Analysis: Satellite radio gets greenlight
Media in Canada Op/Ed columnist David Bray is SVP of Hennessy & Bray Communications.
There are but a few defining moments in the history of any industry. The CRTC decision unveiled at 4pm yesterday maps out a future for radio that will undoubtedly energize listeners from coast to coast. With their approval of three subscription licenses, the CRTC issued an emphatic yes to new technologies which Chairman Charles Dalfen, in a crystal clear (you might say digital) fashion, declared ‘will help to give Canadian talent exposure to listeners across Canada and indeed, North America-both through new Canadian channels and airplay on U.S. channels.’ John Bitove, chairman CEO and founder of Canadian Satellite Radio, the firm that triggered this entire process, said ‘this is a tremendous opportunity for all Canadians and an evolutionary milestone in maintaining our country’s leadership position within the global broadcasting industry.’ Kevin Shea, President & CEO of Sirius Canada remarked that ‘the commission has worked hard to give us a reasonable and creative framework within which we can move toward providing Canadians with an outstanding programming line-up.’
The first critical step took place last November with the CRTC hearings in Ottawa/Hull at which three satellite/subscription applications were presented. These included the XM/Canadian Satellite Radio and Sirius/CBC/Standard satellite proposals along with the CHUM terrestrial/DAB offering. In the room was a who’s who of Radio in Canada. The lobbying for intervention support leading up to all of this was intense. So much hand shaking and arm twisting took place that few people in the radio or music industries were left with shoulder sockets in tact. After that came the hand wringing as everyone awaited the decision which was over seven months in coming.
Cineplex Galaxy- Famous Players merger creates one-stop shop for cinema ad buys
Cineplex Galaxy expects its $500 million purchase of the Famous Players chain to provide great benefits to media buyers and clients as a one-stop national cinema network.The combined company has 132 theatres and more than 1300 screens across the country – after the sale of 35 theatres (284 screens in six provinces) recently was mandated by the Competition Bureau. Cineplex currently has 86 theatres and 775 while Famous Players has 81 locations with 787 screens.
Pat Marshall, VP communications for Cineplex Galaxy, says, ‘It’s wonderful to have a single source to call to cover the entire country. Obviously there will be more economies of scale available as well and we also handle advertising for a number of other (theatre) circuits in Canada.’ Marshall adds, ‘(Another benefit) is we have upgraded to a new digital system at Cineplex theatres in the Toronto EMA (extended market area) and we will be applying that to the balance our (Cineplex Galaxy) chain by the end of the year. The next stage is how to integrate that into the existing Famous Players advertising pieces.’
GJP shoots horror-tainment for Covad
Toronto shop GJP Advertising is in the movie business. Well, sort of. Creative director and EVP of GJP, John Farquhar, knew something way out of the box (literally) was in order for their client, San-Jose-based communications giant Covad. Their mission: ‘To overtake the phone company.’ The product: VoIP services. Their target audience: IT managers of small to medium-sized companies; one of the most highly penetrated U.S. broadband audiences who actively use the web to inform purchase decisions.
Last fall GJP sold Covad on branded entertainment, producing a ‘whodunit’ campaign that made Covad a finalist for the AMA’s ‘Next Big Thing’ award, Since Covad ended the first quarter of 2005 with 690 VoIP business customers, representing a 14 percent increase in VoIP station count from December, they were persuaded to do a follow-up, and push the boundaries right into the realm of horror. ‘Everybody on both sides really did swallow deep on this one,’ said Farquhar. ‘They had some familiarity and definitely some success with branded entertainment and they were determined to create a famous brand in a relatively new category, so we thought we’d follow it as a form and see what we could do.’
Wild On media set to fly
Toronto-based OOH company Wild On Media is launching its first ever skymural this month. Beginning June 25 until Labour Day, the company will fly a 10,000 square foot mural towed by helicopters for Bell Canada’s 125th anniversary above select high-traffic events such as the CNE, Molson Indy and the 2005 Pride Parade. The price tag? A cool $77,000. ‘The prices are determined by the number of hours and the size of the banner,’ says George Christidis, president. ‘The client gets the choice of flight hours and the price includes the production of these billboards in the sky.’ Wild On flies over Canada’s major markets including Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal. Prices start at $39,700 for a 2500 square foot ad at 18 hours of flight time for one market.
www.wildonmedia.com
ComBase market focus: Reaching women in B.C.
ComBase Market Focus: Reaching Women in B.C.
The female audience has long been a major target group for advertisers because women are the key decision makers for a wide range of personal and family products. Although in demand, women lead busy, multitasking lifestyles that have increasingly made it harder for media buyers to reach them.
