This weekend, a shared workspace in Toronto will become an innovation hub for Rogers Media as the medico and Interactive Ontario host a hackathon to reinvent community TV.

The hackathon, which at press time had 26 participants registered, will run at the Bento Misco collaborative workspace from Jan. 16 at 7 p.m. until Jan. 18 at 6 p.m.

The idea for a hackathon emerged when Rogers Media was exploring ideas on how to make its community television channel, Rogers TV, more innovative and reach audiences across multiple platforms, said Colette Watson, VP broadcasting and operations at Rogers.

“This all started with, how do we get the next version of user-generated content on the air?” Watson told Playback Daily. “We were the first YouTube. What is the YouTube version of community television going forward?”

Following a brainstorming session with Interactive Ontario executive director Christa Dickenson, the groups decided to partner to create a hackathon focused on innovations in community television.

“None of us could figure it out, so we figured, why don’t we have a hackathon and let someone figure it out?” Watson said.

The principles guiding the hackathon are purposefully broad, Watson said, as to not limit the ideas generated by the event. Generally, Watson said she is looking for ideas on how community TV can expand its digital presence and use new platforms, such as mobile. Watson said she would also like to see ideas on how content creators want to communicate with community television in a digital age.

At the end of the hackathon, the winning idea will be awarded $1,000 in prize money. If the right idea emerges from the hackathon, Colette said Rogers will look at developing it further.

“We really need to remain relevant in the new broadcast environment, and this is the first step in doing that,” Watson said.

Last week it was announced that Fremantle Corp. has picked up the format rights to Touring T.O., a scripted series that was the first commissioned by Bell Fibe’s local programming service Bell Local. Bell Local is an on-demand powered channel that is accessible on Fibe TV through its VOD menu, or via channel 1217 on the service.

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