WestWind juggles broad partnership to bring converged programming to web, TV

The web can be used to drive viewers to a television show and vice-versa, says the producer of the new technology show Web Watch, but content geared toward the Internet niche could be the deciding role in making the model work. WestWind Pictures’ Web Watch, which launched on the Saskatchewan public broadcaster SCN on September 23, makes heavy use of an interactive web site that the producer hopes will involve users through chat and feedback options to help mould future episodes. WestWind’s producer, Bradley Woodard, tells Canadian NEW MEDIA the demographic is hitting a wide spectrum of viewers interested in technology but not so hardcore as to be regular viewers of the specialty channel TechTV. But, he says, viewers have also been identified as being web savvy, having done such activities as downloading movie clips from the Internet, for example, or participating in Internet chats. The project is a first-of-a-kind for WestWind, known for television series such as This Small Space, Designer Guys and Love by Design. Those shows haven’t had web sites associated with them as interactive as the Web Watch companion site. The company, which has facilities in Regina and Toronto, was started 10 years ago in the Saskatchewan capital. Broadcast experience was a key to getting the project off the ground. Woodard credits the company’s experience dealing with broadcasters for winning acceptance for a convergence project – something that might not have been in the cards had WestWind been a digital startup. With a solid name behind it, WestWind was successful in negotiating a broad partnership involving government and the private sector to get the first six episodes off the ground. Though it didn’t seek Telefilm Canada funding, which has to be repaid, the list of participants reads like a who’s who of new media funding bodies, with participation from Saskatchewan’s Film Employment Tax Credit, the Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit, the SaskTel New Media Fund, and the CanWest Western Independent Producers Fund. Private sector supporters include cableco Access Communications Co-operative Ltd., Steelcase Canada, Canon Canada, SMART Technologies, Digital Juice, LG Electronics and Microsoft Canada. Of its decision not to seek financing from the Canada New Media Fund, Woodard says WestWind considered the repayable aspect and opted to pursue other avenues. "We can finance this through free money," he says, "which leaves opportunity for cash available for other projects." The interactive web site was built by Ottawa-based Community Zero. Woodard says the site has some limitations, which the company is trying to overcome. Currently, using the site requires a free account log in, something that may or may not be dissuading users from participating. Better than an infomercial WestWind is now working on promotional content for the site, such as pitches for Microsoft’s Xbox. Woodard notes that the web can be a powerful complement to traditional broadcasting for advertising the wares of its sponsors far more efficiently than, say, a half-hour infomercial. The company retains full ownership rights over both the online and broadcast components of the show, and Woodard says it’s a given that WestWind will try to extend the show past its first six episodes. Woodard says the formula for getting the project off the ground can’t necessarily be easily replicated. The company’s broadcast partners were quick to see the advantage of building a rich site to complement the television show, in this instance, because of the obvious content tie-in. Still, he says, many broadcasters are still tied into a model of building simple sites offering, for example, schedules rather than enriching the viewing experience.

WestWind juggles broad partnership to bring converged programming to web, TV

News | 10/03/2002 4:00 am EDT

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