Broadcaster Magazine October 2015

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October 2015

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C A N A D A ’ S C O M M U N I C A T I O N S M A G A Z I N E

Discoverability

CRTC Wants to Know How Viewers Find the Content How Broadcasters Find the Audience ALSO IN THIS ISSUE: CANADIAN BROADCAST NEW PRODUCTS & INDUSTRY NEWS SERVICES Publication Mail Agreement No. PM43005526

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Editor Lee Rickwood editor@broadcastermagazine.com Senior Publisher Advertising Sales James A. Cook (416) 510-6871 jcook@broadcastermagazine.com

Broadcaster® October 2015

Creative Director Ron Taylor

Volume 74 Number 6

Print Production Manager Phyllis Wright (416) 510-5101 Production Manager Gary White (416) 510-6760 President Alex Papanou Senior Circulation Manager Diane Rakoff (416) 510-5216 Fax: (416) 510-6875

IN THIS ISSUE 4 VIEWERS SEEK THE

RIGHT PROGRAM TO WATCH

Customer Service Silva Telian (416) 442-5600 ext. 3636 Fax: (416) 510-6875 News Service Broadcast News Limited

Broadcasters Seek the Right Audience to Target. Canada's Regulator Wants to Talk, But Discovering the Right Time and Date is Tough to Do

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INDUSTRY NEWS People, Places and Players Making News on the Canadian Broadcast Scene

18 NEW PRODUCTS & SERVICES

Broadcast Equipment, Support and Products in Canada

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ALSO IN THIS ISSUE: Canadian Broadcast Industry News; New Products & Services

COVER PHOTO SGL at IBC. SGL provides broadcasters, post production facilities, and news/sport organizations with scalable solutions for the management, archiving and retrieval of media assets. The company has unveiled several professional solutions at industry trade show, exhibitions and events.

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DISCOVERABILITY

Viewers Seek the Right Program to Watch; Broadcasters Seek the Right Audience to Target Canada’s Regulator Wants to Talk, But Discovering the Right Time and Date is Tough to Do

BY LEE RICKWOOD

T

oo much content? Too much choice?

Today’s digitally mediated world has exploded into hundreds of TV channels and countless online viewing and listening options like shomi and Crave, Netflix and YouTube, Rdio, Tou.tv, Hulu and more, which viewers can access from any device anywhere and at any time In a series of recent speeches, delivered to national and international broadcast and media industry events, Tom Pentefountas, the CRTC’s Vice Chairman, Broadcasting, described the resulting digital dilemmas and business opportunities faced by broadcasters at home and abroad.

From Bangkok to Montreal, from Paris to Toronto and other locales in between, Pentefountas has underscored the importance of content discoverability as a key component in the CRTC’s Let’s Talk TV initiative, launched back in 2013.

The TV talk initiative was sub-titled ‘A Conversation with Canadians’ and the discussions it has engendered have relevance for broadcasters around the world, the Vice Chair said.

One of the challenges faced by broadcasters in all the locations in which he spoke is definitely that of the viewer’s attention which, with the vast range of electronic devices and content choices available to viewers, has become increasingly difficult to capture.

Pentefountas said in a September presentation at Culture et médias au défi de l›attention in Paris that as people’s media habits evolve, so too the concept of content discovery and promotion must change.

As the Vice Chair noted in prepared remarks, the “daily dilemma faced by viewers is no longer ‘What’s on?’ but ‘What should I watch?’” Enabled by a plethora of digital content offerings seemingly available to all, the question might well be “What can I watch that makes me unique?”

For program producers and content providers, one question is “What motivates viewers to select a certain channel or watch a certain program or series?” Of ten, that becomes “How do I as a provider of content become their motivation?”

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Answering such questions is one reason why the CRTC has committed to organizing and hosting a Discoverability Summit, planned for this fall.

In an event announcement released last March, plans called for the Summit to “bring together innovators and thought-leaders from the public and private sectors to explore how technology can be used to help viewers find programs made by Canadians”, and presumably, broadcasters of other nationalities.

“Our goal is to create a spark that will produce new ideas, new tools and new business models that will help resolve this fundamental challenge. And, as you know, that challenge is not uniquely Canadian—it’s a global challenge,” echoed the Vice-Chair in remarks prepared for September’s speech.

(At press time, in mid-October, no further details were available from the CRTC about the event described in March and subsequently referenced as recently as September. Spokespersons for the broadcast and telecom regulator could confirm that planning was underway for the event; that multiple locations could be involved in hosting its activities; but that no formal announcement about specific time or place could be made.)

In his earlier speeches and prepared remarks, Pentefountas did discuss changes in viewer’s habits, and the apparent added control and customization they have over their television content.

Traditional TV no longer holds as strong a monopoly on information and entertainment, and certainly not on the hourly schedule.

Some have called the new market trends that are empowered by new digital television services like Netflix a form of theft or stealing, and represent an end-run around existing broadcast regulations.

The CRTC wants the industry to see them as an incentive to do better and be more open to new market trends.

“The role of regulators is not to place barriers, nor to protect business models. Rather, regulators need to be responsive to citizens.”

Public consultation about TV was undertaken by the CRTC in order to hear what those citizens had to say as part of the Let’s Talk TV process that Pentefountas touted at every opportunity. www.broadcastermagazine.com

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DISCOVERABILITY

His speeches described that over 13,000 Canadians participated in the process, including viewers, content creators and industry practitioners, and that they provided information that would enable the CRTC to make decisions “ in this age of abundance, where content is king and the viewer is emperor.”

Nevertheless, the regulator still has a rather regal role itself.

Pentefountas described how the Canadian broadcast system has created a favourable environment for producing high-quality content that can travel the world over. To do so, it was explained, the CRTC reduced certain programming quotas, but maintained spending requirements for content produced by Canadians.

It’s a way to manage program repetition and recycling while promoting content consumption and production. As much as the virtuous cycle that generates investments for high-quality programming helps Canadians to watch content made by Canada because they want to, not because it is forced upon them, the CRTC stills sees advantages in launching projects to promote Canadian productions, such as one aimed at adapting Canadian best-sellers, and another aimed at supporting dramatic series produced at a cost of $2 million per hour.

Citing other industry numbers, Pentefountas described declines in local and national advertising revenues for TV stations, but he said, the TV bucks are not disappearing, they are turning digital, and buying online and mobile advertising instead.

According to a cited study from the Interactive Advertising Bureau of Canada, online and mobile advertising revenues increased by 14 per cent between 2012 and 2013.

As well, new technologies make it possible for the industry to know a great deal about its audience and thus to better focus its resources to make use of the most appropriate platform available.

Ad insertion technology, Pentefountas described, allows advertisers to target particular household audiences according to age, revenue and other demographic factors.

Marketers can both target and interact more effectively, tailoring and coordinating messages across TV, online, smartphones and tablets, something that Canada’s Cogeco Cable and CHCH Hamilton have been experimenting with, he noted.

Addressable advertising and more accurate audience measurement capabilities are embedded into set-top boxes, another technology that the CRTC wants to enable through conversation, exploration and a working group it has charged with exploring a system of measurement in Canada using STBs. Digital platforms are already rich in data, and the CRTC wants broadcasters to have similar information access that will help them better monetize their audiences.

