AV Seminar 1-2 June 2008Barbados

The CBC and the independent AV sector– potential for more collaboration

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– potential for more collaboration-government initiatives

Lars SoderstromGeneral Manager, CBC, Barbados

lsoderstrom@cbc.bb467.5412

Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation

• State Broadcasting Corporation (TV is 45 years old): – Terrestrial TV: TV6

– 3 radio stations (94.7/98.1/100.7)

– Cable TV network (70 channels)

– Turnover: USD 30 m

• Media Buying:

– TV6: USD 1.1 m (10% local)

– Cable: USD 5 m (

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Regular Weekday Television Habits

CBC Channel 8

DirectTV

MCTV

153,000 TV8 Evening News

50-65,000Prime TimeSpace available for AV independents

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6-7 7-8 8-9 9-10 10-11 11-12 12-13 13-14 14-15 15-16 16-17 17-18 18-19 19-20 20-21 21-22 22-23 23-24

Good Morning BarbadosUp to 30,000

Prime TimeSpace available for AV independents

CBC annual programming spend

Category Spend in 2007 (USS$)

Spend in 2010

Local, independent producers 90 K (9%) >500K

Regional programs 60 K(6%) 250K

International programmes 950 K (85%)

TV 8 – programming output

Category No of hours/year %

Facts/documental 1586 23

Drama (movies etc) 1196 17

Soaps 858 12

Tele-shopping 702 10

Entertainment 624 9

Children 598 9Children 598 9

News 442 6

Sports 312 4.5

Religion 208 3

Youth 208 3

Current Affairs 52 1

Education 52 1

Culture 26 0.4

Government Information 26 0.4

6890 (own: prod:n ?) 100% 7

Programming volume and cost in 2008 (ex News)

# Hours broadcast

$5600/prgm

8Diameter: cost/programme

$9450/prgm - sponsorship

Top 10 foreign programmes – TV8

• CSI Miami 19.5%

• Royal Palm Estate 15.5%

• Monk 9.4%

• Oprah 8.7%

• Law & Order 6.4%

• Heroes 5.0%• Heroes 5.0%

• Grey’s Anatomy 4.8%

• Small ville 4.5%

• CSI New York 3.5%

• Boston Legal 3.5%

• Ugly Betty 2.8%

• Dr. Phil 2.8%

9Source: Cadres 2008 Media Report for CBC

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Local & regional content on CBC TV

Hours/year on TV8

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Local/ragional TV output per year (hours)

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Content Business Development ideas

Terrestrial TV opportunity: more local content

•Conversion to digital terrestrial TV (in 2011/12 tbc) opens the spectrum for more channels and local/regional content:

•Opportunity for a new stations with Barbadian/Caribbean content.

13OSI report: Revenue by Program

•Opportunity for a new stations with Barbadian/Caribbean content.

•Space for “Community style” broadcasting (100% local)

Content Business Development ideas

Cable opportunity: “more local content on cable”by adding extra cable capacity

•Could have independent production channels acting as “stages”: From school/entry level to professional content

•CBC to manage content but not produce

14OSI report: Revenue by Program

•CBC to manage content but not produce

•CBC could advise and assist with sponsorship and advertising ideas

Channels & programmes on which independent AV material can be used

• TV8 News

• TV 8 local/regionals

• GIS/PBS/UWI MCTV (MCTV now - digTV later)

• TV9 “community TV channel”• TV9 “community TV channel”

• +possible new content distribution on cable networks

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Business volume with the CBC

In 2007:• 650 hrs of News• 800 hrs of local other production• 600 hrs purchased• Broadcast in total: 6,000 hrs/yr

In 2009/10:• Not too late to approach CBC

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• Not too late to approach CBC• CBC planning to increase local and regional content

•Five-fold volume output of local/regional programmes

•See CBC Strategic Business Plan 2009-2011 (p19)

Additional TV Programming in 2010

17Diameter: cost/extra hour

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AV Business Options for working with CBC

•Range of production options:•From CBC outsourcing production (commissioning) to•Co-production: AV-company and CBC•CBC broadcast completed content from AV companies•Export through CBC (outside Barbados)

•Commercial options:•CBC pays for commissioning or

19OSI report: Revenue by Program

•CBC pays for commissioning or•Mixture of payment and revenue share•Pure revenue sharing (depend on type and situation):

•CBC’s need•Who generates sales & sponsorship•How much funding is needed•How much airtime is available

•AV-supplier buys airtime and arranges own funding

How to approach the CBC with programming ideas

•Programming Organisation:•Director of Broadcast Service: Rosemary Alleyne•Director of Production: Pearson Bowen•Head of TV: Cecily Clark-Richmond

•Process:•Contact Pearson Bowen who will evaluate & if of interest arrange meetings/screening etc with CBC.

