At the CBC, there are two kinds of broadband content: material made in association with an existing show or brand, and completely original content. While the future of show-related content seems bright, original content made for the web might be taking a back seat.

‘The focus has been around building broadband associated with existing brands,’ says Fred Fuchs, executive director of arts and entertainment programming for CBC English television.

‘There is more revenue opportunity for that because sponsors are more interested, and because funding outside the CBC exists to help create it. In the original broadband content area, there are no funds now that [the ongoing existence of the Canada New Media Fund] is in question, so finding ways to pay for it is a challenge. But I’m convinced we’ll continue doing it as advertising and sponsorships find ways to make it happen.’

Typically the CBC will work with the show’s producers and outside funding from the likes of the Bell Broadcast and New Media Fund to develop cross-media enhancements to their shows that often include broadband content, such as the ‘I on Mercy’ webisodes made for Little Mosque on the Prairie.

Meanwhile, the CBC has been experimenting with the creation of original broadband content for years. Starting with the user-generated content portal and late-night TV show Zed, and evolving with last year’s Exposure, a televised contest for short films, the CBC has been trying to find ways to give emerging Canadian filmmakers a voice both on-air and online.

The winner of Exposure was Kirby Ferguson, a filmmaker from Prince Edward Island who has been making short films for more than eight years.

His short sketch Yo! Gah!, about a jock-ish guy with whom he used to do yoga, won him a development deal with CBC. The pubcaster licensed one of his monologue videos and financed the creation of Macs vs. PCs, a short film about the computer wars, with gangs of young men and women representing the two factions.

A satirical look at the feud between Apple and Microsoft, Macs vs. PCs pits the rivals in a gruesome parody of West Side Story’s Sharks and Jets, and has attracted many eyeballs online.

Macs vs. PCs breaks many of the rules of online video. At six and half minutes in length, it is twice as long as most professional videos made for broadband.

‘Short generally works best, but I broke with this and went into the long end of the spectrum,’ says Ferguson. ‘What I’m interested in and what also works online is niche-oriented stuff. Not everybody’s going to care about them, but they can work within their little niche.’

The success of the video despite its length seems to attest to the idea that if the content fits within the audience’s sphere of interest, they are willing to spend more time consuming it. Knowing who the target audience is may also help attract advertisers seeking to reach that group.

The typical short viral video, on the other hand, is of random appeal and harder to market to sponsors.

Macs vs. PCs also demonstrates how the CBC has embraced the power of online distribution.

‘What we’re all realizing is that it’s not about putting it on your portal and making it exclusive,’ says Fuchs. ‘It’s about finding other distribution partners as well. We haven’t sorted out distribution revenue models yet, but we’re sure the key will be about forging partnerships.’

Macs vs. PCs is distributed through a number of sites, including Ferguson’s own Goodiebag.tv, where it has had about 350,000 views so far, with another 1,000 to 3,000 new views every day, and YouTube, where it has had nearly 237,000 views on the Goodiebag channel, and another 72,000 on CBC’s YouTube channel.

While they are happy that online viewers are enjoying the content, CBC is quick to point out that there are different kinds of success.

‘We’ve had successes certainly, and some things have gained traction and earned audiences,’ says Dan Hill, the new senior director digital programming for CBC’s network program office. ‘But we have not had success finding a revenue model.

‘News and sports are about two-thirds of our broadband audience,’ says Hill. ‘The rest is a work in progress, and we’re still trying to figure out how to make it work.’

Fuchs says he has no doubt about the growing importance of original broadband content, but adds, ‘How this will happen, or when, I wish I knew.’