In Canada, more than half the audience is watching television and another screen at the same time, and while that core stat can be tracked rather easily, the challenge comes when it is time to capture – and quantify – a viewer’s attention across multiple screens and content offerings.

Enter discoverability…

On several occasions, Pentefountas has invited his industry audiences to interact with the CRTC and take part in addressing the discovery challenge at the Discoverability Summit.

Experts from various fields will be invited to the event, to take on topics like the changing consumption habits of listeners, www.broadcastermagazine.com

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Tom Pentefountas was appointed to the CRTC in 2011

>> From 1996 to 2011, he was a member of the Montreal-based law firm Silver Sandiford, representing clients in several judicial districts. For a period of two years, he hosted a radio show on CKDG-FM Montreal, providing his expertise on human rights, criminal law and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. He was also a regular contributor to the Gang of Four on CJAD Montreal. >> In 2003, a strong interest in the Canadian democratic process led him to join the political party Action démocratique du Québec, serving as President of the National Executive Committee from 2007 to 2008. >> He holds a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Ottawa and a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Political Science with a minor in Philosophy from Concordia University. >> His term ends on April 3, 2016. viewers and Internet users, he said, with discussions from key creators and thinkers in the industry, as well as government and university representatives from Canada and around the world.

When released, details and announcements about the planned Summit will be posted to www.broadcastermagazine.com.

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Recently unveiled plans for Durham Live call for new film & TV production studios, along with retail, recreation and entertainment facilities.

New Studios Announced; Production Initiatives Launched Along with its plans to trigger new production by cutting studio fees in half on projects helmed by women, TriBro Studios is planning to build big new studio facilities as part of a new entertainment and tourism destination, as announced

by TriBro, Durham Live and Pickering Developments.

TriBro will cut studio fees in half for any female-helmed productions at their existing studio in Toronto and at their future studio at Durham Live in Pickering.

“TriBro Studios’ female directors initiative will help close an alarming industry gap,” said Peter Apostolopoulos, President of TriBro Studios. “We want to open our doors to brilliant and talented women. Simply put, we want more female directors and showrunners to get a green light.”

Only seven per cent of the largest 250 feature films of 2014 were directed by women and the number of female TV showrunners stands at less than 23 per cent, according to the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film at San Diego State University.

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seems to consider hiring women in these positions a bigger gamble. By reducing studio costs, TriBro aims to reduce that false perception of risk, and help close the existing gender gap.

“We envision TriBro Studios, and by extension Durham Live, as a growth engine and anchor for the region’s creative, multimedia and filmmaking community,” continued Apostolopoulos, adding that he expects the new office and production space will host major film and television productions and bring new jobs to the region.

The Durham Live vision encompasses not only the incentive program, but an entire new regional home for community stakeholders, creative entrepreneurs and innovative businesses.

A luxury hotel, restaurants and a new casino are all part of the proposed development, along with a waterpark, designer shops, outdoor amphitheatre and film studios.

“TriBro’s success will be Durham Live’s success – and vice-versa,” said Steve Apostolopoulos, President of Pickering Developments. “Together,

they will create new opportunities for Durham Region and spur innovation, creativity and industry.”

The Durham Live announcement event was attended by Michael Coteau Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport; Tracy MacCharles, Minister Responsible for Women’s Issues; Roger Anderson, Durham Regional Chair; and David Ryan, Mayor of Pickering.

“TriBro Studios’ new investment as part of the Durham Live entertainment complex is a vote of confidence in Ontario and means good jobs and economic growth for the local community,” said Michael Coteau, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport. “Ontario continues to rank among the powerhouses of the film and television sector and today’s announcement is further proof that our industry partners, like TriBro Studios, understand that Ontario is the best place to invest in and to do business with.”

TriBro Studios currently operates a TV and film studio with over 70,000 square feet of production space, located in Toronto. www.broadcastermagazine.com

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Shaw Media Changes Original Content Team Shaw Media has made a number of new hires and promotions in its Original Content team.

Under the leadership of Christine Shipton, SVP and Chief Creative Officer, and Lisa Godfrey, Head of Original Content, the Original Content team spearheads program development, from original series to co-productions, as well as the multiplatform content creation, and strategic partnerships.

Lisa Godfrey is now Head of Original Content, Shaw Media, and she will oversee all Canadian programming for the company’s broadcast network and specialty channels.

In 2010, she took on the role of Director of Programming and Scheduling at Shaw Media, developing programming and scheduling strategies for some of the country’s biggest specialty services.

Robyn Hutt joins Shaw as the Director of Factual Content overseeing History, Slice, and reality programming for Global. Krista Look is Shaw’s Director of Lifestyle Content overseeing HGTV Canada and Food Network Canada.

Rachel Nelson has been part of the Original Content team for over a decade, and now takes on the role of Director Original Dramatic Content, leading the development and production of all upcoming dramatic originals and coproductions.

As Manager of Factual Content and Business Affairs Lynne Carter (who has been with the Original Content team for more than 14 years) will manage the team’s Business Affairs including the CMF (Canada Media Fund), CAVCO (Canadian Audio-Visual Certification Office), Bell Fund, and any regulatory and funding changes and opportunities.

Nancy Franklin is now Manager of Original Lifestyle Content; Marni Goldman is Production Executive, Lifestyle and Larissa Laycock is Production Executive, Lifestyle.

These latest promotions and new hires join Shaw Media’s current team of Production Executives including: Susan Alexander, Craig Baines, Kathy Cross, Stephen Finney, Holly Gillanders, Andrea Griffith, Andrew Johnson and Robin Neinstein.

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Convergence 2015 Celebrates Community Media; Bemoans CRTC Schedule Changes Canada’s first community multimedia festival, celebrating community media in the digital environment, will be held as part of Community Media Convergence conference, organizers have announced.

To be held at Carleton University from November 22 -24, the festival will recognize community radio, TV, online media and gaming that has high community impact and represents the innovative use of interactivity and multimedia.

Organizers also note that the event itself is part of a research process funded primarily by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (the SSHRC), which consulted with community media stakeholders to develop policy proposals that strengthen community media in the digital environment.

Organizers had hoped that the research tabled at the conference might generate useful recommendations for the CRTC’s upcoming review of its community TV policies, during which the fate of more than $150 million annually that has traditionally been earmarked for the community element in the broadcasting system will be decided.

However, they are now concerned about a posting on the CRTC website that the deadline for the public to submit comments is October 29, a full three weeks before the Community Media Convergence. That has led the group co-ordinating the SSHRC research process to request an extension to December 11, 2015.

Conference organizers also want to address the fact that excellence in community TV programming has not been recognized nationally since the Canadian Cable Television Associationhosted Galaxi Awards disappeared with the CCTA in 2006.

The National Community Radio Association’s annual conference recognizes excellence in English community radio, and the Fédération des télévision communautaires autonomes du Québec’s AGM showcases franco-

phone community TV, but never before has there been a bilingual festival to celebrate and recognize all community media in Canada.

The Community Media Convergence co-ordinator, Catherine Edwards, explained that the festival is long overdue: “Community media is often viewed as amateur or as a training ground for the commercial sector. In fact, it’s a field that requires specialized training in community facilitation and is demanding to do well. It’s community media practitioners that make real the promise of freedom of speech in our technologically complex media environment.

We want to celebrate that, and showcase how community media leverage technologies creatively to engage the whole community.”

