CBC, Roku & A+E execs detail attention economy strategies

Delivering shows that attract new audiences and can cut through the attention economy has become a key focus for senior execs at Canada’s CBC, A+E and Roku.

Lisa Holme, head of content at Roku, said her company - which is in the midst of being bought by Fox in a $22bn deal - wanted to engage with viewers being bombarded by alternative forms of entertainment, labelling the battle for attention as one of the biggest challenges she faced.

“There’s a huge focus for us on consumer attention and spending, and that’s not just on TV. It’s looking at how we stay relevant and how we can monetise that attention.”

Sally Catto, general manager of entertainment, factual & sports at Canadian public broadcaster CBC added that she has been “shifting to a public service mindset” rather than simply being a public broadcaster.

“We need to show people across Canada all the services we provide,” she said, adding that producing in the domestic market - where creators can retain rights - was a key part of the appeal to entice the country’s best producers back to their home.

“It’s vital that we protect Canadian storytelling and producers, and of course they’ll leave here and go back and forth to other countries, but we have to show them we can be the best place for content being made.

“And we are seeing that talent coming back to Canada. The appealing thing here is that you can own your content, because the studio system we have is different [to the US].”

Holme added that Roku had launched its cut-price streamer service Howdy in the US - costing US$2.99 per month - to appeal to viewers “dragged down by endless subscription services”, while Michelle Strong, co-president of distribution at A+E Global Media, pointed to her company’s embrace of microdrama as an alternative strategy to engage viewers.

Strong said A+E was dealing with ongoing issues such as subscriber decline and consolidation, but said she was “really bullish” on vertical video. She pointed to Lifetime’s microdrama Tides of Temptation, which has been spun off from upcoming TV movie Love of a Lifetime, as one way to cut through.

“We really see upside there and we also see a foothold in the space for us because it is storytelling done in vertical perspective,” she said.