Alliance Atlantis’ video blog site targets YouTube generation

One of Canada’s biggest specialty broadcasters has turned the cameras – and the broadcast paradigm – around and launched a video blogging service aimed at the Canadian public. "This is our one major move in social media," explains Claude Galipeau, senior VP, digital media at Alliance Atlantis Communications Inc. of the launch of the firm’s BlogTV.ca site. Demonstrating some of the importance placed on Canadian content and distribution networks by Alliance Atlantis’ specialty channel and movie distribution units, Galipeau notes that many Canadians have to go to US sites such as YouTube to showcase their homemade productions. "We saw an opportunity provide a platform for Canadians to express themselves and share content, self-publish and self-broadcast, would also offer a unique opportunity for advertisers to reach Canadians interested in social networks," he says. BlogTV.ca isn’t all-Canadian, however: the enabling software is a product of Israel’s Tapuz Mobile. But Alliance Atlantis is offering the service in Canada in partnership with Toronto content distributor GS New Media, and only those with Canadian IP addresses will be able to broadcast content. After setting up their accounts, users are given 125 minutes of "air time" to broadcast live over the Internet. They can invite other video bloggers to co-host shows with them, as well as read and react to real-time chat feedback as they blog. Once a live show ends, it’s archived by date. Part of the account registration process involves agreeing to terms and conditions. Galipeau notes that every live feed is monitored by a human being to ensure compliance. "We have a set of moderators that show all the active feeds in a mosaic pattern, and they can go into a show as a moderator at any time," he says, adding that remedies range from a polite warning to an outright shut-down of the broadcast. "We’ll also be mobilizing to get volunteer moderators so that the community is self-policing, which again is a standard thing in social networks. You can flag a broadcast as inappropriate; again, that’s important." BlogTV.ca’s terms and conditions also specify that users must clear any recognizable trademarks and logos used in broadcasts with their respective owners, but Galipeau admits such a provision might be hard to enforce. What is strictly forbidden, however, is the kind of wholesale unauthorized use of copyrighted material that’s dogged other user-submitted video sites such as YouTube. "There’s a bit of an element of fair use…but you cannot basically just rip content and distribute it online," he says. Although Alliance Atlantis has the rights to the BlogTV brand in Canada, other country-specific BlogTV sites seem to be readying for rollout. In Israel, Galipeau says, "they have 600,000 users a month, which is 20% of broadband users and 10% of the Israeli population." Part of the heightened attraction in Israel is the relatively advanced 3G mobile network, which allows users to stream live video with the built-in cameras and microphones on their handsets. "That is really compelling and powerful. It puts the power of broadcasting in people’s hands with a mobile device," he says. "You don’t have to pitch a broadcaster, you don’t have to be a production company, you can actually produce your own shows now." Galipeau’s talk of "liberating Canadians" by "giving them the tools to be their own broadcasters" might seem strange given Alliance Atlantis’ position as one of the country’s largest specialty broadcasters. But he echoes the sentiments voiced by many in the media industry in the digital multiplatform era: content is king, and the platform is just the presentation. "I don’t know that it’s that much of a break, in the sense that we are in the business of engaging with audiences, and…this is just another form of engagement," he says. Yankee Group Research Inc. director of Canadian market strategies Jeff Leiper also notes that there is likely some synergy between BlogTV and Alliance Atlantis’ traditional business lines. "I think they’re looking forward to the day when user-generated content becomes a much more important part of what is being broadcast," he says. "I would look for a BlogTV digital specialty channel ." The idea of removing user-generated video from its Internet context and running it on broadcast television might seem misplaced, but skeptics need look no further than CHUM Ltd.’s popular Speaker’s Corner slot or Mississauga ON-based Bite TV for proof of the concept. And in Italy a BlogTV channel is already up on free-to-air satellite provider NessunoTV, although an Italian BlogTV site has yet to launch. Parlaying BlogTV.ca into a broadcast property certainly widens the property’s audience, but Leiper notes it also would allow Alliance Atlantis to tap into the subscription and advertising revenues enjoyed by Category 2 specialty programming services in Canada, as well as leverage marketing and cross-promotion opportunities on the broadcaster’s existing brands. "The potential for advertising dollars on the PC-only platform, especially if restricted to Canadians, is minimal," he says. "But television has the potential to garner much larger audiences…as broadcast deregulation makes it easier for distributors to add television channels, I would look for these types of content to move to television." Additionally, with new broadcast technologies such as IPTV changing the nature of broadcast distribution, the old rules of what constitutes content are rapidly becoming redundant. "IPTV is not going to look like traditional television – it’s going to be much more open, going out and getting content from various sources, and I think the field is wide open as to who is going to participate best in that," Leiper says. And carriage of a BlogTV.ca "channel" might not be limited to television networks: Leiper points to a November 28 deal that will see edited "highlights" from YouTube carried on US mobile network operator Verizon’s VCast subscription video service. Of course, BlogTV.ca’s future largely depends on the whims of Web users here in Canada – namely, whether they’ll take to the idea of broadcasting themselves and their ideas over the Internet for all to see. Millions of Canadians already have the basic tools in place: according to research conducted by the Yankee Group in the summer, webcam penetration here is approaching 30%, Leiper says. But he hastens to add that the presence of a webcam in the home doesn’t necessarily mean a willingness to use the Internet to broadcast live, or even video blog. While webcams are now a mainstream piece of hardware, "video blogging is not necessarily a mainstream activity," he notes, adding that many are used for more private narrowcasting applications, such as showing the new baby off to family in another country. But whether BlogTV.ca will gather the critical mass needed to make it a success – large numbers of Canadians taking to the site and broadcasting interesting content – is an unknown that’s fundamentally out of Alliance Atlantis’ control. Leiper points out that YouTube received roughly 27.6 million unique visitors from around the world in September, but it has taken nearly two years – and a lot of media coverage – to get there. He adds that with a population base of slightly less than 33 million to work with, BlogTV.ca needs to find the proposition that appeals to the largest number of Canadians possible. "What is the draw there? I think over time as a community develops around that, it will succeed or not," Leiper says. "But, it does depend on that community and becoming known for something." And while he notes that the policy of live moderation will preclude Canadians from using the service for "prurient interests," Leiper says the mere fact that real, largely unprofessional and unrehearsed people are broadcasting live over the Internet will mean many will tune in just to see what happens next. "People blogging live…has the potential to be like watching a train wreck," he says. "It doesn’t have to be good; in fact, if it’s bad it’s probably even better."

Alliance Atlantis’ video blog site targets YouTube generation

Broadcast | December 13, 2006

Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and digital media news you need.

FREE TRIAL

SUBSCRIBE

Inside The Wire Report

Information

Hill Times Publishing

Get in Touch With Us