When CHUM acquired Citytv in 1978, the company’s only goal was to get into local television programming. How things have changed. In 2004, a fair chunk of CHUM’s $560 million in revenue came through international format licences and program sales to more than 120 countries worldwide, through its CHUM Television International division.

Today, CTI has earned a reputation as an international distributor ready to break with convention, whether through the repackaging of its proprietary programs or the licensing of its station formats, and potentially any combination in between.

The lynchpin for the division continues to be international program sales. In 2004, global sales of CHUM’s television programming accounted for ’60 to 70 percent of our international sales revenues,’ says Kevin Byles, VP and GM of CTI. Around the world, series such as FT-FashionTelevision, MT-MovieTelevision and Sextv have become staples for broadcasters as diverse as Italy’s Fox Life, South Africa’s M-NET and Granada UK’s Men & Motors.

Meanwhile, City-franchised stations are airing in Bogota and Barcelona, and MuchMusic Argentina is rocking the Latin American market.

The idea of selling CHUM’s programs began in the 1980s with Citytv program manager Jay Switzer, now president and CEO of CHUM Limited.

‘It was Jay who always said that our programs had legs internationally,’ says Byles. ‘About 12 years ago, we decided to test his theory by distributing FT-FashionTelevision, which is now seen in over 80 countries worldwide. Soon after, we began syndicating The NewMusic and MovieTelevision, and things just seemed to go naturally from there.’

Today, CTI has 15 employees based in Toronto, plus reps in Los Angeles, New York and Washington, DC. As well, this CHUM division is always in attendance at major global sales events such as MIPCOM, angling for the latest international deals.

CTI syndicates more than 70 CHUM-produced shows worldwide, including Star! Inside, The Story Of… and Action!. Its market isn’t limited to English viewers, either. Not only are CHUM programs translated into a variety of languages, including French, Spanish and Japanese, but the company has also tapped into its French-language MusiquePlus and MusiMax specialty channels to create a 150-hour library of French-language programming. ‘This year we made a strategic decision to aggressively expand our non-English programming,’ Byles explains. Among the series included are Style and the City (13 x 30), Musicographie and d.

The company also recently began selling third-party independently produced programs, which complement its existing originally produced inventory in building its overall library.

So what is the secret of CTI’s success? First and foremost are the programs themselves: CHUM’s edgy approach to style, sex and celebrity has resulted in daring shows with international appeal. A second factor is CTI’s willingness to revise programs to suit its clients’ needs.

‘We re-version shows to fit our clients’ formats,’ says Byles. ‘For instance, CTI has repackaged Star! At the Movies into Bio at the Movies to fit the identity of A&E’s Biography Channel.’

Unlike most program producers, CTI doesn’t just sell specials and series – it also sells program and station formats. For instance, The Electric Circus and BreakfastTelevision programs seen on Citytv Bogota and Barcelona are ‘all locally produced in those cities, but are using our approach and style,’ Byles notes.

On a larger scale, the two international City franchises and MuchMusic Argentina illustrate CTI’s willingness to teach others how to do what CHUM does in their own markets. To make this happen, CHUM brings franchisees to its stations in Toronto, Barrie, ON, and Vancouver for a hands-on education in CHUM’s unique production style. CTI then sends CHUM people to the franchisees’ own stations to ensure that what was learned in Canada is properly executed.

All told, CTI has destroyed the myth that ‘the world doesn’t want Canadian-produced programs.’ CTI’s website includes news release after news release announcing the division’s latest sales, such as 16 episodes of Action! to Spain’s Canal+ pay-TV channel, and Star! Inside Enterprise to Japan’s So-Net channel.

‘Recently, we launched a Star! channel in Scandinavia that is a hybrid of three CHUM specialties: Star!, MuchMusic and FashionTelevision,’ notes Byles. ‘We’re also consulting with a station in Manchester, England called Channel M, helping them format their newscast and selling them a ton of our shows.’

The road hasn’t been entirely smooth for CTI, however. The most significant bump was the loss of MuchMusic USA, which CTI launched in 1994 in partnership with Rainbow Media Holdings. The alliance ended in 2003, with Rainbow going it alone and rebranding MuchMusic USA as Fuse.

Amicable parting

‘Some partnerships just don’t work out, although we parted company amicably,’ explains David Kines, VP and GM of MuchMusic. In fact, Rainbow is still a purchaser of CTI programming, such as the FT-FashionTelevision special Who’s Dressing Hollywood, which Rainbow broadcasts on its WE: Women’s Entertainment channel. Meanwhile, CTI is looking to relaunch MuchMusic USA with new partners.

One new area CTI executives are eyeing with interest is the feature film market. CHUM already has two feature films under its belt: the sci-fi film Decoys (a collaboration with The Movie Network) and the teen sex/fun flick Going the Distance. Byles wants CTI to ‘go Hollywood.’

‘In-house-produced feature films are something I definitely want to add to my catalog,’ he says.

If past behavior is anything to go by, CHUM will keep beavering away at feature films – Decoys didn’t do well at the box office, while Going the Distance fared somewhat better – until it has a stable of internationally saleable product. When this happens, don’t be surprised if CTI defies Canadian tradition and makes a success of selling domestically produced films around the world, just as it has by selling Canadian-produced programs and station formats internationally.

