Movieola picks up 8 million UK viewers; US and Caribbean markets next

The market for Canadian short films is about to get a lot bigger. Toronto-based Movieola, a small Toronto-based Category 2 digital channel, will now be available to eight million new subscribers following its majority purchase of PropellerTV, US/European-wide satellite channel distributed by British Sky Broadcasting Group. It also anticipates moves into the Caribbean market within a year and the United States within the next two years."We opted to purchase a majority and controlling interest rather than entire thing because we wanted to continue to work with the partners who had founded the network," says Cal Millar VP and GM of Movieola parent company Channel Zero Inc.Movieola, which specializes in delivering short films of less than 40 minutes, is moving aggressively to open up new distribution markets internationally and here in Canada, and expand its movie library. The PropellerTV deal will add 2,500 new titles.Movieola currently has up to 1.3 million paid subscribers; its other main brand, Silver Screen Classics, has approximately 500,000. Ironically, Movieola may soon be better known in the U.K. than it is in Western Canada. Although the company has distribution arrangements with most major Canadian BDUs, including Bell TV, Cogeco, Rogers Cable and Telus, it has so far failed to get pick up from Shaw Cable and Star Choice. "Whatever their reasons are, we keep trying," says Millar.He adds that the number of Movieola and Silver Screen subscribers doesn't tell the whole story, as his company also distributes content through "flat licence fees", or receives a share of total revenue generated from a distributor. For example, Movieola has a deal with Air Canada to broadcast its short films through the airline's in-flight service."The deals are quite varied and that's because there are new and interesting business models developing all over the place."Movieola's short film format is well-suited to a range of distribution formats, including traditional cable television, cell phones and streaming Internet service. Millar notes that the company's content is already available to Verizon and Sprint cell phone customers, and says he's confident a similar service will be available to Canadian subscribers through Rogers Wireless, Telus Mobility and Bell Mobility within the next 12 months. Small company - big plansNow in its eighth year of operation, Channel Zero has less than $10 million in annual revenue and 35 employees across its film distribution and television network businesses.Millar says his company's ultimate goal is transform Movieola into the worldwide destination for professionally produced short films. To do that, they need to get their films into the hands of as many broadcast distributors as possible.Millar says the deal with PropellerTV is just one of a number of steps the company has taken to create a web of alliances, partnerships and ownership arrangements between different content providers and distributors at home and abroad."There are certain advantages to being Canadian and having a broadcast system that is predominately Canadian." But to become a truly "world class" business, he says, Movieola needs to be strong internationally."As a small independent player you can still take an international focus. You perhaps just have to do it differently than the major studios or broadcasters would."The company's ownership of Toronto-based Ouat Media, for example, provides it with access to over 3,000 short films from around the world. Founded in 2006, Ouat Media seeks to be the premier multiplatform content aggregator and provider of short film content for broadcast, Internet, mobile devices and emerging new media.In mid-2007, Movieola also signed a deal with peer-to-peer online television content provider Joost to provide the organization with its short films. Joost now boasts 30,000 program elements, including more than 400 television series and 1,200 movies and short films. Movieola also has an arrangement with Instituto Mexicano de Cinematografia (Imcine), the equivalent to Telefilm Canada, which provides it with access to short films produced in that country.Millar says these partnerships allow his company to "cross-pollinate" all of its markets with a wide range of movies from different countries. As Movieola expands to regions such as the Caribbean and the United States, it will leverage its burgeoning international library to provide viewers with unique content.

Movieola picks up 8 million UK viewers; US and Caribbean markets next

News | 09/24/2008 3:39 pm EDT

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