NMK event report from July 2001. By Colin Kirkpatrick

This event was produced by NMK in association with BAFTA and PACT, webcast by Westminster Digital, and sponsored by Sapient.

Report

Overcoming recent root canal surgery to chair this joint Bafta, Pact and NMK event, Mathew Horsman (Research Director, Investec Henderson Crosthwaite Securities) began by expressing his hope that Mapping the Multiple Platform Maze might re-spark some excitement in a digital media industry that recently seems to have lost some of its faith in the future.

As Horsman explained, the aim of the evening was to give interactive media producers an insight into their chances of getting interactive, multi-platform project ideas off the ground. With panellists invited on the strength of their ability to influence the commissioning process in some of the UK's major media companies, this was a chance to find out the true extent of those organisations' commitment to multi-platform programming.

In the first instance, speakers from Channel 4, Channel 5, the BBC, Flextech and Freeserve would give a brief outline of their companies' policies on interactive content. Then, Anthony Lilley of interactive media company Magic Lantern, would pitch three cross-platform project ideas to the panellists, and ask them to indicate which of the three they would be most likely to commission.

The Panellists

Scott Gronmark, Head of Interactive TV, BBC
First up was Scott Gronmark, Head of Interactive TV at the BBC. Scott explained that, following the success of projects such as Interactive Wimbledon (900,000 viewers per day), the BBC would be concentrating on providing enhanced television services, rather than the type of stand-alone shopping portals that have mostly failed to capture the public imagination. To this he added the caveats that the BBC will only provide enhancements where appropriate, and that it is unlikely to produce video-based content for all platforms and formats. The BBC's strategy is to develop templates for interactive services in-house, and to commission very little from outside the organisation. Once the BBC's technology environment has had time to bed-down, it is more likely to consider using third-party content for enhanced TV services.

Andy Grumbridge, Managing Editor, Channel 4 Interactive
Channel 4's digital vision is that consumers should be able to consume C4 products howsoever and wherever they want. Everything is outsourced, whether an add-on to an existing programme concept, or a project that is cross-media at its inception. It is common for independent TV production companies to partner with new media firms to deliver this kind of content. Andy expects the projects pitched to him to meet the following criteria:

• Good shelf-life.
• Convergence-style, with each platform complementing the other.
• Revenue opportunities (other than advertising).
• Big traffic drivers, generating good PR.
• Sufficient development time.

Jett Loe, Senior Commissioning Editor - Broadband, Flextech
In an exuberant performance, Jett Loe declared that his company has cash money to spend on interactive content that's 'the bomb', such as horror projects that "scare the shit out of people". Current activities include interactive well-being channel Living Health, a multi-player gaming trial with Playstation 2, and the development of an entirely computer-generated TV channel. Budgets ranged from between �20,000 and �30,000 to �4 million, with each project developing its own model for rights, commisioning and royalties.

Sham Sandhu, Controller of Interactive Programmes, Channel 5
As a low-budget latecomer to the interactive sphere (what Sham preferred to describe as a 'pragmatic' approach) Channel 5 has slightly different priorities to other broadcasters. The Channel's main goal is to grow audience share, and it is less interested in experimentation and innovation than tried and tested technology (narrowband internet rather than broadband, for instance) with wide audience appeal. Sham is prepared to negotiate over the allocation of rights, and is not against funding through corporate sponsorship. He is looking for projects that are:

• Primarily for TV, with interactivity a secondary concern.
• Targeted at 16 to 34-year-olds.
• Suitable for peak-time (aimed at young families from 7 to 9pm; edgier/more youth-oriented material after 9pm).

Peter Cowley, Portal Development Director, Freeserve
Freeserve made headlines as an ISP by commissioning interactive entertainment such as XPT's Online Caroline. The company did have high hopes for broadband but, as Peter explained, delays to the rollout of ADSL have forced a change of strategy. Now Freeserve is returning to the fundamental internet activities of content, community & commerce, and it does not plan to commission much content in the next year. One area that could see future growth is pay-per-view material, such as the behind-the-scenes webcast of the recent Lennox Lewis fight. Broadband broadcasting remains a possibility once subscriber levels reach high enough levels.

