I'm a big fan of Bite TV, even though I admit I never watch it. Well, ok, almost never. Although I'm not part of the core demographic that Bite is targeting (18-34 year-old males), still, what red-blooded male could resist their Miss Hooters Canada 2006 coverage? But what I am really a fan of is Bite's business model. The 14-month old operation is probably unique in the Canadian media landscape in that it is a company that was built from the ground up with new media in mind, yet at the same time is a player in the traditional (or 'old') media world, having a category 2 specialty channel license from the CRTC. As Jeffrey Elliott, the President and CEO of Bite Television Inc., told me, "It [new media] is built into our DNA".
Perhaps it's a surprise that Jeffrey Elliott is the driving force behind Bite TV. He's a middle-aged, second-generation broadcaster. He's a graduate of Ryerson's Radio and Television Arts program from the days when that program focused on traditional broadcasting. His pedigree includes time as a senior executive at Alliance Atlantis and Netstar. Yet Elliott is obviously not your conventional broadcaster nor is he mired in traditional technology (his wife calls him "Captain Gizmo"). At a recent lunch, we spent much of the time talking about Slingbox and other gadgets. What gives Elliott an edge is that he combines conventional broadcast knowledge with a new media vision.
Elliott and his partners spent a couple of years developing the Bite concept, long before it hit the 'air'. What makes Bite so special (and probably unique) is that it holistically embraces both traditional and new media, delivering content through a digital TV station, wireless mobile broadcasting, the internet and video-on-demand. Beyond those distribution channels, through which they can monetize their content, they freely distribute some of their content to such sites as MySpace and YouTube and use the viral nature of these sites and their audiences to do their marketing fort them.
What's special about the content Bite offers, and the obvious inspiration for the name, is that the content is 'bite-sized'. The audience targeted by Bite spends more time online than they do watching conventional TV. These consumers are well known for their multi-tasking tendencies. Bite's slogan "Where A.D.D. is A.O.K." reflects the fact that this consumer isn't oriented to 30- or 60-minute program viewing. And, of course, the nature of mobile viewing lends itself to short-form content much better than it does to traditional longer-form programming. Bite's content is perfect for at-home internet viewing, mobile consumption, and even for a quick-fix hit on a conventional TV set.
Bite is a serious business, but it doesn't make the mistake of portraying an outwardly serious image. Their whole presence, and indeed much of their content, reflects an irreverent attitude, perfectly in sync with an audience that isn't looking for 'establishment'-produced content. Bite's content model is "sexy, edgy and irreverent". Their programming schedule is a mix of user-generated content, content produced in-house, and acquired content. Bite wants to empower their viewers to be content creators and, to that end, makes their studio facilities available to media students.
Bite's short-form content can't be mixed with the traditional 30-second commercial spot. Recognizing that, Bite worked with Molson to create custom short ad spots just for Bite. In Bite's irreverent style, their web-page identifies their sponsors with the phrase "Sponsors - they pay for this crap!" On the internet, Bite had a click-through rate of 13% in a recent campaign, well beyond the typical 4-5% rate. Elliott attributes that to the ability to target their specific (and, as it happens, tech-savvy) demographic with relevant advertising content. Elliott feels that conventional broadcasters and, for the most part, the advertising community, don't yet understand the potential impact of alternate media. But, he says, "there's going to be a break-away online hit. Someone is going to create a show, a series, that is totally off the radar, and it will become one of those things that will take off". When that happens, Elliott says, it will be "a wake-up call" for those industries. That, I think, will lead to a stampede of others to try to get to where Bite is today.
Bite... the future of TV.
Perhaps it's a surprise that Jeffrey Elliott is the driving force behind Bite TV. He's a middle-aged, second-generation broadcaster. He's a graduate of Ryerson's Radio and Television Arts program from the days when that program focused on traditional broadcasting. His pedigree includes time as a senior executive at Alliance Atlantis and Netstar. Yet Elliott is obviously not your conventional broadcaster nor is he mired in traditional technology (his wife calls him "Captain Gizmo"). At a recent lunch, we spent much of the time talking about Slingbox and other gadgets. What gives Elliott an edge is that he combines conventional broadcast knowledge with a new media vision.
Elliott and his partners spent a couple of years developing the Bite concept, long before it hit the 'air'. What makes Bite so special (and probably unique) is that it holistically embraces both traditional and new media, delivering content through a digital TV station, wireless mobile broadcasting, the internet and video-on-demand. Beyond those distribution channels, through which they can monetize their content, they freely distribute some of their content to such sites as MySpace and YouTube and use the viral nature of these sites and their audiences to do their marketing fort them.
What's special about the content Bite offers, and the obvious inspiration for the name, is that the content is 'bite-sized'. The audience targeted by Bite spends more time online than they do watching conventional TV. These consumers are well known for their multi-tasking tendencies. Bite's slogan "Where A.D.D. is A.O.K." reflects the fact that this consumer isn't oriented to 30- or 60-minute program viewing. And, of course, the nature of mobile viewing lends itself to short-form content much better than it does to traditional longer-form programming. Bite's content is perfect for at-home internet viewing, mobile consumption, and even for a quick-fix hit on a conventional TV set.
Bite is a serious business, but it doesn't make the mistake of portraying an outwardly serious image. Their whole presence, and indeed much of their content, reflects an irreverent attitude, perfectly in sync with an audience that isn't looking for 'establishment'-produced content. Bite's content model is "sexy, edgy and irreverent". Their programming schedule is a mix of user-generated content, content produced in-house, and acquired content. Bite wants to empower their viewers to be content creators and, to that end, makes their studio facilities available to media students.
Bite's short-form content can't be mixed with the traditional 30-second commercial spot. Recognizing that, Bite worked with Molson to create custom short ad spots just for Bite. In Bite's irreverent style, their web-page identifies their sponsors with the phrase "Sponsors - they pay for this crap!" On the internet, Bite had a click-through rate of 13% in a recent campaign, well beyond the typical 4-5% rate. Elliott attributes that to the ability to target their specific (and, as it happens, tech-savvy) demographic with relevant advertising content. Elliott feels that conventional broadcasters and, for the most part, the advertising community, don't yet understand the potential impact of alternate media. But, he says, "there's going to be a break-away online hit. Someone is going to create a show, a series, that is totally off the radar, and it will become one of those things that will take off". When that happens, Elliott says, it will be "a wake-up call" for those industries. That, I think, will lead to a stampede of others to try to get to where Bite is today.
Bite... the future of TV.