‘We’re particularly proud of the fact that we sell a lot of Canadian content around the world,’ says Byles. ‘We also make money doing so.’ *

-www.chumlimited.comWhen CHUM acquired Citytv in 1978, the company’s only goal was to get into local television programming. How things have changed. In 2004, a fair chunk of CHUM’s $560 million in revenue came through international format licences and program sales to more than 120 countries worldwide, through its CHUM Television International division.

Today, CTI has earned a reputation as an international distributor ready to break with convention, whether through the repackaging of its proprietary programs or the licensing of its station formats, and potentially any combination in between.

The lynchpin for the division continues to be international program sales. In 2004, global sales of CHUM’s television programming accounted for ’60 to 70 percent of our international sales revenues,’ says Kevin Byles, VP and GM of CTI. Around the world, series such as FT-FashionTelevision, MT-MovieTelevision and Sextv have become staples for broadcasters as diverse as Italy’s Fox Life, South Africa’s M-NET and Granada UK’s Men & Motors.

Meanwhile, City-franchised stations are airing in Bogota and Barcelona, and MuchMusic Argentina is rocking the Latin American market.

The idea of selling CHUM’s programs began in the 1980s with Citytv program manager Jay Switzer, now president and CEO of CHUM Limited.

‘It was Jay who always said that our programs had legs internationally,’ says Byles. ‘About 12 years ago, we decided to test his theory by distributing FT-FashionTelevision, which is now seen in over 80 countries worldwide. Soon after, we began syndicating The NewMusic and MovieTelevision, and things just seemed to go naturally from there.’

Today, CTI has 15 employees based in Toronto, plus reps in Los Angeles, New York and Washington, DC. As well, this CHUM division is always in attendance at major global sales events such as MIPCOM, angling for the latest international deals.

CTI syndicates more than 70 CHUM-produced shows worldwide, including Star! Inside, The Story Of… and Action!. Its market isn’t limited to English viewers, either. Not only are CHUM programs translated into a variety of languages, including French, Spanish and Japanese, but the company has also tapped into its French-language MusiquePlus and MusiMax specialty channels to create a 150-hour library of French-language programming. ‘This year we made a strategic decision to aggressively expand our non-English programming,’ Byles explains. Among the series included are Style and the City (13 x 30), Musicographie and d.

The company also recently began selling third-party independently produced programs, which complement its existing originally produced inventory in building its overall library.

So what is the secret of CTI’s success? First and foremost are the programs themselves: CHUM’s edgy approach to style, sex and celebrity has resulted in daring shows with international appeal. A second factor is CTI’s willingness to revise programs to suit its clients’ needs.

‘We re-version shows to fit our clients’ formats,’ says Byles. ‘For instance, CTI has repackaged Star! At the Movies into Bio at the Movies to fit the identity of A&E’s Biography Channel.’

Unlike most program producers, CTI doesn’t just sell specials and series – it also sells program and station formats. For instance, The Electric Circus and BreakfastTelevision programs seen on Citytv Bogota and Barcelona are ‘all locally produced in those cities, but are using our approach and style,’ Byles notes.

On a larger scale, the two international City franchises and MuchMusic Argentina illustrate CTI’s willingness to teach others how to do what CHUM does in their own markets. To make this happen, CHUM brings franchisees to its stations in Toronto, Barrie, ON, and Vancouver for a hands-on education in CHUM’s unique production style. CTI then sends CHUM people to the franchisees’ own stations to ensure that what was learned in Canada is properly executed.

All told, CTI has destroyed the myth that ‘the world doesn’t want Canadian-produced programs.’ CTI’s website includes news release after news release announcing the division’s latest sales, such as 16 episodes of Action! to Spain’s Canal+ pay-TV channel, and Star! Inside Enterprise to Japan’s So-Net channel.

‘Recently, we launched a Star! channel in Scandinavia that is a hybrid of three CHUM specialties: Star!, MuchMusic and FashionTelevision,’ notes Byles. ‘We’re also consulting with a station in Manchester, England called Channel M, helping them format their newscast and selling them a ton of our shows.’

The road hasn’t been entirely smooth for CTI, however. The most significant bump was the loss of MuchMusic USA, which CTI launched in 1994 in partnership with Rainbow Media Holdings. The alliance ended in 2003, with Rainbow going it alone and rebranding MuchMusic USA as Fuse.

Amicable parting

‘Some partnerships just don’t work out, although we parted company amicably,’ explains David Kines, VP and GM of MuchMusic. In fact, Rainbow is still a purchaser of CTI programming, such as the FT-FashionTelevision special Who’s Dressing Hollywood, which Rainbow broadcasts on its WE: Women’s Entertainment channel. Meanwhile, CTI is looking to relaunch MuchMusic USA with new partners.

One new area CTI executives are eyeing with interest is the feature film market. CHUM already has two feature films under its belt: the sci-fi film Decoys (a collaboration with The Movie Network) and the teen sex/fun flick Going the Distance. Byles wants CTI to ‘go Hollywood.’

‘In-house-produced feature films are something I definitely want to add to my catalog,’ he says.

If past behavior is anything to go by, CHUM will keep beavering away at feature films – Decoys didn’t do well at the box office, while Going the Distance fared somewhat better – until it has a stable of internationally saleable product. When this happens, don’t be surprised if CTI defies Canadian tradition and makes a success of selling domestically produced films around the world, just as it has by selling Canadian-produced programs and station formats internationally.

‘We’re particularly proud of the fact that we sell a lot of Canadian content around the world,’ says Byles. ‘We also make money doing so.’

-www.chumlimited.com