PunchMuch has music fans scrambling for their mobiles
CHUM TV’s PunchMuch channel launched to the delight of many an agile thumb on June 30. The fully-interactive channel boasts to be Canada’s first fully automated, all-request music video service. PunchMuch lets music fans request videos, join in on on-screen chats and polling — all from their mobile phones. The channel is powered by Oslo, Norway-based content provider Mobile Media’s ITV technical platform with its ground ops managed by Mobile Media’s Canuck partner, Toronto’s MyThum Interactive. PunchMuch targets 12 to 24s.
Live 8 reaches 10.5 million Canadian viewers
Even a long, hot, holiday weekend and the lure of cottage country couldn’t keep one-third of Canadians away from their TV sets on July 2. According to BBM Canada data, one in three Canadians – 45% of all households – watched some of the Live 8 concert extravaganza on CTV.
The average per-minute viewership of the concert was 961,000 with a high of 2.06 million at 8:16 p.m. ET. The broadcast from Barrie, Ont. was the longest program ever aired by CTV, clocking in at an unprecedented 18 hours and 23 minutes. It is estimated that 3 billion viewers watched some of the 10 concerts held around the world.
In the U.K., BBC grabbed over 50% of TV viewers for its event from Hyde Park in London, peaking with an audience of 9.6 million. That doesn’t account for those watching in pubs and at open-air screenings across the country.
The big news in the U.S. was AOL’s live streaming video of all 10 concerts, which drew about 5 million online users during its eight-hour run. ABC’s two-hour prime time Live 8 special garnered an average audience of 2.9 million (Nielsen Media Research).
BBM Media Snapshot: Gay Pride Parade attendees
* 298,000 Torontonians (7%) attended the city’s Gay Pride Parade in 2004.
* 67% of the Gay Pride Parade attendees are between 18 and 44 years old.
* 43% (1.4 times the Toronto average) are single, 49% are married.
* Gay Pride Parade attendees have an active city life:
* Compared to Toronto’s averages, they are: 3.7 times more likely to attend pet shows, three times more likely to attend book shows, and 2.6 times more likely to attend food shows.
* Gay Pride Parade attendees are six times more likely to attend the Toronto Film Festival, 4.7 times more likely to attend to the International Jazz Festival, and 4.3 times more likely to attend Caribana.
* 32% of Gay Pride Parade attendee’s are members of a health club (1.8 times the Toronto average).
* 52% own pets with 33% of them owning cats (1.3 times Toronto average).
* The top four media for yesterday exposure for Gay Pride Parade attendees are radio (89%), TV (88%), Internet (62%), and newspaper (60%).
* They tune to radio for weather reports and updates, headline news and community news/local events.
* Their magazine preferences (readership in the past month) are entertainment and music (60%), fashion (54%, 1.5 times Toronto average), food and beverages (48%), and women’s publications (47%).
* Gay Pride Parade attendees are also interested on community newspapers (average month). 18% read NOW (four times the Toronto average) and 11% read Eye Weekly (3.5 times the Toronto average).
Source: BBM RTS Canada Fall ’03 / Spring ’04
The preceding information is from BBM RTS, a syndicated consumer-media survey of over 55,000 Canadians, conducted twice a year by BBM Canada. For more information contact Craig Dorning of BBM Canada: cdorning@bbm.ca.
Molson Indy races through Global
Live coverage of the 2005 Molson Indy in Toronto will air on Sunday, July 10 on Global. The day before the race sees a one-hour pre-race qualifying special at 7 p.m. hosted by the network’s Jim Tatti and Don Martin. On Sunday, July 10, the half-hour Molson Indy Pre-Race show will show opening ceremonies. Live coverage of the race is as follows: B.C. at 9:30 a.m.; Saskatchewan and Alberta at 10:30 a.m.; Manitoba at 11:30 a.m.; Ontario and Quebec at 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. for the Maritimes.
YTV offers peek at Pokemon Chronicles
Following the movie presentation of Pokemon: Mewtwo Returns on Saturday, August 27 at 4 p.m., YTV will air a sneak preview of the newest Pokemon series, Pokemon Chronicles, at 5:30 p.m. Chronicles is based on characters from the previous Pokemon series and answers some of the questions raised there like as what happened to Misty at the Cerulean Gym?
The series gets underway for real in the fall. Target aud is 6-11s.
Andrew Bruce becomes president at Publicis
Publicis’ six-year veteran and founding partner Andrew Bruce has been promoted to president, Publicis Toronto effective immediately. As president, Bruce will look after the Toronto ops of Publicis, Publicis Dialog, Publicis NetWorks, Publicis Sports Marketing, Publicis Tandem, Publicis Wellcare, Ove Design and Optic Nerve. He will report to COO and president of Publicis Canada Serge Rancourt.
