Tag: television

Blogging on Breakfast Television Edmonton!

This post is coming to you this morning from the BT Edmonton studios downtown on Jasper Avenue. This week has been Bloggers Week on BT, and I’m thrilled to be closing it out! This is the third time I’ve been the “blogger in residence” – the first was in 2010, and I kicked off Bloggers Week last year. It’s always fun to hang out with Ryan, Bridget, and the rest of the gang, and being a media junkie I love getting a behind-the-scenes look.

Ryan & Bridget on BT Edmonton

Yesterday Ryan interviewed Mayor Mandel in the kitchen in what turned out to be the story of the day. Mandel was very candid with this opinion on Councillor Diotte, who announced late in the afternoon that he will run for mayor in the fall election. Here’s the video:

Another big topic of discussion in the studio this morning is the Gawker story that Toronto mayor Rob Ford smokes crack cocaine:

Rob Ford, Toronto’s conservative mayor, is a wild lunatic given to making bizarre racist pronouncements and randomly slapping refrigerator magnets on cars. One reason for this is that he smokes crack cocaine. I know this because I watched him do it, on a videotape. He was fucking hiiiiigh. It’s for sale if you’ve got six figures.

Pretty strong accusation and a number of media outlets are treading carefully with their coverage. Apparently Rogers legal has informed the Breakfast Television crews across the country that they shouldn’t talk about Rob Ford and the crack cocaine scandal.

One of the things Ryan and I talked about was this week’s big arena news. We touched on some of the outstanding questions that I think we as Edmontonians need to start looking at in more detail. Then Dave Cournoyer joined me at 7:10am to chat about who else might be running for mayor. The three of us agreed that we don’t think Mandel will run again, and Dave and I shared our thoughts on Iveson, Sohi, Leibovici, and other potential candidates for the big chair.

Bay City Rollers on BT Edmonton

Today’s musical guest was the Bay City Rollers who are in town for a show this weekend. Everyone was bobbing their head to Saturday Night, Saturday Night! Fun fact: they just sang, no instruments actually were played. In fact, the studio guys had to get something to silence the drum kit so the drummer could hit the drums!

I was able to quickly plug tonight’s Truck Stop: Ginger Beef Throwdown, taking place from 5-8pm at the Royal Alberta Museum. Four trucks, four ginger beef-inspired dishes, you decide who goes home with bragging rights. Hope to see you there! I also got to touch on the Yeggies and some of the amazing content producers that we have here in Edmonton. Ryan asked me to mention one you might not know about, so check out The Wanderer Online if you haven’t already!

Kerry Diotte and Ryan Jespersen

At 8:40am, newly announced mayoral candidate Kerry Diotte was in studio for an interview with Ryan. He took the high road in response to the Mayor’s comments and focused on some of the challenges he sees (such as our debt load). I had a good chat with him off-camera, and he sounded upbeat and ready for a long, hard campaign.

The crew in the studio is always so friendly and accommodating. Thanks Dale, Greg, and Phil!

Dale, Greg, Phil

I’ll leave you with a small blast from the past. Here’s a segment I did with Ryan on BT back in 2010 on social media – it’s what got Ryan tweeting!

Thanks to Ryan and everyone else at BT Edmonton for having me on the show today, it was fun!

Media Monday Edmonton: Global Edmonton’s Tim Spelliscy on local news ratings

Last week the first ever BBM PPM (Portable People Meter) ratings for television in Edmonton were released. Known as the Fall 2011 survey, the ratings cover the time period beginning September 12, 2011 and ending December 18, 2011. The ratings are further broken down into three demographic categories: 18+, 18-49, and 25-54. The top show in Edmonton? Big Bang Theory, on CTV Edmonton, with an average of 117,000 viewers per minute during each broadcast. In the 18+ demographic, Global Edmonton scored 5 of the top 10 shows, followed by CTV Edmonton with 4, and CBC Edmonton with 1.

That’s interesting, but what I really care about is local news, stuff that is produced here in Edmonton. Here are the numbers for local news for the 18+ demographic:

18+

Here are the numbers for local news for the 18-49 demographic:

18-49

Here are the numbers for local news for the 25-54 demographic:

25-54

All of that data comes from: BBM Canada PPM, Edmonton EMA, Sep 12-Dec18/11; min 3 airings. AMA means average minute audience, the average number of viewers per minute during the broadcast.

What I find particularly interesting is that in the 18+ demographic, the six o’clock news for both Global and CTV do quite well at #3 and #10 respectively, but if you look at the 18-49 demographic they drop considerably, to #26 and #44. That suggests to me that seniors make up a big chunk of the audience for the local six o’clock news. Not an encouraging sign if that’s your business.

