BC’s educational broadcaster expands into web, wireless and high def platforms

Knowledge Network Corporation, British Colombia’s public educational broadcaster, has unveiled a new interactive website designed to extend the television experience online and to raise revenue through donations from its 26,000-strong household base. Launched last week, the new revamped website (knowledge.ca) is part of an ambitious plan launched in September to convert Knowledge to an all digital outfit that will accommodate new web, wireless and high definition platforms. To kick-start the process, the B.C government provided $2.7 million dollars for the project. Provincial public broadcasters, which are mainly funded by governments, have been beefing up their online presence in an effort to improve quality, reach new audiences and generate new revenue. For instance, TVOntario last year embarked on a digital path and entered into partnerships with Joost, a Netherlands-based Internet television company, iTunes and Yahoo! Canada, to make its content available on other platforms. But Rudy Buttignol, Knowledge’s CEO and president, says they will hold off on similar partnerships until it’s proven that such partnerships actually generate money. Knowledge doesn’t produce its own content but sources it from independent producers, who are subsidized by federal and provincial tax credits. Buttignol says broadcasters don’t enjoy these benefits and this means they have to foot the cost of all content they produce in-house. He says revenue-generating partnerships are still relatively new. “I think the jury is still out on whether the cost of providing this content to places like iTunes matches up with the return. So far I haven’t seen evidence of that,” he says. The primary focus, he says, is to ensure that the new site is an optimum avenue for attracting donations from Knowledge’s 26,000-strong household audience, mostly baby boomers, who are increasingly adept at utilizing the internet and new media platforms. “Like a PBS station, we have voluntary contributions from over 26,000 households and these are people who make annual donations and it represents almost 25% of our gross revenues. We needed to start with them first. We needed to have a better way so that people could donate online,” he says. The revamped website cost $125,000 and took three months to build. It was designed by Work at Play, a company specializing in design, technology and social media. Buttignol says there were a number of shortlisted companies that had the technical abilities to rebuild the website, but in the end Work at Play was selected because of its creativity. The Vancouver-based company has worked with big names like Warner Brothers, NBC, and MTV. The site is interactive and will stream full-length movies and promos. As well, it is designed to utilize social media networks like Facebook and Twitter. However, podcasts are not being offered, probably because of copyright concerns. The site has been synched with Google to allow for easy searching. Currently, details about the number of visitors to the site have not yet been determined, but in the past, it has garnered a million page views. At least 50,000 of these are unique visitors per month. Features of the site include: · View program schedules integrated with on-air video promotions · Rate and comment on specific programs · Browse upcoming programming and sort by title, topic, video or viewer ratings · View a selection of full-length programs online · Set email reminders for upcoming Knowledge programs · Donate or renew your partnership with an improved donation process · Design complements the broadcast experience of Knowledge

BC’s educational broadcaster expands into web, wireless and high def platforms

News | 12/02/2009 6:51 pm EST

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