The pending modernization of the Broadcasting Act through Bill C-11 and rapid changes in the global content market have signaled rough waters ahead for Canadian media in 2023, but Corus Entertainment has worked to adapt to the changing tides.

The broadcaster made a range of strategic moves within the media landscape in 2022, including acquiring a majority stake in Toronto-based prodco Aircraft Pictures; launching content venture Waterside Studios with Jeff Norton at the helm; and partnering with Paramount to launch Pluto TV in Canada.

“If anybody can tell you exactly where the content market will be in two years, then I will say they should go buy a lottery ticket because it’s hard to know exactly where it’s going,” Colin Bohm (pictured above, left), EVP, content and corporate strategy, tells Playback Daily. “What we’re trying to build here is a portfolio of companies that are focused in genres that we think we can do very well in. That’s unscripted, that’s lifestyle programming, youth and family programming, and kids animation coming out of Nelvana.”

It’s an ecosystem that runs from development all the way to distribution, starting with Waterside Studios. Bohm says Corus optioned approximately 20 properties from Norton, who now operates as head of Toronto-based Waterside Studios, with an initial focus on youth and family content. Norton is currently in development on an adaptation of Cheyanne Young’s The Last Wish of Sasha Cade with fellow Corus subsidiary Nelvana.

Bohm says Corus has identified “nice synergies” between its various companies. For example, if a piece of IP developed through Waterside is attracting market interest, they can bring it to Aircraft Pictures to produce it. He emphasizes that not every piece of IP is necessarily going to be produced by Aircraft, but they’ll take advantage of those opportunities “where it makes sense.”

The ability to greenlight productions in-house then creates further monetization opportunities with Corus Studios, which has sold hundreds of hours of content to key partners in the U.S. such as Hulu and the CW, as well as internationally.

“We have to build a little bit of a flexible portfolio of assets that can respond to both where the international market demands are going for content and how those shows get financed, while at the same time keeping one eye on exactly what our regulatory obligations will be,” he says.

The focus on lifestyle and kids programming means scripted adult drama won’t be a focus over the next 18 months, but he expects there will be a “slight uptick” in the volume of kids and family content due to the level of IP brought in through Norton and Waterside.

Current drama series on the programming slate for Global include seasons three of Departure (Shaftesbury) and Family Law (Lark Productions, SEVEN24 Films), and brand new series Robyn Hood (Boat Rocker), which is helmed by Director X and went into production in June 2022. Bohm says the latter series is an “innovative” and “modern” take on the Robin Hood mythology.

Full stream ahead

What will allow Corus to continue to build up its content slate is a foundation for its ongoing revenue strategy.

Greg McLelland (pictured above, right), EVP and chief revenue officer, says there are currently four key pillars within the strategy: traditional cable, ad-supported and subscription-based platforms with the Global app and StackTV, and, most recently, its expansion into the FAST (free, ad-supported TV) space with the launch of Pluto TV on Dec. 1.

The partnership with Pluto TV was an opportunity for Corus to expand its work in the FAST space at an accelerated pace, according to McLelland, adding that there was a seven-month timeline between negotiating the deal with parentco Paramount and the Canadian launch.

Part of the deal was the creation of more than two-dozen FAST channels dedicated to Canadian content, which McLelland says Corus helps to curate.

McLelland says the partnership has been quite symbiotic, with Pluto TV tapping into Corus’ deep experience in media ad buying in Canada, while Corus could use the already-developed FAST platform, rather than try to build their own.

He adds that Corus is continuing to look for opportunities to partner with international companies that have branched into Canada, noting that as U.S. platforms undergo a “maturing” of their media strategy and explore advertising tiers, local partners will be an asset. He says Corus also plans to expand the reach of StackTV, which was added to Rogers’ Ignite TV and Fubo in 2022 after its initial launch on Prime Video Canada in 2019.

Now that the four pillars are in place, McLelland says the next move is to create a system for advertisers to take advantage of each platform available.

“If you’re an advertiser with Corus, we want you to be able to go on the linear TV, onto our app… and onto Pluto in a completely transparent way that goes across that entire ecosystem from a dynamic ad insertion,” he says. “That’s a big sentence that isn’t quite there yet from reality, but the team is working very hard so that when we’re talking to advertisers, they can literally follow that entire ecosystem with their messaging across all of those platforms.”