Still, as far as as news is concerned it was a strong result for Global Edmonton, and their news release says as much:

Edmontonians have made it perfectly clear: their number one choice for news is Global Edmonton. According to BBM PPM (Portable People Meter) Fall 2011 survey, all of Global Edmonton’s newscasts continue to win their timeslots – morning, noon and night in total audience and in all key demographics including A18-49 and A25-54. Edmonton was recently added to the BBM’s electronic PPM system, providing a much better estimate of viewing habits.

tim spelliscyGiven that Global did so well in the first survey, I wanted to hear what Tim Spelliscy, Global’s Regional Director for News in Alberta, thought of the results. He agreed to answer my questions via email.

  1. Why is the BBM PPM survey important to Global Edmonton?

This is the first extensive survey using new (PPM) technology, so we know it’s a more accurate reflection of actual viewing rather than someone trying to recall what they watched and filling out a survey by hand. It reflects viewing patterns that we felt were happening, so it confirmed what our own research had been telling us about audience support.

  1. What’s the impact of being #1 in news?

Edmonton is a strong news market with excellent production provided by several local stations, so to come out as the top news station by such a wide margin is very flattering. We are grateful for this kind of support, and it’s fantastic for all of our sponsors and community partners to know that they are associated with a very strong local news brand. I think the confirmation that we are number one will bring new viewers to our news programs. They want to see what they’ve been missing.

  1. The News Hour is the 3rd most watched program in the 18+ demographic, but it falls to 26th when you narrow the demographics to 18-49. Does that concern you?

We’re still the top news program in 18-49, and the numbers are close with a lot of other shows, but it does give us an area we can work on. We can always do a better job attracting younger viewers.

  1. What’s on the horizon for Global Edmonton? How are you going to remain #1?

We’ve got to keep doing the small things right to remain number one. We have to focus on story selection and story treatment and we need to be on top of breaking news and ensure we are covering the stories that viewers really care about. That seems simple to do, but it’s not. I think there are lots of areas where we can improve the news programs we produce, but there won’t be any major overhauls – just some tweaking. We also need to continue to be the local news leader in our use of technology. We’ve done well with an early conversion to HD and we have the only television news helicopter in our city. We have some good ideas about what changes and improvements we can make next – stay tuned!

  1. Which of the other top Global shows is your favorite?

It’s Glee for sure. We try to watch it every week or I set my SHAW PVR and watch Glee on the weekend. Good characters and good music. It’s light, funny and an “escape”!

Thanks to Tim for answering my questions!

I look forward to the next survey results.

Local TV Matters vs. Stop The TV Tax

As you may know, there’s a battle going on between Canada’s broadcasters and its cable/satellite companies. The broadcasters, CTV, Canwest Global, CBC, and others, want the CRTC to impose a fee-for-carriage, alleging that their signals are being distributed without compensation. The cable and satellite companies, Rogers, Bell, Shaw, Telus, and others, view such a fee as a “tax” on their subscription fees. The CRTC will examine the issue again in policy hearings beginning November 16th.

Both sides have started to encourage supporters to get involved and to contact the CRTC directly. The cable and satellite companies have launched Stop The TV Tax, while the broadcasters have launched Local TV Matters. They’re both on Twitter too: @stopthetvtax and @LocalTVmatters. If you want to submit comments, you have until November 2nd to do so:

I like that the issue is getting Canadians involved. Here are my thoughts on the issue:

  • As I wrote back in May, I think it’s disingenuous of the broadcasters to position this as a “save local” issue.
  • If it was really about saving local programming, the broadcasters would have no problem guaranteeing that funds raised from the fee-for-carriage would go entirely toward local programming. They aren’t willing to do that.
  • Local TV doesn’t matter. Local content, reporting, and community service matter, but none of those things require a TV station.
  • Is it really a coincidence that the broadcasters only started complaining loudly about this when the economic crisis was in full swing?
  • The local stations are still available for free via antenna. If there’s a fee associated with accessing them via cable or satellite, I want the ability to opt-out (ideally they’d be opt-in).

The fee-for-carriage wouldn’t result in an incredibly large amount of money for the broadcasters, so it’s not going to solve all of their financial troubles. It’s more of a stop-gap solution. They’re still going to lose money and viewers. Isn’t it time to rethink the strategy? Focus energy on something constructive?

As I’ve said before, we need to allow sick businesses to die so that healthy, innovative ones can take their place.