A number of prize categories have been announced to honour the goals and achievements of community media in the digital age, covering media that galvanizes community action, stimulates audience involvement, reaches underserved groups, promotes local business development as well as supports experimental narrative and best storytelling.

An audience choice award winner will also be determined the night of the festival.

Sci-Fi Escapism Attracts Real-world TV Audiences

The Canada Media Fund (CMF) and Telefilm Canada released the reach figures for Canadian science-fiction productions when it highlighted homegrown talent at MIPCOM, and the numbers underscore how the allure of escapism is fuelling real Canadian sci-fi TV series success.

TV viewers out there know Canada creates some top of the top sci-fi shows, and that’s above and beyond the fact that much-anticipated revival of The X-Files was filmed in Vancouver, like the first five seasons of the original series. www.broadcastermagazine.com

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That’s because Canadian TV sci-fi series Orphan Black on CTV (4.3 million viewers*), Dark Matter on Space (3.7 million), Between on City (it also runs on Netflix) and Killjoys on Space (both 3.2 million) each reached roughly 10 per cent of the Canadian population.

In addition, these shows performed above their respective channel averages in the very desirable 18-34 demographic, the organizations’ reporting indicates. Its data is based on research provided by the Canadian source for audience measurement, Numeris, looking at the 2014-2015 broadcast year.

“Sci-fi productions are a clear example of how audiences are now engaging with content,” said Valerie Creighton, President and CEO, CMF. “Millennials are building communities on social media and on other platforms and rallying around these characters and plots. Productions that capture young people’s attention find success on many fronts. The wealth of sci-fi projects that have come out of Canada is a testament to the talent, both onscreen and off—such as our visual effects specialists—that makes our industry so very competitive on the international scene.”

Carolle Brabant, Telefilm’s Executive Director, added: “With the worldwide frenzy surrounding the next chapter of the Star Wars franchise and the spectacular attendance at fan conventions, the traction of the sci-fi genre is clearly increasing—and Canadian TV is a big part of this excitement. The success of these series extends outside our country too. Most notably, Between, Killjoys and Dark Matter were recently renewed for second seasons at Syfy, and Regina’s Tatiana Maslany was nominated for an outstanding lead actress Emmy for her work on Orphan Black.”

During the 2014-2015 broadcast year Canadian sci-fi series also performed above their respective channel averages in the key 18-34 demographic (for example, Between tallied 31 percent, significantly above the channel average of 19 for this demographic; Dark Matter was ranked with 28 per cent, five points above the channel average). www.broadcastermagazine.com

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Between is among the Canadian sci-fi shows drawing big audiences and performing above their respective channel average audiences, especially in the key 18-34 demographic.

NATPE Fills NewlyCreated CMO Position NATPE President and CEO Rod Perths named Matt Palmer to the newly created position of Chief Marketing Officer, effective immediately.

Palmer, a former senior marketing and business development executive for companies including Disney, Viacom, Universal, Discovery Communications, Demand Media, Exclusive Resorts and Blue Man Group, will lead global strategy and creative for NATPE’s marketing, branding, digital, research, public relations and strategic planning initiatives.

instrumental in the launch and growth of many well-known TV shows.

Among his previous positions: senior vice president and general manager of Demand Media, where he led the development and launch of a new content solutions division; senior vice president, marketing, Disney Channel at the Disney/ABC Cable Networks Group; vice president, strategic marketing, at Discovery Communications. He also held executive marketing roles with Blue Man Group and Nickelodeon.

Most recently, Palmer was an independent consultant with a wideranging scope of engagement and projects in live entertainment, theme parks, urban residential and entertainment, early-stage video ad tech, seed-stage transportation aggregation and a longform TV animation property.

CFC and Entertainment One Launch TV Adaptation Lab

Matt Palmer, SMPTE’s New Chief Marketing Officer

An award-winning senior executive, Palmer has served in numerous senior strategic/brand marketing and business development roles across the entertainment and hospitality industries for more than 25 years. His work has been

The Canadian Film Centre (CFC) and Entertainment One (eOne) will launch the CFC / eOne TV Adaptation Lab next year, and they’re aiming to develop pilot scripts based on underlying literary works and creative properties with strong adaptation potential for a television series.

Set to begin in Toronto in spring 2016, the CFC / eOne TV Adaptation Lab will focus on the creative concept process, exploring the television form and sharing best practices in adapting content.

Throughout the Lab, selected properOctober 2015

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ties and creators will receive support in developing pilot scripts, on an individual basis, with top-level professionals and international experts, as well as access to a select number of case studies to explore different approaches and opportunities for adapting material to television. With a hands-on approach, the Lab is designed to help participants gain perspective and insights into the adaptation process, organizers describe, while considering which course of action might best serve their properties and set them on an accelerated course for series development.

“Producers and broadcasters around the world are setting new standards of excellence in adapting a variety of creative properties into innovative television series of outstanding quality and originality,” said John Morayniss, Chief Executive Officer, eOne Television. “We are thrilled to be partnering with the CFC to accelerate the development of great television content creation in Canada and ultimately bring three worldclass projects to life.”

The CFC / eOne TV Adaptation Lab is open to Canadian content creators who own the rights to their creative properties, including comedy, theatre, stand up, novels, novellas, graphic novels, short stories, ‘zines, web series, video games – material of all types, originating from anywhere in the world, that has the potential to be adapted into an exciting television series. The Lab is designed to support Canadian creatives and provide them with an opportunity to potentially secure a series deal with eOne. “For some years, it has been a passion of ours at the CFC to develop an adaptation lab. Some of the greatest television around the world has been based on adaptation – books, plays, short stories, comics, and so on,” said Slawko Klymkiw, Chief Executive Officer, CFC. “Adaptation is a rich vein of development that takes a certain level of skill and expertise. We think that we will incite some real hits through this Lab and our partnership with eOne.” 10 Broadcaster October 2015

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Producers, Sponsors Say I Do to New Original Series about Non Traditional Weddings

I-Do---Sophia — Winny Clarke plays a 29-year-old wedding planner Sophia who turns to social media and video blogging to manage that perfect day.

shift2 and Smokebomb Entertainment have tied the knot with Cotton Incorporated on I Do, a new scripted shortform lifestyle series about a growing millennial demand for non-traditional, custom weddings. Cotton Incorporated has signed on for integration in the first phase of the series.

Developed with U.S. media buying, social video marketing company Channel Factory, I Do launched on the new scripted lifestyle entertainment YouTube channel Union & Ace, also created by shift2 and Smokebomb, with new episodes set to roll out weekly.

“We see a huge opportunity to engage young adults with forwardthinking brand partners like Cotton and authentic, scripted lifestyle content that will help them custom-create their own unique weddings and creative expression of their lives,” said Kaaren Whitney-Vernon, CEO, shift2.

“Video content is rapidly becoming a core component of our media strategy,” said Ric Hendee, senior vice-president of Consumer Marketing at Cotton Incorporated. “Collaborating with shift2 enables us to develop and distribute creative and compelling cotton messages to our target audience. ‘Wedding’ is an exciting category and one that

showcases the versatility of cotton, which can be found in everything from the invitations to the bridal gown.”

The Cotton Incorporated episodes of I Do are produced by Jay Bennett and Alex House, directed by Molly McGlynn and written by Stephanie Tracey and Mika Collins. Toronto-based wedding planner Lynzie Kent serves as wedding advisor. Whitney-Vernon and Christina Jennings are executive producers.

