Shifting through this year’s Banff World Television Festival schedule is a bit like going to a candy shop – the menu’s so sweet that it’s hard to decide exactly what to sample. Below are six sessions that are sure to make your festival a real educational treat.

Breakfast with CRTC chair Konrad von Finckenstein
Monday, June 9
7:45-8:45 a.m.

It will be worth getting up early to catch CRTC chair Konrad von Finckenstein discussing the new challenges the commission will address this coming year, as well as looking back at his first full year in office.

In particular, the head of the broadcast regulator will shed light on issues connected to the Canadian digital broadcast environment. One emerging issue is the commission’s decision to re-examine its 1999 decision to exempt new media from regulation. Last month, the CRTC announced new media consultations.

If past speeches are any indication, von Finckenstein should be forthright. At the Canadian Association of Broadcasters annual convention last year, he openly expressed his displeasure at the private broadcasters on a number of fronts. For example, he criticized the CAB for dithering on the matter of the CRTC’s request for an increase to its operating budget.

The speech he gave at the CFTPA’s annual Prime Time meeting in February was decidedly more conciliatory, but still let the industry know where the regulator stood on some issues.

This time, it is expected that as the lead-in presenter to this year’s festival, von Finckenstein’s speech will help set the tone for discussions over the following two days.

Panel: Digital Heavy Hitters
Monday, June 9
10:30-11:30 a.m.

There’s no denying the popularity of social networking sites, such as Facebook, which saw a 700% increase in use in 2007 and now has 60 million active users worldwide. This panel will examine how big media is handling the rapid developments of emerging platforms of distribution, social networking and audience fragmentation, and how traditional broadcasters can coexist with the large amount of free content that exists online.

Panelists Joseph Ferreira, GM and SVP of CBS Audience Network; Schematic chief strategy officer Kurt Kratchman; Revision3 CEO Jim Louderback; Jon Vlassopulos, SVP of digital media and branded entertainment at Endemol USA; and Virgin Media CEO Malcolm Wall will also examine the role advertising will play in the emerging digital world.

Advertisers are turning more and more to the Internet, with a 15% increase in Internet advertising expected by the end of 2008. Although Internet advertising doesn’t account for the largest percentage of the overall advertising pie, it is growing at a far faster rate than TV and radio commercials.

Internet advertisers are also looking to merge e-commerce with social networking sites in what is being dubbed social commerce, or s-commerce. This involves encouraging customer reviews of products and services on product blogs along with peer-to-peer transactions on social networking sites.

These panelists will share their insights and strategies on how they are leading their organizations to success in the digital media space.

Panel: A Critical Evaluation of Why Democracy?
Monday, June 9
1-2 p.m.

This case study looks at Why Democracy?, a multi-nation documentary project that includes 10 one-hour films on contemporary democracy aired by 48 different broadcasters in 180 countries in October 2007, and streamed on MySpace.com. Other project elements have included online discussions and 18 short films on the subject.

The project organizers will debate whether this three-year endeavor, dubbed the largest factual broadcast event ever attempted, is a new prototype for ambitious factual projects or a recipe for cash-flow hell.

Nick Fraser, series editor at the BBC, and Mette Hoffmann Meyer, head of documentaries at DR TV, Denmark, will also answer such questions as: ‘Can such a project that is so spread out and so diverse achieve the coherence and consistency required of a television series?’ and ‘Is television still a sympathetic place for programs on important social issues?’

The discussions will be led by independent producer and consultant Bill Nemtin.

Clips from the project’s films, including Academy Award-winning Taxi to the Dark Side and Rockie nominees Iron Ladies of Liberia and Please Vote For Me, will be shown.

Gaming – From Hit TV Show to Successful Video Game
Tuesday, June 10
1-2 p.m.

This crossover panel from nextMEDIA will look at gaming – a key growth area affecting the TV industry. Consider that, with an estimated global value of some $10 billion to $20 billion, the gaming industry rivals Hollywood in revenues, and that games now account for nearly one-third of consumer software sales in North America.

Two Canuck cases studies, on Magi-Nation (Cookie Jar Entertainment) and Atomic Betty (Breakthrough Films and Television), will highlight development, financing, best practices and the creative process of making an interactive property based on a TV show.

Cookie Jar SVP Kenneth Locker and Breakthrough New Media CFO Michael McGuigan will also discuss any changes made to the TV shows to support the game, and whether the projects made any money.

CTF Stakeholder’s Meeting
Tuesday, June 10
4 -5 p.m.

One of the things the folks running the Canadian Television Fund lamented at February 2008 regulatory hearings into the future of the fund was that they hadn’t done enough to publicize its successes. It is something they aim to change.

The public-awareness initiatives continue at the Banff festival, with CTF president Valerie Creighton and chair Douglas Barrett set to outline the fund’s program results and business activities for fiscal 2007/08. In April, the CTF also launched an e-newsletter, called interacTVity, to promote its activities.

Look also for the potential announcement of a successor to the outgoing Barrett.

Panel: Landing the Elusive U.S. Deal
Wednesday, June 11
2:30-3:30 p.m.

CTV’s hit comedy series Corner Gas has not only been wowing Canadians, but in 2006 it also secured a U.S. distribution deal with cable network Superstation WGN. Little Mosque on the Prairie, Degrassi: The Next Generation, Instant Star and Whistler are also among the Canadian TV shows with international distribution deals.

Peter Raymont, White Pine Pictures president, will look at some of the shows that have been picked up by American networks, and trace their path of success. Circus Road Films partner Zac Reeder moderates.

Panelists include Jocelyn Deschênes, Sphére Mèdia Plus president and producer; Christina Jennings, Shaftesbury Films chair; and John Morayniss, Blueprint Entertainment chair and CEO.