The 10 companies shortlisted for Media Player of the Year in Marketing’s Nov. 14 issue were at the top of their game in 2011. We’ll be featuring each one online as a lead-up to our January 2012 issue, where you’ll find out which media company will reign supreme.
BELL MEDIA
After its acquisition of CTV, today Bell Media is a formidable player on the media scene
It officially came into existence on April 1, but Bell Media wasn’t fooling anybody. Everybody in media already knew that this “fledgling” company, housing a collection of some of the country’s leading broadcast assets (CTV, TSN, MuchMusic, Toronto’s CHUM-FM) and their attendant digital properties, and boasting unfettered access to the technological acumen of its parent company, would be a formidable force. Still, executive vice-president of advertising sales Rita Fabian says it has been an “absolutely brilliant and fascinating” year since Bell paid $1.3 billion to acquire CTV outright in September 2010.
“We’ve had more developments in the past year than ever in our history,” says Fabian. Among the year’s most important achievements is a rebranding of the former A Channels as CTV Two, with Fabian saying the “halo effect” of the main CTV network has allowed for better cross-promotion of programs. Meanwhile, it continued to dominate the ratings with top 20 shows like Big Bang Theory, Two-and-a-Half Men and Criminal Minds making it an attractive destination for advertisers.
A revamping of CTV Two’s local newscasts has also attracted local retail advertisers, all of which has contributed to what Fabian characterizes as “very hefty double-digit” revenue increases for Bell.
Naturally, Bell’s traditionally pugnacious PR department wasted no time trumpeting the revamped CTV Two’s accomplishments, citing a 71% increase in both prime-time 2+ and adult 25 – 54 audiences in Toronto. It also ignited a minor press release war with its claims that CTV Two wins 13 of 21 time slots against Citytv in the 2+, 25-54 and 18-49 demos.
With the exception of the quickly cancelled Charlie’s Angels and Free Agents, new program acquisitions such as Pan Am, Whitney and Unforgettable have all found a home on a schedule filled with aging but still potent hits.
Elsewhere, a rebranding of the former Star specialty channel as E! has also been embraced by advertisers, and has produced a younger and slightly more female-skewed audience. Bell is also refreshing existing services such as Space and Bravo (the latter has already produced a 20% lift in audience, says Fabian), and has converted services including MuchMusic and Discovery to HD, with 14 other services to follow.
The partnership with Bell, meanwhile, has manifested itself in 25 mobile apps and six mobile websites. Introduced in September, CTV’s iPad app provides users with on-demand access to several shows from CTV and CTV Two, and has attracted sponsorship from Lexus, which is using the app to promote its new CT 200h model.
There’s more! Check out the Nov. 14 issue of Marketing for the full profile, and subscribe to find out who will be named the Media Player of the Year for 2011.