Cotton Incorporated, funded by U.S. cotton producers and importers of cotton and cotton textile products, conducts worldwide research and promotion activities to increase the demand for and profitability of cotton. shift2 is a co-venture between millennial agency Youth Culture, Shaftesbury and Smokebomb, which produces all content for the agency.

Portfolio Entertainment Travels Across Asia and the Pacific Rim International TV and media distributor Portfolio Entertainment has inked a number of sales deals in Asia and the Pacific Rim for its hit animated preschool series The Cat in the Hat Knows www.broadcastermagazine.com

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the second season of DOKI, with EBS also picking up the three half-hour DOKI specials.

For the Philippines and Thailand, iFlix through Vision Plus, has acquired season one of the Dr. Seuss-inspired animated series The Cat in the Hat International sales for Portfolio and its Cat in the Hat TV series.

Knows A Lot About A Lot About That! and DOKI. That! (40 x 30’). In this series, The Cat Toronto-based Portfolio was founded along with best friends Sally and Nick go on magical journeys into the natural

by Lisa Olfman and Joy Rosen.

Discovery Networks Asia-Pac has world where every outing becomes an purchased DOKI season one (26 x 30’) unpredictable adventure. and three DOKI specials (3 x 30’) for “The Cat in the Hat Knows A Lot About That! and DOKI are loved by the Pacific Rim including Australia and preschoolers around the world who are New Zealand and DOKI season two (26 equally intrigued and delighted by the x 30’) for Central and South Asia and the Pacific Rim. Mediacorp in Singapore characters, storylines and adventures of and EBS in South Korea have bought each series,” said Rosen, CEO at Port-

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folio. “We’re very excited to extend the reach of these series in these new and existing Asian and Pacific Rim territories though our partnerships with Discovery Networks Asia-Pac, Mediacorp, EBS, Vision Plus/iFlix.”

Three Year Deal Extends eOne, ICF Films Finance and Distro Plans Independent studio Entertainment One (eOne) has expanded its relationship with award-winning producer Ilana Frank and her production company ICF FILMS (ICFF), extending their partnership through a new three-year overall deal.

Under the deal, eOne will serve as the studio, deficit financier and distributor on all of Frank’s projects across all media.

“As longtime partners, we are thrilled to broaden and lengthen our relationship with Ilana. She is one of the lead-

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ing independent producers working in television today and continues to raise the bar with hit shows that speak to a worldwide audience,” said John Morayniss, CEO, eOne Television. “eOne is committed to building the ideal platform for creative talent to produce high-quality content and tell compelling stories; one that is welcoming and collaborative for talented producers like Ilana in Canada and worldwide, and offers them creative freedom and financial support.” “eOne has been a supportive partner for many years and I am delighted to continue our relationship. They are strong production partners and strategic allies with an impressive track record globally across television and film.

Through their extensive sales network around the world, we have been able to make great television that reaches audiences near and far,” commented Frank.

“I’m excited to continue working with John Morayniss, Jocelyn Hamilton and their strong and innovative team.”

Since joining forces on a first-look basis in 2008, ICFF and eOne have successfully delivered long-running series including 74 episodes of drama Rookie Blue for ABC and Global and 67 episodes of drama Saving Hope for CTV. eOne has successfully sold those programs to over 200 territories.

Blue Art Catalogue Offers Native 4K Content Blue Ant International announced new 4K titles in the nature, wildlife and

documentary categories including Great Blue Wild, Land of Gremlins and Seasons of the Wild for MIPCOM. With a diverse catalogue of over 1,700 hours, Blue Ant International also brings new and returning HD titles in the factual entertainment category to the market.

“We continue to deliver a larger and more diverse slate of content in factual, lifestyle, reality and documentary series and formats that have global appeal,” said Solange Attwood, SVP International at Blue Ant. “Also of note is the launch of over 40 new hours of native 4K wildlife programming.”

From the Florida Everglades to the shores of Madagascar and beyond, 4K series launched at MIPCOM by Blue Art are described as exploring the natural world while tackling the puzzles and problems today’s scientists, environmentalists and explorers work to answer.

Blue Ant International is a division of Blue Ant Media, a privately held media company based in Toronto that owns and operates 10 media brands including Cottage Life, T+E, Love Nature, Makeful, Smithsonian Channel Canada and AUX.

9 Story Media Group Succeeds with Little Nutbrown Hare 9 Story Media Group signed multiple deals for the second season of timeless preschool series Guess How Much I Love You – The Adventures of Little Nutbrown Hare (78 x 11’).

Licenses have been secured with

GUESS HOW MUCH I LOVE YOU — Multiple international sales for the series’ second season.

NCircle Entertainment, a North American distributor of children’s and family home entertainment, and broadcasters Z@pp in the Netherlands and Minimini in Poland. The second season screens for the first time at MIPJR. Deals were also secured for season one of the series with JimJam (Europe, Middle East & Africa) and RTP (Portugal).

The preschool series is produced by Australia’s SLR Productions, along with Germany’s KIKA-Der Kinderkanal and HR-Hessischer Rundfunk of ARD as well as ABC KIDS. It airs on TFO and TVO in Canada, as well as in Europe, the Middle East and PacRim. eOne distributes season one on DVD for the series in Canada and the U.S and NBC Universal distributes DVDs globally excluding USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

The series is based on the bestselling book Guess How Much I Love You, written by Sam McBratney, illustrated by Anita Jeram and published

by Walker Books. It’s published in 53 languages, has sold 32 million copies globally and is currently celebrating its 20th Anniversary.

Partners in Crime, Online and on TV Bravo is debuting the new BBC adventure series Partners in Crime, based on Agatha Christie’s classic characters Tommy and Tuppence Beresford.

The six-part, 75-minute mini-series follows the suburban married couple who solve mysteries and foil plots in 1950s Britain, a country facing up to the looming threat of the Cold War, undercover agents, evil masterminds and political conspiracy.

The series is produced by Georgina Lowe, executive produced by Emmy award-winning Hilary Bevan Jones, David 12 Broadcaster October 2015

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Cold War-era espionage squares off with sharp English wit: Tommy (David Walliams) and Tuppence (Jessica Raine) Beresford are Partners in Crime. Produced by Endor Productions and Agatha Christie Productions Ltd., the sleuthing pair are featured in two adventures, The Secret Adversary and N or M?

Walliams, Hilary Strong and Mathew Prichard for Agatha Christie Productions and Matthew Read for the BBC.

Following each TV episode premiere, the shows streams online at Bravo.ca.

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SLR Productions is one of Australia’s Emmy and multi award winning children’s entertainment companies. Toronto-based 9 Story, its large production studios and recently acquired Browns Bag Films, is owned by senior management, ZMC (Zelnick Media Capital) and media entrepreneur Neil Court.

Tenth Season Brings New Dragons, Returning Sponsors, More Next Gen Den

Harley Finkelstein is the Chief Platform Officer (CPO) at Shopify; Nicole Verkindt is founder of OMX Marketplace. They are two of the next generation investor/entrepreneurs on CBC’s digital spin-off program, Next Gen Den.

Top-rated Dragons’ Den returned to CBC-TV with 20 all-new episodes and three new Dragons in the den to kick off the series’ 10th season.

