Bravo! president Paul Gratton isn’t ready to discuss specifics about CHUM Ltd.’s new entertainment and perfoming arts channel, but says maybe that’s due to his ‘style.’

‘While everyone is looking for a template for programming, I say, `Why don’t you call me and chat about your ideas?’ ‘

Although nothing has been licensed yet, Gratton is clear that, because the service will not be selling advertising during shows, 13-part episodes are not the order of the day. ‘We are more predisposed to specials at this time,’ he says, adding that ‘Bravo! is closer in spirit to pay-tv.’

‘The key thing,’ says Gratton, ‘is our philosophy: we intend to popularize the performing arts – without vulgarizing them, obviously.’ A street-smart approach, focusing ‘on the dancer rather than the dance’ is what the service is looking for.

As to where Gratton will find suitable performing arts material, he pegs Bravo! in the u.s. as ‘providing a significant amount of material to us’ as well as a sum of close to $24 million, slated for Canadian production (including $10 million for ongoing series and $5.6 million for ArtsFacts, the channel’s video performance piece show) over the near seven-year licence period. There is also ‘an unbelievable wealth of stuff on the shelf’ to look through, says Gratton.

‘(Bravo!’s) entire budgets are being revised in light of the decision now that we are part of a package of six,’ says Gratton, ‘and we have to speak to the cable companies and get our number-crunchers going.’ A new budget will be set by early July, but some numbers such as the $625,000 to small cable companies to defray costs of digital compression equipment will likely stay as they are.

On the licence fee front, the range goes from $1,000 to $100,000 an hour. With windows and broadcasters’ negotiations up in the air, Gratton says that ‘to set a shopping list of prices now is a bit of a misnomer,’ adding that Bravo! will operate more as a traditional broadcaster than a commissioner of electronic stage product, ‘It’s about leverage, not pure license fee.’

Bravo! is up to a whopping staff of two to date, but Gratton expects there will be about 40 jobs in total when the channel is up-and-running.

Bravo!

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Toronto, Ont. M5V 2Z5

Phone: (416) 591-5757

Fax: (416) 340-7005

Contact: Paul Gratton