MONTREAL — Canada’s broadcasters are struggling to figure out how to deliver multi-platform content and make money doing it, according to a panel on games for media broadcasters at the Montreal International Game Summit.

While broadcasters such as Corus Entertainment and Astral Media are adapting to the their audiences’ new demands by making interactive games to accompany live-action programs, they still get most of their revenue from TV ads.

‘The online traffic is great and we can make some money, but it’s digital pennies as opposed to dollars,’ Astral’s director of interactive Barbara Bailie told those gathered for the panel, which included Halifax Film’s director of digital media Graham MacDougall, Corus’ director of kids interactive Caitlin O’Donovan and Bruce Mau Design’s creative director Milena Vujanovic.

‘Broadcasters need to be in this area, but we need a business model. We’re not competing with other broadcasters, but with sites such as YouTube,’ Bailie later told Playback Daily.

Bailie says the process to make interactive content remains one of trial and error. Corus’ Family Channel successfully worked with Shaftesbury Films, the creators of Life with Derek, on a mini-site to accompany the live-action comedy about a blended family. Family’s in-house interactive team developed the Gemini-winning site and its games and Shaftesbury and Miracle Pictures produced the site’s video podcasts.

‘We are experimenting, trying to figure things out, but we have to be realistic. These projects are not making gobs of money,’ says Bailie.

Vujanovic, who is helping MTV revamp its brand around the world, believes part of the problem with broadcasters making the transition to other platforms is what she describes as the ‘silo’ mentality that exists in big corporations. ‘The biggest challenge with the online/gaming model is you have the interactive section working on their thing and the television people doing what they do. There needs to be much more collaboration,’ says the Toronto-based Vujanovic. ‘It’s important to bring together the groups within the beast to create truly cross-platform projects.’

While Corus’ O’Donovan agrees with Vujanovic’s analysis, she says Corus is quickly adapting: ‘Before, interactive media was part of the marketing budget, but now we are part of every decision. We have the TV producers sitting down with us. We are now part of the production team.’

Corporate branding is also an issue for broadcasters making the move to gaming and other online products, says Vujanovic. ‘MTV makes the game Guitar Hero, but it wasn’t associated with MTV. That does harm to the brand.’

The secret to pitching interactive content to broadcasters successfully, says Halifax Film’s MacDougall, is to be flexible. ‘Walking into someone’s office and saying, ‘I’ve got this great idea, you should do it,’ doesn’t work. You have to say, ‘I’ve got this idea, how can we make it happen?” MacDougall says none of his projects would have gotten off the ground without help from the Bell Broadcast and New Media Fund and other similar sources of financing.

A successful example of a cross-platform project MacDougall worked on is CBC’s Canada Superspeller. The spelling games were tested and contestants were recruited on the program’s website before it aired. ‘We essentially worked out the game system for the television program online,’ says MacDougall. ‘I’m very proud of that project.’