Trapeze confirms interactive television work with CTV on Canadian Idol 2

Toronto-based Trapeze Media hopes to bring advanced interactive features to the second season of Canadian Idol - something it was unable to do for the show’s debut season because discussions last year with broadcaster CTV Inc. were abruptly terminated. But talks between the two companies have resumed, and with the show’s first season generating blockbuster audience figures, Trapeze’s Michael Kasprow says the broadcaster appears more motivated to take a risk on ITV content that goes beyond the single SMS voting application developed in conjunction with the first season. The show’s first season was funded by the Groundbreaker Fund, a development that angered many in the new production community because they didn’t feel the show pushed the bounds of interactivity, an objective of the fund (CNM, July 11/03; Sept. 26/03). Discussions between veteran ITV content producer Trapeze Media and CTV are still in a preliminary phase, Canadian NEW MEDIA has learned, but possible applications for the second season include a full-fledged ITV complement to the television broadcast of the hit show. Kasprow tells CNM that his company was retained by CTV prior to the first season of the smash hit going to air last year to work on interactive applications, but that the advanced features Trapeze were suggesting were nixed in the end. At that time, the relationship between Trapeze and CTV was terminated. "It sort of came apart, I think, based on the fact that the executives in charge of developing the show felt that the budget to put something together of any real value was too risky for them, because they didn’t necessarily own the property. That’s the assumption I was working on," Kasprow says. "But, we had some really amazing things in the pipes, things that we really wanted to do…We were talking about multi-cam for the live event - the finale - both on interactive tele-vision (ITV) and through Sympatico. We were talking about paid access to behind-the-scenes footage. We were talking about being able to upload and download video. There were a whole bunch of things that were quite a bit more robust on the site." Kasprow won’t say how much work had been done or how much the applications were slated to cost before CTV scaled back the project. "It was pretty big. It sort of moved all over the place. I guess the added complication was that Bell Globemedia Interactive tanked at the same time as we were developing the project, so all of the infrastructure disappeared overnight. I think that that made (CTV) incredibly nervous." He says, in the end, CTV executives chose to focus on the television show in a traditional fashion, deciding for the time being not to risk too great a budget on a complementary web component. "It was a bit disappointing for us because we thought we had some really good ideas," he says. He contrasts the Canadian Idol project with its French-language counterpart Star Académie broadcast on TVA. Kasprow notes that his company had pitched CTV on many of the interactive features that ultimately found their way into the more converged Star Académie project, though he notes that the ownership positions by both companies on their respective properties was very different. "The other thing, I think, that was interesting for CTV was that they’re dealing with Fremantle (Productions). They’re dealing with a number of approval processes that would ultimately slow the project down. So, we started out with all these grandiose ideas that ultimately got whittled down, whittled down, whittled down until they were absolutely nothing, and we were somewhat dismayed," Kasprow notes. Other independent new media producers were also upset by the large sum spent from the Groundbreaker Fund on Canadian Idol, complaining that the money had been set aside to push the bounds of interactivity and convergence - something few felt an SMS voting mechanism delivered on. "Do I think it was an appropriate use of Groundbreaker money? I think SMS voting is interactive. Do I think it’s what everyone had expected out of the Fund, and do I think it redefines interactivity? Absolutely not. But, do I think that CTV is on the road to do that? And, do I think they’re motivated to do that? Yeah, but it’s going to take them a while longer," Kasprow says. He has embarked anew on discussions with the broadcaster about bolstering the interactive applications for Canadian Idol, and his peers may have reason to cheer the use of the fund for the second season. "I think that even if it doesn’t go ahead, the fact that (CTV) is even having these discussions is really valuable to both CTV and the independent production community. I think there’s a sense now that it might not all lie on the web, but that there’s actually some really good work to be done by producers on things like ITV and SMS that CTV recognizes, and that they’re willing to do. That’s the feeling I’m getting." For the moment, Kasprow is keeping specifics to his chest, and won’t say more than that potential applications may include ITV services. "It would seem to me there’s a lot of motivation at CTV this year, and we’ve been called in again to do some interesting stuff around interactive television. The (Bell Express Vu LP) (subscriber) numbers are at a point where it’s looking rather attractive." Bell ExpressVu is a sister company to CTV within the BCE Inc. corporate family. "I can’t say that we’re necessarily going to get the green light to go ahead, but there’s more motivation based on the success that they can point to of Idol already. It was a gamble, I guess, for them initially. They weren’t sure whether people were going to react well to it." He says second season applications will hopefully be more exciting interactivity-wise with the show’s success all but ensured. "Not blow the lights out stuff that’s completely bizarre, but stuff that’s really appropriate for the medium, really appropriate for the platform and is going to be a first in Canada…The best thing to say about it is that probably CTV is a small-c conservative company and it takes them a while to get motivated and make those kinds of moves. But, you know, I don’t think there’s any lack of vision there. I think that they understand it. It’s just a matter of finding the appropriate ways of getting in." The show’s second season is expected to debut this summer, and this month CTV will kick off a nine-week audition process to find contestants.

Trapeze confirms interactive television work with CTV on Canadian Idol 2

News | 02/06/2004 5:00 am EST

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