Declining television viewing:
* 46% are light TV watchers (less than 9.5 hours weekly).
* 20% didn’t watch any TV yesterday.
Declining daily newspaper readership:
* 29% cannot be reached with dailies.
Declining radio listening:
* 39% can’t be reached with radio.
In British Columbia, 75% of women can be reached with community newspapers on weekdays.
Source: ComBase 2003-2004 Study
ComBase, the Community Newspaper Database, is a syndicated consumer-media survey of more than 400 Canadian markets that provides market-by-market information. It is an initiative of the Canadian Community Newspaper Association and its nearly 700 members across the country. For more information, contact Kelly Levson, senior project manager, kellylevson@combase.ca.
BBM Commercial Television Tracking Service
How much share of market have specialty stations taken from conventional stations in the Toronto EM?
Click below for a comparison of conventional & specialty GRPS and share by broadcast quarter for the first 3 quarters of the 2003/4 and 2004/5 seasons, based on adults 25-54.
Conventional & specialty GPRS and share by broadcast quarter
Animal Planet scores three; CTV Travel goes island-hopping
Animal Planet’s gone hunting and brought back three wild new series for fall. First is Corwin’s Quest, a show that has Jeff Corwin searching the globe for the most interesting animals. Buggin’ with Ruud is hosted by quirky entomologist Ruud Kleinpaste in a skin-crawling journey into the word of insects. Finally, Animal Lifeline, a three-part series has host Lyndal Davies presenting a $10,000 cheque to a designated project/sanctuary with a challenge to that recipient to use that money to the best effect. All shows are an hour long.
CTV Travel goes island-hopping this fall with new half-hour series Island Escapes. The series showcases popular island destinations with a focus on food, history and people.
Discovery Health goes into rehab
Toronto-based Discovery Health network has picked up 28 Days in Rehab, a four-parter that looks at people going through rehab. The series airs Mondays at 10 p.m., beginning August 8.
Showcase gets ready for Brit laughs
Showcase presents the network premiere of Little Britain, an eight-part half hour sketch comedy show. The comedy looks as the debris of modern life in Britain as it chronicles gloriously over-the-top eccentrics, lunatics and social misfits. It airs on Wednesdays at 10 p.m., beginning on June 22. Little Britain is the winner of several comedy awards including three at the 2004 BAFTA Performance awards gala.
Starcom Mediavest Group nabs new broadcast chief
Starcom Mediavest Group announced the appointment of Valerie McMorran as SVP broadcast investment director for its Canuck operations on Tuesday. McMorran was previously at New York-based Initiative as SVP media director.
ICA spearheads move to standardized commercial codes
The ICA Traffic Committee has developed a standardized coding for broadcast commercials that it hopes the rest of the industry will adopt and test drive over the summer months. The committee will meet again to discuss the results in September.
The voluntary coding system is designed to take the confusion and potential for error out of the traffic and billing processes by having a consistent commercial identification from production, to scheduling, and electronic billing.
Batman Begins to take over Dose
Warner Bros.’ summer blockbuster to be, Batman Begins, is slated to take over the print version of Dose on Wednesday, June 15, the movie’s national release date. The Toronto-based free daily rag is also the exclusive print sponsor of the movie screenings in Ottawa, Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver – all markets where Dose is available. The June 15th edition of Dose will feature interviews with stars from the movie, a contest to score advance screening tickets, and bat-themed products, content and images. Dose’s internal team brokered the deal. ‘We’re looking to do more integrated marketing programs like this with other studios,’ says Mark Shedletsky, director of marketing for Dose. The youthful print offering played media sponsor for Paris Hilton vehicle House of Wax in two markets. Dose targets 18 to 34s with an even male/female split.
Bell ExpressVu gets trivial
Bell ExpressVu today announced the launch of Buzztime Trivia, an interactive trivia game available on channel 550 to more than 900,000 households nationwide. The game, powered by California-based interactive gaming company NTN, features 160,000 questions spanning history, TV, sports, youth culture and science. The game can be adjusted by age, ability and number of players to a maximum of four. Subscription rates are $3 per month or $1.50 for play all day access. Buzztime Trivia is yet another addition to Bell ExpressVu’s Game Galaxy, a portal that offers more than 30 free and subscription based games.
More large format OOH for TO
With the recent signing of three new deals, Doubleclutch Communications has boosted its inventory of Toronto faces to 32 in the six months since launching its OOH division this past December. The new inventory includes two locations on Toronto’s Gardiner Expressway, most notably a 50 ft. by 50 ft. backlit at the foot of Sherbourne Street.
doubleclutch.com
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