The Canadian reality program aver-

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aged nearly one million viewers each week during the 2014/15 season.

The show also boasts an active and engaged online community averaging more than 450,000 page views per month.

Season 10 also features top sponsors in the Den; Canada Post and Chartered Professional Accountants (CPA).

Canada Post returns as a Presenting sponsor with cross-platform sponsorship including branded vignettes and behind-the-scenes access, and as an exclusive presenting sponsorship of the Dragons’ Den auditions.

The CPA group is a first-time Dragons’ Den sponsor; as part of the campaign, pitches will be analyzed from an accountant’s perspective through integrated broadcast segments.

Jungle Media handled the media buy and Montreal-based Reservoir developed the creative for the campaign.

Wolf Blass Wines also returns as presenting sponsor of Season 2 of Next Gen Den. The online exclusive features 20 short webisodes focused on young entrepreneurs pitching start-ups and early-stage businesses. The first season reached over 165,000 unique visitors.

Dragons’ Den is produced at the CBC Broadcasting Centre in Toronto; Tracie Tighe is executive producer and Molly Middleton and Amy Bourne are senior producers.

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CBC’s Dianne Buckner brings new TV news reporting and business correspondent background to the forefront of Dragons’ Den.

Since 2006, Dianne Buckner has hosted the reality show; the former business correspondent hosted the current affairs program Venture, eventually becoming the show’s executive producer, as well. Buckner went on to co-create Fortune Hunters, a magazine show on CBC Newsworld that focused on entrepreneurship.

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First Generation Films Launches TV Division; Adds to Board First Generation Films (FGF) has launched a new scripted television division, and added two new company board members.

FGF, which has produced a number of talent-based motion pictures, will extend its reach to television development effective immediately, said founder Christina Piovesan.

Piovesan continues to head up the Toronto-based company as Managing Director. She has bolstered the company’s board of directors and has reinforced her development efforts with the addition of new personnel to the team and a greater financial commitment.

“We are very excited to expand our global footprint to television and build on our network of creators and partners around the world. First Generation Films’ focus has always been creating stories with the best creative talent for an international audience. Television has become so cinematic in look and even form - this is a natural evolution creatively, and from a business perspective, it’s essential as television buyers continue to emerge globally,” Piovesan said.

Joining the board of FGF are Peter Sussman, and Kathryn From.

Sussman is best known for assembling Alliance Atlantis’ CSI television franchise, and was nominated for three Golden Globes and four Emmy Awards.

He was also a co-controlling shareholder of Alliance Atlantis and CEO of the company’s Entertainment Group before he co-founded Aver Media in 2006.

From, a recipient of the Canadian Woman Entrepreneur of the Year award, is the Founder of Wonderment Ventures, a company that provides capital and expertise to select consumer sector start-ups. She was also a long time member of the Toronto International Film Festival Group’s Marketing Advisory Board.

The appointment of the Vice President of the television department is expected in the near future.

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The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar is a production of Disney Television Animation.

Lion King Roars Return

Development of new media properties spun out from Disney’s The Lion King continues with The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar, and a new primetime television movie event planned for late November, and a subsequent new TV series set to premiere in early 2016, both build on the original film’s success.

The new movie and series were developed by Ford Riley, who also serves as executive producer. Howy Parkins is director. Christopher Willis is the composer and Beau Black (Miles from Tomorrowland) is singer/songwriter. James Earl Jones and Ernie Sabella reprise their original roles from The Lion King, Mufasa and Pumbaa. Rob Lowe and Gabrielle Union star as Simba and Nala, respectively.

The Education and Science experts

at Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park serve as consultants, advising on the characteristics, behaviours and habitats of the African animal species featured and inspiring original stories based on their first-hand experiences. Author and Swahili expert Sarah Mirza is the language and cultural advisor.

The new movie premieres Sunday, November 22 on Corus Entertainment’s Disney Channel. The movie will be available on the WATCH Disney Channel app and Disney Channel On Demand the following day.

Disney Channel is available in Canada through a license agreement between Canadian-based media and entertainment company Corus Entertainment Inc. and Disney/ABC Television Group.

Rob Lowe stars as Simba in The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar

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China, Canada Co-Pro Brings The Monkey King to Life The Canada Film and Television Media Group (CCMG) has inked an agreement with Movie Plus Canada on a long-term partnership to produce up to three feature films a year for broad theatrical release worldwide.

CCMG President Xiao Min Zhang (aka Demi Zhang, best known as a leading actress and director in China) will be the first Asian female film director to partner with Movie Plus Canada, and the plan is to provide additional opportunities for both Canadian and Asian film crews.

The new agreement builds on a three-picture deal Movie Plus recently put in place with the Pearl River Film Group, a historic film studio in China that has turned out over 260 feature films, 570 documentaries and over

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film in China, and the local production team will be supplemented by the end of the year with a core team of 40-50 senior storyboard artists, designers and digital data managers.Canadian and Chinese filmmakers, including Christopher Brough, Demi Zhang and Ralph Zondag, will partner on animated films and theatrical releases.

Christopher Brough, Demi Zhang and Ralph Zondag

1,200 episodes of TV dramas over the last 50 years. With Pearl River and CCMG as partners, Movie Plus is preparing the first joint production this fall, with the $25 million 3D animated production of The Monkey King to be directed by the Hollywood based Zondag Brothers. Zhang will serve as an Executive Producer and Director with Movie Plus CEO Christopher Brough and Ralph Zondag.

Artists are already working on the

Sparks Fly at World Congress of Science and Factual TV Producers Organizers of the upcoming World Congress of Science and Factual Producers (WCSFP) have confirmed the return of the popular Sparks of Inspiration series, a program of mini-sessions during which speakers discuss their groundbreaking projects, reveal the sources of their creativity and speculate on what the future will bring.

The special guest speakers in this

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series are: Jason Silva, Emmy-nominated host of National Geographic Channel’s Brain Games; Johannes Grenzfurthner, founder and artistic director of international art-technologyphilosophy group monochrome; and André Borschberg, co-pilot of the first solar powered airplane to fly day and night.

Jason Silva is the Emmy-nominated host of National Geographic Channel’s hit TV series Brain Games, seen in over 100 countries. Described as “part Timothy Leary, part Ray Kurzweil, and part Neo from The Matrix,” Silva is the creator of the original series Shots of Awe, micro-documentaries exploring creativity, innovation, exponential technology, futurism, metaphysics, existentialism and the human condition.

Award-winning artist, writer, director and provocateur Johannes Grenzfurthner is founder and artistic director of monochrom, an international art, technology and philosophy group dedicated to challenging the status quo. His most recent adventure is feature documentary Tracing Routes, a road trip from the west to east coast of the U.S. exploring the pros and the cons of a world run by digital natives.

André Borschberg is a Swiss businessman and pilot. He is the co-founder of the Solar Impulse project and co-pilot of Solar Impulse 2, the first airplane to fly day and night powered entirely by the sun’s energy. He will make a special diversion to the Congress from the 2015 World Climate Summit in Paris to share stories of his incredible journey and why he has devoted twelve years of his life to this project.

More than 200 representatives from international broadcasters will be in attendance, including representatives from ORF, Discovery and Exploration Production, Inc., NHK, PBS, NOVA, PBS International, ARTE, SVT, ABC, BBC, CBC, NRK, Channel 4, National Geographic Channels, NDR, WGBH, DR and ZDF. The World Congress of Science and Factual Producers is supported by 2015 Host Broadcaster ORF, and Platinum Partners PBS, PBS International, NOVA, National Geographic Channels, and Wellcome Trust.