No more bailouts please

As you’re probably aware, CTV has been running an aggressive “Save Local TV” campaign over the last couple weeks. Along with occasional ally Canwest, the two broadcasters are petitioning the CRTC to impose a fee-for-carriage on cable and satellite companies. In a recent guest post on Connect2Edmonton, CTV’s Lloyd Lewis wrote:

Local stations like CTV Edmonton do not receive any compensation from cable and satellite companies.  We believe the time has come that local television must share in this pool, just as all other channels on your cable and satellite systems do.

Shaw has been the most aggressive company on the opposite side of the issue. Here’s what Jim Shaw wrote in his message to Canadians:

Canadians should not have to pay to fix broadcasters’ problems. They’ve spent billions of dollars acquiring foreign programs, TV stations and newspapers and now they say they’re broke?

Essentially, I think the situation can be described as follows:

  • CTV and Canwest are losing money. This is partly because of a decline in advertising revenue, exacerbated by the economic downturn.
  • They have twice before asked the CRTC to impose a fee-for-carriage, and were denied both times. A fee-for-carriage would force cable and satellite companies to pay for the signals they rebroadcast.
  • If such a fee were imposed, Shaw and other cable/sat companies would likely pass the cost on to consumers.
  • Fee-for-carriage exists in other countries, but has never existed in Canada.

My gut reaction when I first started reading about all of this was that CTV and Canwest wanted a bailout, just like the auto manufacturers. Their business model is broken, and they’re looking for the quick fix. I firmly believe that we need to allow sick businesses to die, so that more efficient ones can take their place. I feel that way about all industries.

I decided to do some reading. Here’s what I have learned:

CTV argues that their local news programs are suffering because I can get CTV Toronto and CTV Edmonton on my cable/satellite package. That means I can watch a popular primetime show on the Toronto feed instead of my local one. Some questions on that:

  • Isn’t CTV receiving the same revenue either way?
  • Isn’t most advertising sold nationally anyway? Isn’t that the argument for a large conglomerate?
  • Why does the ad revenue for a primetime show affect my local news program as much as CTV seems to suggest it does?

The financials only tell one side of the story. It’s the other side of the story that really makes me frustrated. CTV has taken a page out of the newspaper playbook, and is claiming that they are vital to the local community.

Cities do not need newspapers to survive and flourish, nor do they need local TV stations.

In the article posted at C2E, CTV argues that local TV is important for the following reasons:

  1. Local content is more relevant than ever, despite more the web making global sources and more choice available.
  2. The accurate reporting of news is critical.
  3. Local stations provide a high level of community service.

None of those things require a TV station.

You might wonder where all the local content is on CTV or Global. Aside from the news programs (which themselves are not even close to 100% local content), what is there? Lots of American shows, that’s what (this post is a long but good read on the topic of local vs. foreign content on the networks). The six o’clock news is too late for most breaking news, but too soon for context and analysis, which is what the 384 years of experience CTV Edmonton is touting would be good for.

TV stations are not perfect, they make mistakes from time to time. The problem is that they can’t correct those mistakes until the late news or else the next day. How accurate is that? More importantly, TV is not required for the dissemination of accurate news. It just happens to be one of the vehicles for it today.

It’s true that local TV stations do a lot for the community. So do other organizations. I’m sure charity events could find other individuals to MC. Aside from donating free advertising, I’m not sure what specifically CTV brings to the table with regard to community service that other organizations do not.

Comments via Twitter

I decided to ask Twitter for some comments on this last night. There was an almost even split among the replies I received, with roughly half supporting CTV and half supporting Shaw. Here are some of the tweets:

  • wikkiwild1: I have to go with Cable, if CTV charges carriage fees they will be passed onto the cable subscribers. Why pay for local TV.
  • andrewmcintyre: CTV and Canwest are clearly not in the right. The CRTC’s role in this debate is very interesting.
  • chrislabossiere: if I had to pick one of two sides, I would say status quo and Shaw. They are at least fighting for a new way.
  • ZoomJer: I’m for fairness. If you buy a DVD you can’t show it and charge admission. Shaw is in the wrong. I want to see @ctvedmonton stay.
  • paulstrandlund: Shaw. CTV only has 1 local program – the news.
  • tachyondecay: Neither. They’re both in it for money. My local TV (which has nothing to do with CTV) offers little interesting except news.
  • thzatheist: Shaw. How has CTV fared so well this long? Advertising – let’s see them continue. (I only support media bailout if CBC is saved)

Final Thoughts

There’s really nothing “local” about CTV’s campaign. It’s disappointing propaganda, replicated across the network of CTV stations. It might have more of an impact if it actually came from a local perspective.

