OUTtv moves from bankruptcy to goal of being global powerhouse

OUTtv was one of the first specialty channels introduced to Canada in September 2001. Initially known as Pridevision, it sought to carve out a niche of programming for the LGBTQ+ community. Roadblocks emerged immediately. The network was barely out of the gate when broadcasting distribution undertakings (BDUs) wanted to shove it back, according to the network. Shaw Communications Inc., then an independently owned company, wanted to have the channel listed as a request-only option for its cable and satellite customers, rather than the must-offer status mandated by the CRTC. In late September 2001, it said it would not offer the network in its free previews of all other specialty channels. Pridevision fought back, even advocating a consumer boycott of Shaw. At one point, Shaw put the network further up the dial, nestled in among pornography channels. Pridevision did not receive a final outcome on the issue until 2008, when the commission ordered Shaw to carry the channel, by then known as OUTtv, on a similar basis to other specialty networks. The original owners of the station, the John Levy Group, sold it to other investors in 2004. Two years later, they declared bankruptcy. A consortium led by James Shavick partnered with Toronto-based LGBTQ+ publisher Pink Triangle Press and bought the firm out of receivership and relaunched it as OUTtv. Shavick hired Vancouver entertainment lawyer Brad Danks as his COO. Shavick and Danks, who was promoted to CEO in 2016, have adjoining offices to this day. Pink Triangle later left the consortium. Fast forward to today, and OUTtv is a cable channel in Canada and a streaming service elsewhere in the world. Danks notes that Canadian customers do not seem as likely to cut the cord of cable service as our southern neighbours. “We’re a hybrid in the sense we remain part of the currently existing traditional broadcasting system, which still has a certain amount of vibrancy with Canadian consumers,” the CEO tells The Wire Report. “We’re certainly not where the U.S. is yet, anyway, in terms of household penetration levels . I think we’re well over 60 per cent still in Canada. And so it’s an important part of our business.” Streaming has been a godsend for the channel. It extends OUTtv’s footprint to the United States, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and South Africa. The network expects to launch in Asia in 2025. In 2013, the CRTC began its proceedings into the Let’s Talk TV initiative. Its final decision in 2016 paved the way for OUTtv expansion. “I have reservations about a lot of the parts of the decision but one of the more positive parts said that if you start experimenting in the new world you can’t be punished,” Danks reports. “Prior to that of course a lot of the agreements with BDUs would state if you put shows up online, do all these other things, they’d cut you, so you had to adhere to the traditional system. Things began to open up after that.” OUTtv boasts that it is the only national TV service headquartered in Vancouver. It no longer produces original content in-house but buys from several creators. It is happy that it is able to distribute LGBTQ+ programming, much of it Canadian content, to a worldwide audience. Members of the community are featured on- and offscreen. OUTtv was among the first to present its material on Amazon Prime and Apple TV in Canada, entering into partnerships in 2018. It now is seen globally on platforms such as Roku, PlutoTV, eMedia in South Africa and Allente in Scandinavia. That is a deliberate shift. “Audiences choose first where they want to get their content and second what they watch,” Danks states, adding that younger people are more likely to forgo cable for streaming services. OUTtv’s total addressable market is everywhere in the world, he says. He compares his streaming service with its role as a cable channel in this country. “We have better exposure on a lot of the online platforms to audiences than we do on the cable system in Canada,” he asserts. “The cable system is probably the worst system globally that we are on, the Canadian cable system, and it's because of the archaic rules and frankly the bad behaviour of, collectively, the BDUs in this country.” The network is currently a must-offer choice in cable packages, meaning that it is among a range of channels the viewer may choose whether or not to subscribe to. It is asking the CRTC to amend its licence to make it must-carry, which would mandate the channel be in every consumer’s basic package automatically. The move is necessary, Danks believes, because some conventional broadcasters are selective in their outreach to the LGBTQ+ audience. Some segments of the community, particularly lesbians, transgender people and black, Indigenous and people of colour, are ignored, Danks says “We joke that some companies are for Pride one day or one week of the year; we’re there 365 and that’s where we live all the time,” he laughs. The CEO sees a bright future for his network. “Certainly for the near and mid-term future, OUTtv has an opportunity to do a rare thing and that is to become a globally recognized brand emanating from Canada that provides a valuable service not only to Canadians but also to beyond, to other people,” he argues. He expects to continue on the ride. “It really remains a passion for me and the job is not done so I have no plans to do anything other than to keep working away at it to get it to whatever the next level is in this new streaming world that is evolving,” he says. ppark@thewirereport.ca

OUTtv moves from bankruptcy to goal of being global powerhouse

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By Paul Park
|January 2, 2025

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OUTtv moves from bankruptcy to goal of being global powerhouse

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