etv poaches Endemol exec, Ben Freeman, to bolster creative team

etv media group has appointed Ben Freeman to the newly created role of Executive Producer, Digital. Having headed up Endemol Digital Studios as well as Sky One’s multi-platform programme strategy, Ben will be focused on developing etv’s cross platform formats for both brands and ‘new’ broadcasters as such Bebo, MySpace and MSN.

With the growth of branded content and advertiser-funded programmes, are producers getting better at working with brands or are there still frequent misunderstandings?

After a long battle with the head of my network – someone who’d spent most of his life in the sales department – over a rather arcane editorial issue in the prime time show I was exec-ing, he finally said in exasperation: “frankly, I don’t give a rat’s arse. You’re just the bit between the [...]

Is branded content and branded entertainment one and the same? What works best for TV, online and mobile and what budgets are required?

The short and absolutely definitive answer is: sometimes. In reality “Branded Entertainment” is a subset of “Branded Content” with the emphasis on Entertainment. Some would say all branded content always has to be entertaining but it could be simply informative or take the form of some kind of teleshopping where the ’sale’ is the content [...]

There’s a lot of talk in television about 360 degree content. What is it exactly and does every idea have 360 degree potential?

360 content is a terrible term that means nothing in any media. It tries to imply that a TV idea can be viewed from any angle; in this case the world ‘angle’ being synonymous with the word ‘platform’. It’s a clumsy attempt to say this: a TV show is a media brand that people don’t [...]

Is participation TV channel a much less profitable business proposition now that guidelines have been tightened up. Are there new technologies that will help keep these channels within editorial guidelines?

Yes, a PTV channel would be much less profitable now, but not because of the regulation (best practice was always best practice). The real reason is that the market confidence in premium rate call services has been all but destroyed by scandals on the mainstream editorial programmes (ironically not the niche call tv channels).

With commercial broadcasting in such dire straits what new business models might work beyond display advertising which might fund new forms of programme making?

Like the music and car industries, the future is hybrid. The future of funding new programming is not about the miraculous discovery of a new business model or rescue by product placement. Given this week’s Ofcom announcement the hope of product placement saving our commissioning budgets has long sailed.

What impact is the BBC, ITV and BT’s Project Canvas likely to have on the uptake of on-demand media?

In theory Canvas should do for on-demand media what Freeview did for the take-up of digital multi-channel TV. The reality however is that as with any new hardware purchase, content and service benefits will be the key drivers to consumers’ willingness to purchase yet another piece of technology. Let’s face it, most of us have [...]