I don’t think Shaw and the other cable and satellite companies are completely in the clear here either. They are rebroadcasting CTV and Canwest signals without paying for them, and they seem awfully quick to suggest fees would be passed on directly to consumers.

Just because Canada hasn’t had a fee-for-carriage in the past doesn’t mean it shouldn’t in the future. I’m not completely opposed to a fee-for-carriage, but I am opposed to a mandatory fee-for-carriage. An optional one, on the other hand, could be good. I should be able to tell Shaw that I don’t want CTV Edmonton, saving us both the expense.

Of course, CTV and Canwest don’t want that, because then they’d see just how vital Canadians think they are. I think it’s unfortunate that CTV and Canwest are threatening more job cuts and station closures if they don’t get the fee-for-carriage revenue. What they should be doing is innovating, to reduce costs and to ensure they have multiple, steady revenue streams.

If they can’t do that, we should allow them to die. Healthy, innovative businesses will take their place.

Sadly, this whole argument may become irrelevant (or at least delayed) if the rumored $150 million bailout package for the broadcasters turns out to be real.

I’ll definitely be keeping an eye on this issue. What do you think?

UPDATE: It’s worth pointing out that the CBC doesn’t seem particularly interested in joining CTV and Canwest on this issue, despite the fact that they may benefit.

Talking Twitter with CTV Edmonton

It’s no secret that the local media have jumped aboard the Twitter train in recent weeks. They seem completely smitten with it! Almost all the media outlets in Edmonton are now on Twitter in some capacity. The two big television stations, Global and CTV, have been really great about accepting feedback and assistance as they figure out how Twitter can best work for them. A couple weeks ago Karl Kovacs spoke to the Global Edmonton newsroom, and yesterday, I was fortunate enough to speak at CTV (there were also some folks from Access and 91.7 The Bounce in attendance).

I guess “speak” isn’t really the right term. I started with a bullet list of some key concepts (such as terminology and that Twitter Search rocks) but didn’t have any prepared slides or remarks. Instead, I had a browser open and encouraged everyone to fire away with questions. And fire away they did!

Questions ranged from “why do people follow other people” to “how can we best use Twitter during our newscast”. We also took some time to talk about the #teachctv discussion I had started on Twitter in the morning. I think it was a good eye-opener for most in the room to see how quick and easy it was for me to gather a bunch of feedback from the Twitter community. Thanks to everyone who posted a tweet in response.

I don’t know what CTV is going to do with the things we talked about, but the feedback I got was that everyone found the “primer” useful. I think I was able to start some interesting discussions, and I look forward to seeing what they come up with in the weeks ahead.

What I hope they took away from our chat was the following:

  • Links are important! I’d rather see a link than “coming up at 6” and I think most others on Twitter would also.
  • You’ve got to be willing to experiment. Some things will work, others won’t.
  • Twitter will not replace the TV or website, it is simply another tool. If used correctly, it can compliment CTV’s other channels.
  • Twitter is about people and relationships. You’ve got to show that there are humans behind the Twitter accounts! Be personable.

Those points are valid for any business on Twitter of course, not just for CTV.

Thanks to Carrie Doll and her team for the opportunity to discuss my favorite topic! I think it’s great that CTV Edmonton is so keen to utilize Twitter. Exciting times ahead!

To follow CTV on Twitter: @ctvedmonton, @carriedoll, @darylmcintyre, @joshclassen, @JoelGotlib, @robbywilliams, @ErinIsfeld, @davidjamesgreen, @crnkylttlmnky

Smallville Season 7 ends…one more to go

smallville season 7 On Thursday night, the 20th and final episode of Smallville’s seventh season aired on the CW. As far as Smallville season finale’s go, it was neither the worst nor the best. If you need more proof of that, check out all the messages on Twitter. Some loved it, some hated, some were indifferent. The one thing I can say for certain is that I’m glad next season will be the show’s last (the 8th season was confirmed recently).

The biggest challenge facing the show is the exodus of cast members. Lionel Luthor was killed off earlier this season, which means that John Glover won’t be back. Michael Rosenbaum announced earlier this month that he won’t be back as Lex Luthor. And Kristin Kreuk is only scheduled to appear in a handful of episodes as Lana Lang. Fortunately, Allison Mack will be returning as Chloe Sullivan, despite some difficult contract negotiations.

Two new characters are apparently joining the regular cast next season. The first is a woman known as “Tess” who is supposed to fill the gap left by Rosenbaum. That is, she’ll be looking after Lex’s interests. No word on how his disappearance will be explained. The second is the villain Doomsday, best known in the comic world for being the only character to have killed Superman (Doomsday died too).