Strategic Media gains sales VP
Toronto-based outdoor agency Strategic Media gained a VP of sales in Andrea Dayco. Before joining Strategic Media, Dayco held sales posts at Skye Media, Clear Channel and Cieslok Media. She brings more than 10 years of sales experience in the out-of-home arena.
PMB Factoid
Frequent vacation travelers; by region
Analysis: Media buyers weigh in on fall TV primetime winners: Monday nights
The verdict is in. Media in Canada nabbed gab time with media buyers to ask: Which shows do you predict will net the most eyeballs this fall? This is the first of a series that will share broadcast pundits’ opinions on who’s in, who’s out and who doesn’t stand a chance during the most coveted – and competitive — weeknight timeslots of 8-10 p.m. Go to www.mediaincanada.com and click on ‘TV Programming Grids’ for visual aids.
Sherry O’Neill, managing director, broadcast at OMD Toronto, says: ‘I think it’s a good night for Global and CH. Fathom is interesting though I don’t like Kitchen Confidential. Everyone here loved Prison Break but we think that the flow should be more like Fathom (on CH) and then Prison Break(on Global). After that, (at 10 p.m.), it’s definitely CSI: Miami.’
CRTC Broadcasting Policy Monitoring Report: Radio tuning steady, TV bears brunt of increased Internet use
The average per capita hours tuned to radio each week has remained steady over the past six years that the CRTC (Canadian Radio-television Telecommunications Commission) has issued its Broadcasting Policy Monitoring Report, while TV viewing has had a bit of a roller coaster ride.
Radio listening has ranged from 20.5 hours in 1999 to 19.5 hours in 2003 and 2004, with FM garnering 73% of the share. Radio revenues overall have grown year over year since 2000 (4%, 3%, 8% and 4% respectively) although AM stations declined slightly while FM stations experienced very healthy growth.
BBM Commercial Television Tracking Service
Please click on the attached link to view BBM’s Tracking of Commercial GRPS by week and month for Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal Franco.
Toronto and Vancouver cover the Broadcast months of May 2004 to May 2005 inclusive and Montreal Franco covers the broadcast months of October 2004 – May 2005 inclusive. GRPS are based on Commercial minute ratings for Adults 25-54.
FAME advisory board formed to up the ante on wireless marketing
The Forum to Advance the Mobile Experience (FAME), a Palo Alto, Calif.-based member advocacy group and authority leadership initiative to advance the wireless user experience, announced the formation of a high-profile advisory board consisting of execs from 24 of the top players in the wireless space. Companies represented include Alcatel, Cingular, Google, Intel, Lucent and Yahoo! to name a few. FAME’s mission is to improve usability to drive mobile adoption rates and provide a platform for industry leaders to work together on major initiatives in the wireless space. Worldwide sales of mobile phones rose 17% from last year according to Stamford, CT-based market research firm Gartner, which also predicts an increase in user demand for bundled services.
The CMO Council, a private, non-profit group dedicated to high-level knowledge exchange, formed FAME in February 2005, and marketing execs in the mobile field are encouraged to join. Initiatives already underway include the Remote Revolution Mobile Workforce Survey with results to be disclosed in August and a mobile services audit and assessment program.
http://www.fameforusers.org
PwC report sees consistent growth for Canuck entertainment and media market
Consulting giant PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) released a report last week that finds the Canadian entertainment and media market poised to have the most consistent growth globally in the next four years, with an estimated 6% compound annual growth rate to $37 billion U.S. by 2009. According to the latest PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Global Entertainment and Media Outlook: 2005-2009, the projected growth in entertainment and media spending here between 2005 and 2009 will be lead by the Internet, filmed entertainment and video games.
Says Jerry Brown, director for PwC’s Canadian Entertainment and Media Advisory Practice: ‘Broadband internet will be the major growth catalyst across all regions. Canada’s high levels of penetration in urban areas and initiatives to expand access across all parts of the country will boost overall internet access spend and create new opportunities for online advertising.’ PwC’s report analyses 14 major industry segments including TV networks: broadcast and cable; radio and out-of-home advertising; video games and filmed entertainment among others. The book’s analyses spans five regions globally.
http://www.pwc.com/outlook
Notes from the media landscape: TV that watches you
And they called it the boob tube. Not anymore. Time Warner Cable is soon to begin testing a hyper-targeting ad system designed by Princeton, N.J.-based software firm Invidi Technologies. By figuring out where a viewer channel surfs, the software will determine age, gender and some viewer interests. Here’s how it works: Invidi’s software works with the cable company and its digital set-top cable box to anonymously monitor viewer patterns in order to build a digital profile. So while a senior may be watching CSI in the living room and her granddaughter the same show in her bedroom, the two family members would each receive a different ad during the same commercial break. Invidi claims its tests reading gender are scoring at 95% while age plus gender test runs are batting a 75% average. Time Warner is expecting to go into the household testing phase with the software by year end.