The 23rd annual Congress is managed by Hot Docs Canadian Inter16 Broadcaster October 2015

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national Documentary Festival on behalf of the WCSFP. It will take place in Vienna, Austria, December 1-4.

Multi-Platform Tetley Campaign Steeps with Online Segments, TV Series Tetley has signed on to Season Two (20 x four minutes) of the scripted multiplatform comedy series MsLabelled, set in the high-pressure world of a fashion magazine.

Shaw Media, Smokebomb Entertainment and shaftesbury’s shift2 digital studio and brand agency are working together to deliver the campaign, with episodes first posted to the Slice specialty channel network website, as well as a social media channel on YouTube.

Tetley’s fall campaign, with an additional branded video slated to launch later in the series’ run.

“We are continually looking for innovative ways to partner with brands.

MsLabelled, with its fresh and energetic content, lends itself to both digital and linear platforms. The series offers novel opportunities for creative branded content and integrations,” said Christine Shipton, SVP and Chief Creative Officer, Shaw Media. “Viewers will first sample Tetley’s integrations online in Season 2, and we are looking forward to announcing our broadcast integration for both the brand and the series in the coming weeks.”

“By creating branded entertainment series like MsLabelled that work across both traditional and non-traditional media platforms, we are offering a new content model for broadcast and brand

The branded entertainment series MsLabelled, set in the high-pressure world of a fashion magazine, targets both TV and social media audiences.

MsLabelled will eventually be reshaped for television broadcast on Slice, with additional details about Tetley’s broadcast partnership with Shaw will be announced in the coming weeks.

Tea brand Tetley and its premium Signature Collection tea, which features drawstring bags, will be integrated into the MsLabelled Season 2 storyline via a design challenge to create drawstring fashions. Keep Calm & Sip On (a custom branded video featuring series star Sara Hennessey) currently supports

partners to engage their target audiences in entirely new ways,” said Jay Bennett, Vice President and Creative Director, Smokebomb Entertainment.

The series extends onto social platforms through Instagram, Tumblr and Twitter where fictional and real world fashion vloggers, along with the fans of the series, can share, discuss and dissect fashion and fashion trends.

Produced by Smokebomb Entertainment and shift2 in association with Shaw Media and Tetley, MsLabelled www.broadcastermagazine.com

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is produced by Bennett and Steph Ouaknine, and executive produced by Jennings, Jeanne Beker, and Kaaren Whitney-Vernon. The series was created and written by Alexandra Clarke, and is directed by Zoe Robyn. MediaCom Beyond Advertising, the Branded Content division of MediaCom, negotiated the partnership and oversaw the branded content creation.

DHX Lands New VP, TV Programming Canadian television veteran Michael Serafini is the new Vice President, Programming, for DHX Television.

Serafini will oversee the strategic development, execution and promotion of the DHX Television channels and their digital extensions, while enhancing the strength of the DHX’s brand. With the recent rebranding of DHX’s kids network Family CHRGD and preschool channels Family Jr. and Télémagino under the iconic Family Channel name, Serafini’s appointment comes as DHX Television’s suite of channels bring a wealth of newly commissioned and acquired series to Canadian viewers.

“With more than 15 years in the Canadian media industry, Michael brings a wealth of knowledge, ingenuity and expertise of the broadcast landscape to our team,” said Joe Tedesco, Senior Vice President and General Manager, DHX Television. “His proven ability to engage audiences and devise schedules that suit their lifestyles and viewing habits will raise the bar as we continue to reinvigorate our programming lineups.”

Serafini was most recently the Interim Executive Director of Content Planning for CBC Television, after moving from the role of Senior Director, Content Planning and Acquisitions. He was responsible for launching CBC’s top comedies including Mr. D and last winter’s breakout hit Schitt’s Creek, as well as the popular miniseries Book of Negroes and handling the overall navigation strategy for the broadcast of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics.

Prior to Serafini’s arrival to DHX Television, Michael Goldsmith, Vice President, Original Production had assumed the additional responsibility for overseeing the strategic development and scheduling for the suite of channels. www.broadcastermagazine.com

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INDUSTRY Goldsmith will now return to focus his attention on original content development and overseeing the vast original programming slate that DHX Television currently has underway.

Both Goldsmith and Serafini will report directly to Joe Tedesco.

Former Shaw Drama Exec Returns to CBC to Lead Scripted Content Development Tara Ellis is the new Executive Director of Scripted Content for the CBC, returning to the public broadcaster after some 15 years in the private sector.

Ellis will oversee CBC’s scripted content teams across comedy and drama, children’s and digital originals. She will report to Sally Catto, CBC’s General Manager of Programming.

Ellis was most recently with Shaw Media, as Senior Director of Original Drama Content, with responsibilities for original scripted drama and comedy programming for Shaw’s conventional broadcast network Global and its specialty channels, including Showcase and History Channel. In her prior role as Alliance Atlantis’s VP of Content for Showcase, Ellis led acquisitions, original production, and scheduling for the specialty drama service.

Prior to that, she was Executive in Charge of Production for CBC, overseeing long-form development and production of movies, mini-series and feature films. She also programmed Canadian short films and feature films for the public broadcaster.

Tara Ellis received the Creative Excellence Award at the 2012 25th Anniversary Crystal Awards.

In December 2012, Ellis was honoured with the Women In Film & Television Crystal Award for Creative Excellence. She has served as board member and co-chair of WIFT-T, and as industry advisor to the Banff Media Festival, Strategic Partners, and others.

“Tara is one of Canada’s leading media executives and her incredible reputation, creative expertise, relationships with the independent community and leadership experience will undoubtedly serve her well in this role,” Catto said. “Not only will she bring a fresh new perspective, but also an impressive track record to CBC’s already stellar scripted line-up.”

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NEW Stingray Goes to 4K with Ambiance Channel Stingray has launched a new 4K ultra HD ambient channel carried on the Videotron illico.tv service.

Stingray Ambiance offers a combination of visually rich and detailed scenic videos with custom soundtracks to Videotron subscribers with a 4K Ultra-HD illico terminal and a UHD television.

The launch of the 4K channel was announced at ANGA COM, and channel operators noted that “every image is especially captured for Stingray by a team of experienced nature videographers.

“We have seen a significant increase in worldwide demand for engaging Ultra Stingray Launches New 4K Ultra HD Ambient Channel HD content and we are proud to be the first in North-America to launch a channel that offers 4K UHD content 24/7,” said Mathieu Péloquin, SVP, marketing and communications of Stingray.

“Ultra HD technology will become the new standard in the linear channel industry.”

Corus Launches Quay Media Services; Acquires FastFile Media Corus Entertainment is expanding the technology service offerings of its broadcast business with the creation of Quay Media Services, and its purchase of Canadianbased closed captioning and entertainment accessibility provider, FastFile Media Services.

Building on its extensive media and broadcast technological infrastructure at Corus’ media and broadcast facility on Toronto’s waterfront, Quay Media Services offers a range of linear television broadcast, signal origination and master control play out and delivery, production facilities, media asset management and encoding/transcoding services for both domestic and international customers. The acquisition of FastFile bolsters Quay Media Services’ offerings with closed captioning, described video and subtitling capabilities.

