From Content Creators to NFT’s: How BBTV Is Building the Media Company of the Future
The media industry is more competitive than ever as billion-dollar companies race to secure their piece of the public’s attention. In this race, many companies have become household names, yet there are others, equally as influential, that are flying under the radar. Broadband TV Corporation (BBTV), the Canadian media-tech company founded by Shahrzad Rafati in 2005 is a perfect example of this.
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BBTV is the second largest video property worldwide, and while lesser known than Facebook or Google, has built a serious empire through their innovative technology that helps content creators build their audience, content and revenue. For over a decade, BBTV has changed the way fans engage with creators and the ways that creators can leverage their intellectual property.
For example, BBTV first partnered with the NBA in 2009, and successfully monetized the use of NBA footage in fan videos, playing a big part in making the NBA one of the biggest sports leagues in the world in terms of online presence and viewership, as evidenced by the record 20 billion total video views accumulated on social media during the 2019/20 season. This figure was a 17% increase on the previous season, and was made possible by the launch of NBA Playmakers in 2016, whereby BBTV manages all NBA content on Youtube uploaded by fans.
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Due to its success, in 2020, BBTV expanded this partnership to distribute digital content beyond Youtube to platforms including Instagram and TikTok. As part of this partnership, BBTV has also collaborated with creators with a combined monthly viewership of more than 95 million, such as Chris Smoove, Golden Hoops and Tristan Jass. Outside of their partnership with the NBA, in June 2021, BBTV announced new signings of William Belli and the Tsuriki Show, further expanding the viewership of BBTV and scope of their content while adding 1.7 billion monthly views.
Despite already being the media company with the most minutes of video content viewed, with more than 50 billion minutes consumed globally, what really makes BBTV the media company of the future is their willingness to use new technology to change the way content is monetized and how creators can engage with their fans.
The best example of this is the launch of BBTV’s NFT division in May 2021, and the signing of the Grammy-winning producer Zaytoven, who is recognized worldwide for his work with artists such as Drake and Travis Scott. In an era where we stream music and no longer own CDs or vinyls, NFTs present the opportunity to upgrade fan experiences, and as Zaytoven puts it, “to own art and music again as we all did growing up”.
BBTV has also invested in Nifty’s, a social NFT platform that has just partnered with Warner Bros to release limited-edition NFTs. This investment demonstrates BBTV’s commitment to further diversifying revenue streams as well as bringing fans closer to their favourite creators by allowing them to own authentic digital merchandise.
Finally, what sets BBTV apart from the competition is their quadruple-bottom-line business, that cares not only about financial performance but also about social performance and employees. The tech sector is notorious for having a low employment rate amongst women, yet at BBTV 40% of board members and employees as well as 45% of managers are women. Clearly, BBTV is the media company of the present, but building the media company of the future.
