Blue Ant Media moves fast to grow and stay on the cutting edge
Sector: Audiovisual
Location: Toronto, Ontario
Creative Export Strategy support: Creative Export Canada funding
About the company
Blue Ant Media is a Toronto-based media company that produces and distributes content for TV and operates channels in Canada through major TV providers such as Rogers and Bell, as well as on streaming platforms. The company buys and sells content in more than 100 countries, and runs a consumer show business at convention centres across Canada.
As a mid-sized business competing again much larger media companies, Blue Ant Media’s strength is its agility and innovation, spurred by the multifaceted nature of its business as a producer, broadcaster and channel operator all in one. While headquartered in Canada, Blue Ant also has operations in the United States (U.S.), the United Kingdom (UK), Australia and Singapore. Among its channels are Love Nature, Nature Time, Haunt TV, Homeful, and Declassified.
The export challenge
In 2020, Blue Ant Media saw an opportunity to get into a new part of the digital media landscape: free ad-supported streaming TV (or FAST). To capitalize on the opportunity, Blue Ant needed to launch multiple channels very quickly in the U.S., the UK and Australia. The company was ready to make the investment but needed additional funding to take the leap.
The export project
Blue Ant planned a variety of export activities with Creative Export Canada (CEC) funding, such as marketing their channels through FAST platforms and social media, developing audience tracking and rights management technology, and attending industry events in the U.S. and the UK. In addition, Blue Ant committed to creating seven high-value Canadian jobs.
The outcomes
The activities funded by the CEC enabled Blue Ant Media to:
- secure sales of 7 channel brands/products on dozens of platforms across target territories
- increase overall export revenues by 135% from the previous year
- expand global audience reach to over 1 billion monthly views
- increase Canadian content on its channels by 72%
- create 10 high-value Canadian jobs plus 3 internationally based positions – nearly twice as many as planned – across marketing, content distribution, legal affairs, finance and intellectual property rights management.
Ultimately, Blue Ant was able to increase its market share within the global free streaming space, grow and diversify its relationships with platform partners, and amplify the reach of its brands to new customers. This helped position the company as a strong competitor and leader in the global TV and free streaming ecosystem.
Advice for potential exporters
“Funding can be game-changing. Be clear about your needs and how the support will drive growth. For us, having the flexibility to allocate funds to different areas—marketing, tech, staffing—was invaluable in making our growth possible.”