20OSI report: Revenue by Program

meetings/screening etc with CBC.•Email: pbowen@cbc.bb & Tel: 467.5595

•Submit proposal: include:•Genre•Synopsis•Length/no of programmes•Development status: idea, planning or produced•Economic proposals (sponsorships etc)

•Screenings: regular basis

How to approach the CBC with programming ideas?

A range of collaboration options:

•Entry level on cable: Independent TV and Youth TV

•Community TV (a la Gayelle) could be produced in Barbados

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Barbados

•Caricom – through CBC’s TV partners

•Export outside Caricom – through CBC’s TV contacts

Industry Structure

• Buyers:� TV & radio

� Advertising agencies (for TV adds)

� Music industry (videos)

� Government: documentaries & education

� Corporate videos� Corporate videos

� Local, regional, international

• Barriers: � Volume: buying too small for industry to develop (US 0.1m) and

attract investment

� No or little regional connectivity, visibility, co-production

� Too costly to collaborate by travelling => need for ICT solutions

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Industry Structure

• AV Suppliers:

�Fragmented, lack of resources:�Equipment

�Studios

�Human resources

�Quality/consistency of programmes offered�Quality/consistency of programmes offered

�Lack of regional reach: �Not operating across the region and therefore not developing

sufficient scale to offer high quality productions.

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Industry Structure

• Public Broadcasters: barriers

�Low or no profitability

�Lack of regional reach:

�Not operating across the region and therefore not developing sufficient scale to buy high quality productions.sufficient scale to buy high quality productions.

�Government owned:�Not the corporate charter to operate outside own country

�Not the corporate charter to invest in outside (AV) entities

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Barbados Tax & other Incentives

• No current tax incentives or financial solutions:– To TV & other AV Buyers

– To AV companies

• Effectiveness of tax incentives:• Effectiveness of tax incentives:– Low: due to low profitability of TV industry & AV companies

– Low: Caribbean tax rates much lower than EU.

– More important: actual funding (grants, purchases)

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Industry Structure

• Key success factors:

– Relationships and volume of AV supply to local/regional TV companies

– Regional supply, using TV collaboration as opportunity

– Co-production, co-use of studios & equipment (cost & capability)

– TV facilities designed with outsourcing/co-use in mind

– Skills, tools, training

– Ability to quickly find, download, reuse, collaborate

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Summary of possible action

• Broadcasters: - “collaborate and buy more local/regional”– Buy more local & regional production

– Make studios/equipment available for independent producers

– Publicize AV needs & have “user friendly interaction processes”

• Government: - “facilitate/enable, educate, connect”– Education/training & skills development:

• Consider “Media High School” offerings• Consider “Media High School” offerings

• Fund youth & independent TV channels: “stage/showcase” on cable & TV

• Educational TV channel (UWI/PBSE TV)

– Caribbean connectivity:• Fund/obtain (EU/UNESCO) funding for project to connect Jamaica, Barbados, Trinidad

as main AV-Hubs via web, broadband and media asset libraries

– Central National digital AV library:• Open web access for AV and educational sectors for program making & training

– Caribbean content finding web/database – finance design

– Retool TV and Digital Transmission27

Bottom line:

• There is a need to define a Business Plan for the Caribbean AV Sector:

– Defining goals for profitability, sustainability, market focus (Caribbean versus exports)

– Defining if the sector should be funded by Caricom/local governments

– Define if a Caricom funded AV company or structure is needed• How

– Defining if Public Broadcasting should be restructured

• Just believing the Quotas is the solution would just be a kneejerk reaction that would not address the underlying structural problems.

– Relative Cost of Collaboration is 10-100x the one in EU (travel vs GDP/capita & market opportunity)

• Define the technology solutions for collaboration, production,operations and who should finance and operate

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Top local programmes – TV8

Most Watched Local Programme

• Caribbean Cuisine 23.4%

• Sports Locker 15.5%

• Line & Length 14.8%

• Mornin Barbados 14.4%

• Chat Room 6.5%

• The People's Business 6.5%• The People's Business 6.5%

• Sunday Sports 5.0%

• Green Fingers 3.7%

• Eye on the Arts 2.6%

• Book Talk 1.7%

• Sprucing Up 1.5%

• Open for Business 1.5%

• Business Inc. 0.8%

29Source: Cadres 2008 Media Report for CBC

Thank YouThank YouLars Soderstrom

lsoderstrom@cbc.bb

1-246-243.7983

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