The Pitch

For the second part of the discussion, Anthony Lilley from interactive media company Magic Lantern had prepared three (fictional) interactive project proposals to pitch to the panel. The exercise was designed to reveal:

• Who is buying multi-platform content.
• What they are buying in the next 12 months.
• How it will be financed.
• Who holds the rights - both to the content and to intellectual capital such as the software and skills of the company that produces it.
• How much commissioners know about producing interactive content, and the people who make it.

The Proposals

1. Ecoutez et Repetez
   A publicly funded educational project for French language students, based on the GCSE curriculum. The project comprises a TV show (for which funding already exists), an informational website, a broadband service with video streams and learning scenarios, quizzes and games on interactive TV, location-based wireless services providing homework support, and traditional audio and printed materials.
2. Cloreal � "Because I Can Afford It"
   A health and beauty channel funded by a cosmetic and grooming product manufacturer. The service is mass market, but favours subtle marketing over hard-sell advertising. Features include interactive health and beauty advice, star endorsements and a digital TV channel.
3. Sarajevo 2014
   Primarily a major TV drama series, co-produced by several international partners, this big-budget thriller has a very large potential English language audience. Cross-platform services will be used to drive publicity and reinforce audience engagement, with applications including websites and broadband services broadcasting additional footage on a pay-per-view basis. However, viewers will not be able to change the ending or influence the narrative (as to do so would be to turn the drama into a game).

The Results

Following Anthony's pitches, each panellist was given 1000 points to 'spend' on the three proposals, in direct proportion to their enthusiasm for each project and for the platforms on which the projects will be shown.

Before revealing the results, a straw poll of the audience indicated that 'Ecoutez et Repetez' was the most popular proposal, followed by 'Sarajevo 2014', and then 'Cloreal'. While the audience's favourite medium was interactive TV, however, the panellists were unanimous in their support for the internet, followed by broadband and iTV, and then wireless.

Jett Loe
Disappointed that 'Sarajevo 2014' was not, in fact, a game, Jett split his points between 'Ecoutez and Repetez' and 'Cloreal', suggesting that the latter would make a good subscription service. In terms of platforms, he believed that to classify the web and broadband separately was to make a false distinction.

Peter Cowley
Peter was not entirely convinced by any of the proposals, although he appreciated the merits of the first one. 'Cloreal', he believed, would have to pay Freeserve to run their services, and like Jett he would remake 'Sarajevo 2014' as a game. 'Sarajevo' received 86% of his points, 'Ecoutez' 14% (because he believes it would not make money), and 'Cloreal' 0%. Of the platforms, broadband and the web each scored 39%, while iTV and wireless received 11% a piece.

Scott Gronmark
Reflecting the BBC's public service remit, Scott went straight for the educational project, and rejected the commercially-funded venture entirely. 'Ecoutez' received 72%, 'Cloreal' 0%, and there was some interest in 'Sarajevo', at 28%. Scott disagreed with Jett and Peter about the potential profitability of educational services: revision sites on cable have done really well, he claimed, and a significant proportion of cable subscribers are older, 'upmarket' customers with an interest in learning. He also believed that parents would pay to give their children access to educational content (although not on the BBC).

Sham Sandhu
Sham was most receptive to the 'Cloreal' proposal, reflecting Channel 5's flexible attitude to sponsorship and funding models, and its bias towards mass-market, mainstream content. He divided his points 50/50 between 'Cloreal' and 'Sarajevo', while awarding the web a mark of 50%, iTV and wireless 25% each, and broadband 0%.

Andy Grumbridge
Andy rejected the 'Sarajevo' idea on the grounds that the interactive elements added nothing to the linear content, professed not to understand 'Cloreal', and found 'Ecoutez' plausible. While dividing his points equally between the platforms (25% each), he gave 100% of his points to 'Ecoutez', and rejected the other projects outright. Had he had the option, he would have kept all of his points for a project he liked better.

Conclusion

Bringing the discussion to a close, Mathew Horsman asked each of the panellists to reveal the type of programming they were most likely to commission. Their responses were as follows:

• Anthony Lilley - Education.
• Andy Grumbridge - Entertainment.
• Sham Sandhu - Entertainment.
• Scott Gronmark - Entertainment (but not pornography or betting).
• Jett Loe - Horror and Dating.
• Peter Cowley - Entertainment (probably including pornography and betting!).

A Final Tip

Q: How do you persuade TV commisioners to consider your interactive proposal?
A: Put it on video tape - it's the only medium they understand.