Corus Quay Technical Operations. Photo: Quadrangle Architects “Corus Quay has been built for scale with a fully-integrated digital infrastructure and the technical architecture to significantly expand our footprint in the media technology and distribution space,” said Scott Dyer, Executive Vice President, Chief Technology Officer and President, Nelvana. “Our acquisition of FastFile is a great complement to our business and capitalizes on the growing demand for closed captioning and described video both domestically and abroad.”

In 2010, Corus Entertainment consolidated several Toronto offices to a new, purpose-build facility on Toronto’s waterfront. Corus Quay is a half-million square foot technical facility that is home to nearly a thousand Corus employees and all of Corus’ technical operations, including the origination of more than 70 television feeds and three Toronto radio stations.

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Portfolio Entertainment Launches Animation Studio

Portfolio Entertainment’s New Animation Studio

Production and distribution Portfolio Entertainment has opened a new animation studio equipped with top-tier talent, cutting-edge technology and commitment to excellence.

Portfolio Animation is part of the company’s expansion plan, which has seen the growth of both its senior management team as well as its physical facilities.

Located in the creative hub of Toronto’s King West district, the new ultramodern studio encompasses 9,000 square feet, and houses all of Portfolio’s corporate offices.

Senior Vice President of Production Julie Stall is at the helm of the new studio, along with Head of Studio Operations Sonya Carey, while Dave Beatty is the Senior Producer and showrunner for the studio’s first series Freaktown, an entirely new property set to launch on Teletoon in 2016. Notable company projects include the celebrated The Cat in the Hat Knows A Lot About That!; For the Love of Dog; and the MOW Stolen Miracle.

“We are very excited to be growing our core business with the launch of Portfolio Animation. What sets Portfolio Animation apart is our hand-picked team of extraordinary talent, booming energy and the company’s two decades of production and distribution experience. Our goal is to incubate creativity, foster collaboration and deliver incomparable content,” said Lisa Olfman, CEO and Co-Founder, Portfolio Entertainment.

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NEW Wheatstone Acquires Audion Labs Wheatstone Corporation announced its acquisition of Audion Labs and with it, the VoxPro digital audio editor, one of the few broadcast-specific digital voice editors designed to record and quickly edit phone calls on the fly for on-air broadcast.

Wheatstone and Audion Labs have a longstanding relationship over the years, resulting in the integration of the VoxPro editor into the WheatNet-IP audio network environment for online sharing, editing and archiving audio files.

“This is a terrific little company that with one product has made a big difference in the day-to- day operations of most radio stations today,” noted Wheatstone CEO Gary Snow. “Audion’s VoxPro is a PC based software program with optional control panel surface developed to facilitate rapid-fast audio editing. Its intuitive layout has endeared the VoxPro to on-air broadcast talent everywhere, significantly reducing a typical call-in editing session.”

Charlie Brown created the first VoxPro

Wheatstone Acquires Audion Labs, VoxPro Digital Audio Editor

editor in the early 1990s while working as a Seattle morning radio personality and went on to found the Audion Labs company in 1994. “We couldn’t ask for a better team to take on the care and growth of the VoxPro brand,” he said.

Audion Labs will remain a separate brand entity under Wheatstone. Rick Bidlack, Audion Labs’ Chief Technology Officer, will remain with the company and operate from his office in Seattle, Washington.

TV5 Selects Grass Valley for Disaster Recovery Site

Grass Valley playout systems are integrated into TV5’s disaster recovery plans.

French-language specialty channel TV5 Québec implementing a disaster recovery site for its playout and transmission operations using the GV STRATUS Playout cloud-based Software as a Service (SaaS) for broadcast playout from Belden’s Grass Valley.

The station ran a wide-scale disaster simulation in August, during which its building was evacuated for several hours, and a rented office space with only a limited set of generic computers installed was used as the emergency recovery facility. www.broadcastermagazine.com

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In less than an hour the site was online, station staff reported, with the GV STRATUS Playout unit providing the required parallel transmission paths to primary playout chains, ensuring continuous playout operations for both TV5 and Unis channels.

In addition, because GV STRATUS Playout can be controlled remotely using a standard Web browser, the access and control of revenue-generating components was in place within a few minutes of leaving the building.

“Not having a playout would cost us money and credibility,” described Régis Harrison, TV5’s director of operations and technology development. “Now we not only have playout that we can control and manage remotely, we also have access to our directory, videos and all of our enterprise tools.”

TV5 also acquired several other Grass Valley products from equipment and solutions provider Applied Electronics as part of a comprehensive solution, including the Densité IRD, K2 Summit TX, and K2 Solo.

“When TV5 Québec Canada faces challenges that are very complex and delicate, this provides a simple, lightweight, cost-effective mirror of its Canadian operations,” noted Steve Stubelt, vice president of sales, North America, Grass Valley. “GV STRATUS Playout tools are cloud-enabled, they can operate in a variety of environments and can be tailored for each user’s job, increasing efficiencies and collaboration.”

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NEW Ikegami Sees Accelerating Interest in UHD

Ikegami 8K SHK-810 camera at IBC2015.

Ikegami showcased at IBC this year a 4K-native new Unicam 3-CMOS 2/3inch camera which matches the ergonomic and operational features of con-

ventional Ikegami Unicam HD cameras.

Ikegami’s BS-98/CCU-980 hybrid 2K/4K rack-mountable optical-fibre transmission links made their first appearance at IBC. When used in combination with current Ikegami Unicam HD cameras, the BS-98/CCU-980 can deliver HD and 4K processed UHD signals simultaneously.

Ikegami says this allows users to

employ their existing HD cameras and accessories, including lenses, for 4K productions as economical bridge equipment until they are confident that 4K viewing will become popular in the broadcast marketplace.

The Ikegami HDK-97ARRI broadcaststyle production camera with digital cinema characteristics and HDK-97A 16-bit full digital 3G HDTV portable camera were exhibited with the BS-98/ CCU-980 hybrid 2K/4K optical fibre links in a demonstration of 4K live pictures. The HDK-97ARRI results from the combination of Ikegami and ARRI technology.

The company displayed its SHK810 portable 8K camera, developed in collaboration with Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK). The SHK-810 incorporates a 33 million-pixel Super 35 CMOS single sensor delivering 4,000 television lines of horizontal and vertical resolution. The sensor allows the tight depth of focus which is often requested by producers of drama programmes.

The SHK-810 has 8K, 4K and 2K outputs, all in native quality. It can be used in a fully 8K production environment or alongside 4K and/or 2K cameras. Regular PL-mount lenses can be used.

Digital Mini-Converters from AJA AJA Video Systems offers five MiniConverters for multiple digital audio and video applications, the HB-T-HDMI, and the HB-R-HDMI, along with the ROI-DP, FiDO-4T and the FiDO-4R. The HB-T-HDMI and HB-R-HDMI extend UltraHD or HD HDMI signals over Ethernet cable, using HDBaseT protocol.

ROI-DP provides real-time region-ofinterest output to HD-SDI video from any DisplayPort enabled computer. FiDO-4T (transmit) and FiDO-4R (receive) deliver up to four channels of 3G-SDI over fibre on standard LC connectors.

