Andy Fry
This is…the kids business in Canada – Part 2
From our print issue: Playback takes a look at how industry consolidation and new streaming services are influencing one of Canada’s most successful entertainment sectors.
This is…the kids business in Canada – Part 1
From our print issue: Playback takes a look at how industry consolidation and new streaming services are influencing one of Canada’s most successful entertainment sectors.
Canadians in Cannes
Canadians have always been MIPTV stalwarts. Wherever you see three or four executives huddled together in conversation, it’s a fair bet that one of them is a Canadian animation or documentary producer looking for co-financing partners. (Or explaining why the Winter Olympic Games is important.)
The Olympics, BBC cuts & Murdoch’s anti-Christ
Dear Canada: Let me congratulate you on the great job you did hosting the 2010 Winter Olympics. While I’m at it, I’d like to apologize for the behavior of the British press… Most of them couldn’t even host a dinner party let alone the most complex multi-sports event on the planet.
Test patterns
Media consumption is changing, but is that good or bad for TV?
The perils of product placement
I don’t dislike brands. But there are a few forms of marketing that irritate me. Top of the list is cold calling from companies when I’m eating my dinner – closely followed by those annoying pop-up ads that scroll down across the screen just as I’m about to click my cursor on something else. Other irritants are brands in the classroom, confusing product variants and checkout assistants who offer me a half-price chocolate orange when I’m buying a newspaper.
So what were consumers willing to pay for in 2009?
It’s that John Lennon time of year again – when we cast our minds back over the last 12 months and reflect on our achievements. Personally, I find it hard to think back further than last weekend. But after an online refresher, the most obvious thing that strikes me about 2009 is the way the economics of content creation and distribution has been transformed by digital media.
Emily Bronte. And Vampires. Don’t Forget the Vampires.
Recently, I watched ITV’s new adaptation of Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights, and was puzzled to see an opening sequence in which some unseen person or creature thrashes menacingly through the undergrowth.
Reading the signs
Over 12,000 executives made the pilgrimage to MIPCOM in Cannes this year, which is a good number considering society is on the verge of collapse. It’s too early to know how much business they did – but there’s no question the market threw up some interesting stories.
Getting past history
I’ve always believed that a grasp of history is a useful thing. But the truth is, it can be a burden in the world of business.
The sky is falling
Every year I write at least half a dozen features in which someone, somewhere will opine that broadcasters have become more risk averse. In fact, people have been saying it for so long that I’m amazed channel chiefs even bother leaving their homes – for fear that the sky might fall on their head.
Making sense of new technology
One of the problems with working in the audiovisual industry is that we all inhabit a technological bubble. Gadgets that we see at conferences and expos are always on the verge of ‘changing consumers behavior forever.’ Reports about Japanese or Korean innovations are always filled with overblown forecasts about revenues and growth.
Hudson & Rex - Eleanore Lindo
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