CBC/Radio-Canada is partnering with a group of international pubcasters and distributors to launch Panora.tv, a new business-facing platform that will enable the automated buying and selling of audiovisual content via a single online marketplace.

Set to go live this fall, the service will launch with 500 hours of content from the participating broadcasters. Through Panora, buyers from across the world will be able to view a catalogue of content with a view to acquiring the non-exclusive licensing broadcast rights to the content for their own territory. Broadcasters, meanwhile, will be able to put content (to which they hold the distribution rights) on the platform for buyers to peruse.

The goal of the platform is to better support the export of Canadian content by allowing buyers from emerging markets (such as Asia, Africa and Latin America, as well as smaller buyers across North America and Europe) to purchase content without the associated costs of drawing up contracts, negotiating prices and delivering the product.

In addition to CBC, Francetv Distribution (FTD), the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), Rádio e Televisão de Portugal (RTP), Radio Télévision Suisse (RTS), the Finnish Broadcasting Company (YLE), Corporación Radio Televisión Española (RTVE) and Canada’s National Film Board (NFB) will also be placing content on Panora when it launches.

“It’s like a B2B iTunes where content buyers on the B2B side can go and select the content they like, pay for it and obtain a version they can broadcast, directly from the client,” Olivier Trudeau, senior director, distribution and partnerships,CBC/Radio-Canada, told Playback Daily. 

According to CBC’s estimate, there are approximately 15,000 content buyers in the world, of which only about 2,000 or 3,000 attend the world’s major trade events such as MIPTV and NATPE. Panora is designed to remove some of these barriers, said Trudeau, and will bring a far greater number of international buyers into the mix. Content will be bought and sold on a standardized contract, the details of which Trudeau did not disclose.

At launch, the platform will focus on documentary content,  though no titles have yet been announced. Going forward, Trudeau said Panora will expand to include kids and scripted content but did not give a timeframe on when that is likely to happen.

Initially, only participating public broadcasters will be able to place content on the service, though in the future Trudeau said the plan is to open Panora up to private broadcasters as well. 

Trudeau added that this platform will likely not interest major international TV buyers (such as Netflix and Amazon) as these platforms would not agree to the standardized contracts set in place by Panora. As well, the fact the content is for sale on a non-exclusive basis would deter the world’s largest content buyers.

Pictured L to R: Back row: Tony Iffland, general manager, content sales ABC, Jukka Kaivola, head of sales, YLE, Rafael Bardem, head of international sales RTVE, James A. Roberts, director, distribution & market development, NFB. Front row: Daniel Deusdado, programme director RTP, Maryline Thiriot, Responsable Distribution B2B RTS, Vera Taquenho, international content sales RTP, Olivier Trudeau, senior director, distribution and partnerships CBC/Radio-Canada, Aurélie Caille, directrice générale Francetv Distribution, Anne Hébert, manager market development distribution and partenariats CBC/Radio-Canada, Stéphane Cardin VP industry and public affairs, FMC, and Jose Navarro, international content programmer, RTP.