On October 29th, AME students had the opportunity to engage with Barbara Mckergow (SVP - Sales, Corus Entertainment) & Drew Robinson (VP – Content Distribution, Corus Entertainment) in From Networks to Netflix: New Business Models, Professor Lisa De Wilde’s ARTM 6340 Class.
Elephant in the room – Corus is struggling. And yet, these two individuals were pragmatic yet optimistic in their answers to our questions, and carried the discussion with wisdom and tact befitting their station and years of experience. That’s a tough balancing act; proper leadership or a lack thereof comes to the forefront when times are tough, not when conditions are rosy. For their part, both Barbara and Drew kept their composure and advocated for renewed adaptability both within Corus and the broader Canadian Film Industry as a whole – considering how reactionary and forward thinking we have to be when we’re engaging with much larger corporate or government entities (i.e. the United States) and recognizing that an industry in flux is both a threat and an opportunity.
We considered which legacy models with regards to both production and broadcasting were still viable or required a revamp, as they related to changing customer demographics, content creation and advertising models. How viewership data is disseminated, and what to do with all that data is an evolving quandary.
Both guests reiterated their commitment to carving out a unique niche in Canada’s media scene, and that Corus and its subsidiaries (such as StackTV) still have a place in it. As Drew put it – “We are a video first company that monetizes subscription and ad revenue in a growing market… people are spending more on content every single year. It’s a share game.”
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