The Bell Fund (formerly the Bell Broadcast and New Media Fund) is an independent private Canadian fund that finances interactive digital content associated with Canadian television programs owned by Bell.[1][2] These digital extensions can include things such as: web games, mobile apps, mobile games, websites, iTV apps, eBooks and webisodes.[3] Established in 1997, the fund has supported over 1,400 projects with the total amount granted exceeding $150,000,000 as of December 2014.[4]
History
The fund was established in 1997 by Bell Canada and receives annual contributions from Bell Satellite TV and Bell Aliant.[5] It was certified by the CRTC as an independent private fund.[6] The fund was mandated by Bell Canada "To encourage the production of world-class Canadian content for the new media and broadcasting marketplace and to stimulate partnerships between new media and broadcast producers."[7] More specifically, the Fund's mandate has been to help support Canadian companies that create web content that complements Canadian television programs [8] The original funding program provided a grant of up to $250,000 for the digital media project and up to $75,000 for the television component of each project. In 1998 17 projects received funding and a total of $3,288,181 was given out.[9] By 2013 that number had grown significantly with the fund supporting 188 individual projects with grants over $16,500,000.[10] Originally the fund just had one funding program, it now has nine.[11]
Mandate
The purpose of the Bell Fund is to "advance the Canadian broadcasting system."[12] It does this by encouraging relationships between broadcasters, producers and digital media companies. The fund also supports mentorship programs [13] industry research studies [14] and conferences [15] as well as creation of policies and a framework for funding and international co-productions.[16][17] Additionally, the Bell Fund organizes missions for digital media producers to meet potential co-production companies and international broadcasters including to Australia (2005),[18] Power to the Pixel in London (2013)[19] and Forum Blanc (2014).[20]
Awards
Over the years, projects supported by the Bell Fund have been recognized by many different award organizations including the International Digital Emmy Awards[21] and the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television.[22] Shane Kinnear, Shaftesbury VP sales and marketing (ReGenesis Extended Reality Game), on being awarded their International Emmy, was quoted saying that support from the Bell Fund allowed Regenesistv.com to be more innovative than other sites being developed at the time. "Site developers and series writers worked together to make the site more than just a promotional tool. For example, elements of the script are created specifically to provide clues for playing the online game."[23]
