Canadian producers are embracing cross-platform content, but are failing with cross-platform pitches.

And through no fault of their own, according to Allan Novak, executive producer of AllScreen Entertainment, the brainchild behind the Deal Makers Live! pitch competition and market simulation at the upcoming Banff World Media Festival.

“The walls are all breaking down. Your show may not be on TV, it may be on Netflix or iPad,” Novak told Playback Daily about Canadian content in the 21st century.

But in the current TV-first Canadian industry, where the infrastructure remains geared towards producers nailing down a broadcaster before considering other platforms, producers need new skills to pitch transmedia projects.

So in Banff, Novak will get content creators and carriers out of their comfort zones and onto a stage to hatch imaginary cross-platform projects in front of judges and a live audience.

“It’s simulated money. It’s simulated interest. No one is bound by commitments. They’re free to say, ‘That’s a viable business model, that will work at our network,’” he adds.

Novak knows the game show format of Deal Makers Live! works best for those with pitching prowess, as opposed to those who have a camera-ready project.

But the exercise is less about funding today’s TV shows as finding tomorrow’s transmedia content, as creators struggle down an uncertain path into the 21st century.

“They’re (creators) coming in with an idea. And there’s a bit of Dragons’ Den interaction, where they’re grilled and asked questions,” Novak explains.

But that’s where the industry is headed, where creators secure the trust of funders more with a hunch about a next-generation product, than a water-tight pitch and teaser.

“You can walk in there with your button-down bible, or you can be someone who inspires the confidence of the group. That’s as important,” Novak argues.

The Deal Makers Live! format will see eight contestants selected based on their response to a creative brief available online.

Here potential players choose a genre, a star, a brand partner and a cross-platform approach from a list of possibilities.

The choices then form the basis of a pitch, rather than a real project, to be unveiled by eight contestants in Banff in front of host Jonathan Torrens and six judges.

Novak insists his cross-platform pitch session in Banff is part game-show fantasy, but equally reflects the digital 2.0 realities the Canadian industry faces and must grapple with as it looks to create and distribute next-generation product.

“It’s also about the abilities of creative producers and writers to persuade, negotiate and satisfy the different silos’ needs and demands,” he says.

“Doing the dance in the room is a skill that successful producers will need to refine,” Novak adds.

The deadline for free entries into Deal Makers Live! is May 20.