Map of ITV companies to act as calling card for Chinese Olympics opportunities

A warm relationship between Chinese technical authorities and Canada’s National Research Council (NRC) has led to efforts to map Canada’s interactive broadcast industry in time for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The NRC’s Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP) has contracted new media consultants At Large Media, and New Media BC (NMBC) to conduct a nationwide survey of firms involved in the digital delivery of broadcast content, with an emphasis on two-way interactivity. IRAP industrial technology advisor Jerome Kashetsky tells Canadian NEW MEDIA the survey is being undertaken as a result of the relationship between NRC interim president Michael Raymont (then VP of technology and industry support) and science and technology authorities in China charged with finding innovative technologies to broadcast the 2008 Games. Raymont was personally asked by the Chinese authorities what technologies Canada has to offer, Kashetsky says, and that led to the current survey. In the survey of the Canadian digital delivery sector, At Large and NMBC are hoping to list the companies involved in digital delivery, their areas of expertise and the links between the various firms. Companies are now being asked to participate in an online survey, and the most significant companies in the sector will be asked to do a more in-depth interview. Catherine Warren, a consultant with At Large Media, says that despite the predominance of B.C.-based parties conducting the exercise, the survey should be a comprehensive, pan-Canadian map of who’s doing what in the sector. For the time being, she says, the exercise will be a surface look at the industry, but one that will be the first step toward a more in-depth analysis down the road. Companies that wish to take part in the study can participate until late June or early July, she says, and it’s hoped the study will be wrapped up in August. Qualifying companies are those that self-identify as being in the business of delivering digital broadcast content, though Warren says companies primarily in the content business will have to bring some intellectual property to the process. That’s not likely to be a small list, however. Warren cites a broad range of technologies that are changing the face of broadcasting, including satellite radio, short messaging services, and television services to mobile devices - all of which she expects to have an impact on TV in time for the Games. Companies might include, for example, those involved with the web, interactive television (ITV), and cable companies as well as broadcasters. It’s hoped the survey will serve as a "calling card" for Canadian companies as they meet with Chinese buyers. Kashetsky notes that the Olympics will hopefully act as a motivational event to convince Canadian companies to create innovative technologies. They’ll have the chance to highlight those through technology missions organized by IRAP. But, Kashetsky warns, the country does face competition from elsewhere, and Olympic authorities are scouring the world for innovative broadcast tools. "We have to get our act together. Canada is not the only country to be asked to do this…This gives us a little bit of a foot in the door, but that’s it," he says. He expects that any contracts that go to Canadian companies will likely be in the form of sub-contracts from larger integrators. While there will be work to be had, he notes that multinational companies often miss the potential for partnerships with small companies, of whom they’re simply unaware. The Canadian survey will help redress that, he hopes. Kashetsky notes that the federal government has a crucial role to play. "We need a concentrated overview of national resources," he argues. IRAP’s contribution will be particularly important. The agency has its fingers in multiple technology pies with a strong private sector focus. "We’re not working out of government offices…we work out of technical centres. If you’ve got government people sitting in government offices, they don’t know what’s going on sometimes." Already, he says, the survey - which is being run from Vancouver - has discovered companies involved within the study area in provinces such as Newfoundland, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia through IRAP’s connections.

Map of ITV companies to act as calling card for Chinese Olympics opportunities

News | 06/09/2004 4:00 am EDT

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