Village Gamer

Vancouver media and technology company BroadbandTV (BBTV) has announced the launch of its new music network Opposition. The Hip Hop focused Opposition rolls-out with a diverse roster of industry heavyweight partners including rappers Crooked I – now known as KXNG Crooked – of Slaughterhouse, Twista and Yung Simmie; producers Jahlil Beats, 1500 or Nothin’ and Statik Selektah; directors Mr. Zae and Hi-Def; and brands WorldStarHipHop and All Hip Hop All The Time. Read the rest of this entry »

Ranking #1 with key kids demographics, DHX Media’s digital specialty network Disney XD Canada continues to be the country’s leading digital channel.¹ The network is reporting its best fall on record since its launch in June 2011, positioning the channel for continued growth throughout the completion of the broadcast year.² Read the rest of this entry »

Thunderbird Films, producers of Mr. Young, Some Assembly Required and Endgame – one of our favourite Vancouver-based TV series, has acquired reality producer Great Pacific Media, which is also based in Vancouver. Great Pacific TV is the studio behind Highway Thru Hell and the recently revealed Airshow, as well as Daily Planet and Untold Stories of the ER. While terms of the acquisition deal were not disclosed, the Vancouver-based Great Pacific, launched by president Blair Reekie and CEO Mark Miller in 2010, opens the doors to an international market in the TV, reality and lifestyle genres for Thunderbird.

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TransGaming Inc. has announced the availability of its on-demand gaming platform GameTree™ TV to pay-TV operators worldwide. In partnership with ActiveVideo, GameTree TV will be added to ActiveVideo’s CloudTV™ software platform, seamlessly integrating premium gaming titles into pay-TV operator’s content offerings. Read the rest of this entry »

The Canada Media Fund (CMF) announced yesterday that 24 interactive digital media projects received a total of $11.8M in funding as part of the second round of production support from the Experimental Stream for 2014-2015.  The Experimental Stream encourages the creation of innovative, interactive digital media content and software applications. The 24 companies are located in various regions of the country; one in Alberta, two in British Columbia, one in New Brunswick, one in Newfoundland and Labrador, one in Nova Scotia, eight in Ontario, and ten in Québec. Read the rest of this entry »

DHX Media, a key player internationally in the creation of content for families and children, announced today that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Vancouver-based Nerd Corps Entertainment Inc. and its subsidiaries for approximately $57 million. The transaction is anticipated to close by December 24, 2014. The acquisition increases DHX’s operating leverage, adding Nerd Corps’ animation studio in Vancouver, which features five lines of production, as well as Nerd Corps’ interactive apps, gaming expertise, and licensing opportunities with Nerd Corps’ brands. Read the rest of this entry »

Emily Carr University of Art + Design has received funding to study data aesthetics, which looks at the visual and cultural effects of how society manages and uses data. Emily Carr University’s Studio for Extensive Aesthetics was awarded almost $57,000 from this year’s BC Knowledge Development Fund. The money will go toward purchasing equipment for a dedicated research facility and the project supports the work of the Canada Research Chair in art and design technology. Read the rest of this entry »

A majority of Canadians support continued public investment in Canada’s video game industry according to new research published by the Entertainment Software Association of Canada (ESAC). In the new Essential Facts 2014 PDF report produced by the NPD Group for ESAC, 71% of Canadians say that governments have a role to play in choosing which industries will drive the economy of the future. What’s more, 55% of Canadians believe that the video game industry has an overall positive impact on the Canadian economy, and 62% also believe that it is an innovative sector which is helping to shape the Canadian economy of the future. Envisioning the opportunity that lies ahead, a strong majority (67%) also believe that the video game industry provides good opportunities for young people currently planning their careers. Read the rest of this entry »

Corus Entertainment announced today that it has partnered with Fingerprint, a San Francisco-based mobile technology company, to create a mobile entertainment platform for kids aged two to seven. Set to launch globally in 2015, the platform will offer preschoolers a safe, fun and branded environment to enjoy videos, games, music and eBooks featuring their favourite Nelvana characters Max & Ruby, Little Bear, Franklin, The Berenstain Bears and more. Read the rest of this entry »

HootSuite has launched The Love List, a recurring monthly report which ranks more than 450 of the world’s top brands on which are seeing the most love on social media. The Love List uses data provided by uberVU via Hootsuite, a robust listening, social monitoring, and advanced analytics solution, to pull in hundreds of millions of publicly available social media posts. Brands are ranked in order on The Love List using three key data points, including the total number of brand mentions received, the sentiment score for the particular brand and the percentage of social conversations about the brand containing the word “love” over a month period of time. Using this formula, each brand is assigned a score between one and 100. Read the rest of this entry »