Vulcan to launch online TV network
Community-based service ‘gives voice’ to range of people, businesses
The town of Vulcan is set to boldly go where none has gone before, with the launch of a communitybased online television network.
The service — which will include such varied programming as community events, independent film, music and comedy, and, naturally, original programming cashing in on the town’s link to the Star Trek franchise — will officially launch Saturday.
Sandra Scott of vTV says the genesis for the project began two years ago when the Vulcan Brand Innovation Team ( VBIT) — a local group working to rebrand the community from its Star Trek-related image to one of the most tech-advanced rural communities in Canada — attracted the attention of Axia, which provides fibre-optic Internet networks in Alberta.
Scott said the partnership made Vulcan “the first privately funded broadband cyber community in Canada.”
WorldPlay — a Calgary firm that aims to help its clients engage and attract online audiences — then approached the group with the idea of taking advantage of the capacity of the new, high-performance network. And Vulcan TV was born.
“It took us a while to figure out what it was going to be, because there is no business model,” said Scott.
The concept eventually grew into what is essentially a union of YouTube, Netflix and Amazon. The network will also feature an online store, through which independent producers can sell merchandise.
Scott says it’s one of the ways the network gives independent producers an opportunity to monetize their work, including through subscription, pay-per-view and videoon-demand services.
She pointed to entrants in the Calgary International Film Festival as among those who could benefit from the new service.
“Unless a traditional media company picks them up, that film may never be shown again. We give them a platform, and a chance to monetize that content,” said Scott.
She also noted an original series, Vulcan, To Boldly Go — a satirical comedy based on the Star Trek franchise — as an example of subscription-based programming on the network.
The network is also targeting local businesses, with an “opportunity to really reach their audiences in a unique way,” said Scott.
The project is privately funded, with VBIT holding 70 per cent ownership, WorldPlay with 20 per cent and the remaining 10 per cent in the hands of private investors.
Scott said 70 per cent of profits will be returned to the community, with the dream to eventually build a discovery centre in the town that would include offices, a hotel and media centre, with the goal of attracting “more business and more innovation into the community.” Profits would also benefit local groups, including the food bank.
The network is also selling channels, allowing groups to be in complete control of their own content and target a specific audience. Already, Scott says real estate, travel and pet channels have been sold.
The website will also feature a media channel, offering training for people to produce their own videos for upload.
“It gives a voice to so many people that did not have a voice in traditional media,” Scott said.
“It’s exciting,” she said. “How could you not be excited launching a television network from a town of 2,000?”
Saturday’s event kicks off with a street party at 2 p.m., and culmi- nates with the official launch of vTV (www.vulcantv.com) at 8 p.m. at the grand opening of the town’s newest pub and grill, The Coulee. The launch will feature the first live pay-per-view event — the return of country singer Sean Hogan to the music scene after a successful battle with throat cancer — and the debut of Vulcan, To Boldly Go.
“We’re going to be celebrating,” said Scott.
Unless a traditional media company picks them up, that film may never be shown again. We give them a platform, and a chance to monetize that content.