The HB-T-HDMI and HB-R-HDMI can extend workflows in fixed installation AV, digital signage, live events, post production/network/studio environments and on set to extend HD and UltraHD HDMI signals over existing Cat5/6 or 7 cable.

These new Mini-Converters also allow for the extension of bi-directional IR and RS-232 for device control.

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Mini-Converter allowing high quality conversion and real-time region-ofinterest scaling of computer DisplayPort outputs to baseband video over SDI. The FiDO-4T and FiDO-4R expand AJA’s family of fibre optic converters.

FiDO-4T is a 4-channel 3G-SDI to Single Mode Fibre converter, and FiDO-4R is 4-channel Single Mode Fibre to 3G-SDI. This pair of converters will allow conversion of 4K SDI using 4x 3G-SDI transport onto four fibre cables, using a single conversion box at each end. The FiDO4T is used for conversion of 4K cameras to fibre. Each channel is fully independent, so the devices can also be used for four independent 3G-SDI streams.

The FiDO-4T and FiDO-4R use LC connectors on the fibre side, with dual SFP cages. The FiDO-4T and FiDO-4R complement the company’s FiDO-4T-ST and FiDO-4R-ST, which offer the same solution in ST connectivity.

www.broadcastermagazine.com

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NEW Dejero Updates LIVE+ Mobile App with Enhanced ATG Danmon Sees Virtualized Systems Take Controls Shape at IBC2015 Technology has progressed to the point where multiple devices can be virtualised within a single server. Softwarecentric product virtualization can help streamline requirements for multiple devices and new technologies, and that is moving the industry away from panelper-product hardware to software-based solutions running on enterprise servers, says ATG Danmon UK Managing Director Russell Peirson-Hagger.

“In our role as systems integrators, we will include virtualization whenever it offers clear operational and costefficiency advantages to our customers,” Peirson-Hagger described of new industry trends described at IBC 2015.

“The key technical challenge today is to ensure that software from multiple vendors operates efficiently when combined into a single operating environment, whilst retaining the flexibility and reliability that broadcasters quite rightly insist on.

“There was a lot of discussion at IBC2015, as indeed last year, about the relative merits of serial digital interfacing and Internet Protocol. IP clearly has some benefits on offer but there are still plenty of reasons why we will see the continued use of SDI for the foreseeable future. Rather than IP completely replacing SDI, it is evident that a hybrid approach currently offers the best of both technologies.

“Traditional broadcasting has proved its ability not just to survive competition from the internet but to embrace it. Many channels now offer catch-up television services as a routine element of their activity, along with web-based news, programme guides and over-thetop supplementary programme feeds.

A key element of our role as a systems integrator is to support our customers with these new delivery options and to ensure they can operate as efficiently as possible in an industry which demands high productivity as well as creativity.”

ATG Danmon UK helped drive the transition from videotape to the filebased technology, and has assisted many clients in the construction of highdefinition studios, master control rooms and playout facilities, as well as the upgrade of existing SD systems to HD. www.broadcastermagazine.com

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The LIVE+ Mobile App for iOS is now available; a licence is required to send live feeds and recorded or edited files to server destinations.

Dejero released its updated LIVE+ Mobile App, with new features to give advanced users greater control when broadcasting live or recording video for later use, including an exposure and focus lock feature and a simplified onscreen zoom capability.

The new automatic exposure and automatic focus (AE/AF) lock feature delivers more advanced control for situations in which automatic adjustments are not always ideal, such as challenging lighting situations or when there is movement within the frame.

By tapping and holding onto a specific area within the frame, users can choose what to lock the focus on, as well as manually adjust and lock the exposure level. This prevents the

camera from automatically refocusing and adjusting the exposure, which can be distracting for viewers, and it also keeps the focus and exposure constant when the user is reframing the scene. In addition, the new on-screen zoom bar enables users to zoom in and out on the subject with a simple sliding motion.

Dejero’s LIVE+ Mobile App is used to cover breaking news, impromptu interviews, and live events, and it provides an excellent backup system if the primary camera or transmitter fails. Users can capture high-quality live video (up to 1080p) from virtually anywhere, record video for later broadcast, or import and upload edited video files to designated servers when traditional broadcast equipment is not at the scene.

W ESTERN A SSOCIATION B ROADCAST E NGINEERS

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Please visit our new web site for details on our 2015 convention, WABE’s Educational Initiatives and to download copies of our 2014 papers: www.wabe.ca Mark your calendar for Vancouver, B.C. for our 65th Annual Convention at the Sheraton Wall Centre

October 18th– 20th, 2015 For information please contact: Kathy Watson, WABE Office Manager, info@wabe.ca. Or call 403-630-4907 October 2015

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NEW Riedel Previews Broadcast-Grade Interface

Riedel’s new broadcast-grade interface brings Skype calls into the pro broadcast environment.

Riedel’s new STX-200 professional broadcast-grade interface brings any Skype user worldwide into the professional broadcast environment.

Licensed by Microsoft, the new Riedel product meets broadcasters’ increasing need for a reliable single-box solution that enables them to bring live contributions from both reporters and viewers into live programming — all while avoiding typical problems such as consumer PCs running common Skype clients, the need to add scan and HDMI-toSDI converters, or audio dropouts and menu pop-ups on the live feed.

Serving as more than a stand-alone solution, Riedel’s STX200 integrates Skype into the intercom solution to enable even more powerful, flexible applications and workflows. The 1-RU box offers broadcast-quality HD-SDI and balanced XLR audio I/Os and is packaged with professional Microsoft Skype TX software. The solution’s broad feature set includes remote management and monitoring of Skype calls.

Solotech Bids Adieu to Morissette Following a long and successful career that led Ron Morissette to be in involved in virtually every aspect of the entertainment industry, he recently announced his retirement.

Over the last four decades, Morissette, has been at the forefront of innovations that have significantly advanced the fields of entertainment and audio-visual technology.

In 2008, his successful track record led him to join Solotech in the role of General Manager, Corporate Development. In that capacity he was one of the prime movers of the expansion policy across Canada for Solotech’s Integration Division. Solotech offers high-end products and comprehensive technical services in audio, video, lighting and rigging.

More recently, Morissette steered a long-cherished company project - the start-up of a Solotech office in Toronto and a successful operation in the GTA and beyond.

“In the eyes of the industry, Ron was a great ambassador for Solotech,” summed up Paul Tytaneck, Morissette’s valued colleague in Toronto. “His joie de vivre coupled with his determination 22 Broadcaster October 2015

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Solotech honoured long-time employee Ron Morissette for his many successful years in the organization and the industry, wishing him a much deserved, very happy and enjoyably active retirement.

was an inspiration to us all. His vision motivates us to continue the work he began ensuring that Solotech will continue to thrive in the Greater Toronto Area and beyond. “ Jean-Louis Blanchard, Solotech’s Vice President-Integration Division, stressed Ron’s deeply human side;

“Working with him has been both an honour and a pleasure. His unshakable passion for his work and his deep sense of commitment were reflected in everything he did. He most certainly will be missed and he can be very proud of what he accomplished. “

www.broadcastermagazine.com

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Quantel and Snell is now SAM a new company that has the vision and technology to deliver businesstransforming solutions.

We understand that it’s not only about the future; to get there, today’s needs are also paramount. That’s why we deliver future-ready systems now that will enable your business to succeed in the consumer-driven era.

The SAM Difference.

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