Futur et Médias Podcast E02 – Will Groupe Média TFO’s Blockchain Prototype Lead to a Chain Reaction?
Can audiovisual production in Canada – with numerous independent creators, funders, broadcasters, unions, rights-holders and tax credits – be blockchained? A 2018 pilot project by Ontario-based francophone public media org Groupe Média TFO may hold some answers. In this episode, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Eric Minoli, and Digital Products Manager Ulrich Dessouassi share the insights generated by the Blockchain TFO initiative.
Listen on:
*Futur et médias is the French-language iteration of Now & Next, the Canada Media Fund’s English-language podcast. Listeners who could use some help with la langue de Molière can access an English transcript of the podcast below.
**At recording time, Eric Minoli was Groupe Média TFO's Vice President of Technologies and Optimization, hence the discrepancy between his title of employment as stated in the episode and what was mentioned above.
What Groupe Média TFO learned from its blockchain prototype
Turns out, there aren't that many differences between the blockchain and a friendly game of soccer – er, football if, like Eric Minoli, you're from across the pond. In both instances, information (the score or penalties) is agreed upon and distributed throughout a network of nodes (players), eliminating the need for a central authority (refs).
Could these principles be replicated in the media and entertainment industries?
In 2018, Groupe Média TFO tested a blockchain prototype to answer the question. Initially designed to ease the management of the 17 different types of copyrights the organization has to handle, the prototype quickly provided a glimpse of the blockchain's potential for the industry.
Groupe Média TFO's Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Eric Minoli, and Digital Products Manager, Ulrich Dessouassi, join host Catherine Mathys in the studio to discuss:
- How blockchain technologies emerged as a solution to rights management (4:59)
- Why recruiting partners to take part in the prototype was crucial (11:36)
- How blockchain technologies could upend power dynamics in media and entertainment (15:23)
- Where do we go from here (22:32)
Access an English-language transcript of the episode here
Dig deeper
- Read an article by Playback on Groupe Média TFO's blockchain prototype
- Check out Blockchain TFO's YouTube channel
- Listen to Now & Next's episode on blockchain technologies, Cryptokitties: The cats that broke a part of the blockchain
- Dive into the Canada Media Fund's coverage of blockchain technologies and initiatives
Credits
- 1:12 – Le téléjournal, Ici Radio-Canada Télé, November 13, 2018
- 7:22 – Demo reel LUV en français
- 7:52 – ONFR, June 8, 2018
- 7:57 – Chanson Les saisons – Le printemps
- 8:09 – Fliptfo on Instagram
- 8:15 – Bienvenue sur la chaîne Mini ABC!
- 9:01 – Blockchain TFO
- 10:02, 10:35, 10:54, 13:44 – Tour guidé du prototype Blockchain TFO
About Futur et médias
Futur et médias is a podcast featuring in depth interviews with experts for a closer look at emerging trends and the digital transformation of the media and entertainment industries. Futur et médias is produced by the Canada Media Fund and hosted by the organization’s Director of Industry and Market Trends, Catherine Mathys.