The finale on Thursday could have been so much better. Series producers/creators Alfred Gough and Miles Millar won’t be back next season, and I think they were forced to leave the door open in order for the show to continue. I am glad the writers and producers tried to close some story arcs this year, but I am left wanting more. I really don’t like the way Lex’s storyline in Smallville was concluded (assuming Rosenbaum doesn’t return for a guest spot or two next season). The final scene with Clark and Lex deserved so much more screen time than it received. It could have been epic, but instead felt rushed. I wonder how the story will progress next season, and I fear that it won’t at all.

I’m hopeful that season eight will be enjoyable, but I also think that the time has come for Clark Kent to leave the farm in Smallville behind.

I almost want to watch The Hills

Okay, I hate to admit it, but I’ve seen a few episodes of MTV’s The Hills in the past. For the uninitiated, it’s a “reality” drama spinoff of Laguna Beach, and it follows the life of Lauren Conrad (seen in the blue). Most of the episodes I have seen are mind-numbing, with maybe five minutes of actual content in each thirty minute episode. It’s hard to believe that there’s been two entire seasons already, but it’s true.

With the third season about to start on Monday, MTV has really increased the advertising for the show. About 80% of the time when I log into Facebook, I see a banner for The Hills, with Lauren in that amazing blue swimsuit. I saw it so many times that I eventually gave up, clicked on it, and made my way to this page. Now I really want to watch the show. Yeah, I can be shallow.

A show all about four hot, young girls – is there anything not to like about it? Actually, yes. As I mentioned, the show will make you lose brain cells. There is very little in the way of substance. Not a problem, mute the television and you’re good to go. The real problem though is MTV. They air something called “The After Show” immediately following each episode. If you are unlucky enough to see it, I think you’ll agree that it is quite possibly the most painful television viewing experience ever. Seriously, I can’t stand it. Thirty minutes with two very strange MTV hosts trying to sound excited about a show that really isn’t about anything. Horrible, just horrible.

The first episode of season three airs Monday night at 10 PM EST on MTV. I might watch it, if only for Heidi, but I’ll be sure to switch the channel the moment it ends.

Read: MTV

Laura Vandervoort is Supergirl

I was pretty sure Kristen Bell wouldn’t be cast as Supergirl, but that didn’t stop me from hoping! Turns out I was right, she won’t be making an appearance on Smallville, as the CW has announced their choice for the role:

Look, up in the sky: it’s a bird, it’s a plane! It’s…Supergirl! This fall, Supergirl will be joining the lineup of burgeoning superheroes and villains in SMALLVILLE.

Laura Vandervoort (The Lookout, “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation”) has been cast as Kara – Clark’s (Tom Welling) 19-year-old cousin.

I don’t know much about her, but I think they made a good choice. She’s young, hot, and Canadian! Okay she’s from Toronto, but still. Her Wikipedia entry is here, and her IMDB profile is here. Her last name has a cool sound to it too, don’t you think?

According to IMDB, the first episode of season seven (titled Bizarro) will air on September 28th. Just over two months to go!

Read: CW Blog

Microsoft's Internet TV strategy

You’ll recall that last week the first post in a two part series I wrote for last100 on Microsoft’s Internet TV strategy was posted. I’d say the post did very well, receiving over 20 comments from readers and 300 diggs. Today, part two is up:

The product to keep an eye on is definitely Mediaroom (and Mediaroom on the Xbox 360). There’s a reason Microsoft chose Mediaroom as the brand instead of simply Microsoft TV: they are looking to the future of entertainment, where TV is just one piece of the puzzle.

You can read the entire post at last100, and you can digg it here. As always, let me know what you think!

Read: last100

Microsoft on your telly

Post ImageI was fortunate enough to land a guest posting gig over at last100, a blog dedicated to tracking the digital lifestyle. My two part series is about “Microsoft on your telly” and my articles take a look at where Microsoft is and has been in the television market, and where they are going. You can read the first post here. Please let me know what you think!

If you’ve never heard of last100, check it out. From the About page:

The name last100 refers to what industry insiders call the “last 100 feet” problem, which is the gap between the typical home’s computer and its living-room TV set. Whilst the digital living room is a primary focus, we’ll also be covering other areas of the digital lifestyle (VoIP, portable media, mobile web etc).

I love the name!

Looks like my first post has received a bunch of attention on Digg too, so feel free to digg it (up to 95 diggs right now). All I can say is I am glad the Digg mob is focusing their attention on Microsoft rather than on me!

Read: last100