s conclusion. The objective was to draw the audience into the Endgame show world with an immersive experience and create a direct interaction with Arkady Balagan, the charismatic star of the show. By joining Balagan’s band of investigators, users experienced the show content through online video and casual gaming elements in a new and unique way.

Digital Program: Non-Fiction

Live from the Clinic

Maverick Television for Channel 4 (United Kingdom)

Live from the Clinic was broadcast on Channel 4, relying largely on online presence. Viewers applied through the show’s website to be seen live over webcam during transmission by the show’s resident doctors and leading specialists. On the website, these cases were made available as interactive videos, allowing users to create a shopping basket of resources most applicable to them, which they could then email to themselves. As the shows aired, users were encouraged to ‘play along’ using My Healthchecker, taking 19 tests related to subjects across the series, ranging from Dyslexia, OCD, Autism, and ADHD, to BMI, Body Fat Percentage, and Diabetes. Along with receiving detailed feedback and advice, users could compare their results anonymously with others. My VideoDoctor, an interactive video product, allowed users to receive a personalised consultation based on their symptoms from the show’s doctors.

This is an excerpt. Click here to read the full release from the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.