Private broadcasters want access to funding, but less prime time requirements

Private television broadcasters should be able to access subsidies for the production of Canadian programming, but they don’t want to have to air the resulting shows during prime time, their lobby group tells the Parliamentary committee studying the relevance of the Broadcasting Act. In its written submission to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage, the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) says no changes are needed to the Act, but proposes five strategic initiatives it feels the government should "implement on a priority basis". Those five initiatives and associated recommendations are outlined in the CAB brief submitted Sept. 10, 2001 to the committee, a copy of which has been obtained by CCR. The submission has yet to be released publicly, as the CAB has opted to keep it private until it appears before the committee. That appearance was initially set for February 21, but was postponed – probably to March 21 – as committee chair Clifford Lincoln had an out-of-town engagement on the initial date (CCR Update, Feb. 20/02). "Shift the policy and regulatory focus from ensuring primarily Canadian content in prime time to a policy and regulatory focus for Canadian content that recognizes the new reality of ‘appointment viewing’. Canadian programs outside of prime time capture a relatively large share of the available audience," notes the CAB’s submission. "In the CAB’s view, with two-thirds of Canadian programming airing outside of the 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. timeslot, all time should be considered prime time for Canadian content," the brief states as part of its first initiative aimed at adopting a market-driven approach to financing Canadian television programs. The CRTC’s current television policy, which came into effect in September 2000, dropped the spending requirements on Canadian content by large broadcasters in exchange for increasing the amount of domestic programming aired during prime time – Public Notice 1999-97. At that time, the commission also amended its definition of prime time to begin at 7 p.m., an hour earlier than the previous 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. description of prime time, at the request of private broadcasters (CCR, July 14/99). Another recommendation the CAB makes under its market-driven strategy is to allow broadcasters and their affiliated companies "to move fully into the business of production". "To do this, these broadcasters require fair access to the support mechanisms that make Canadian program production possible," the CAB states. "Specifically, it means amending the current Canadian Television Fund (CTF) guidelines that restrict the access of broadcaster-affiliated producers to the Equity Investment Program." The CAB also urges the government to reject any proposals for a separate fund for Canadian independent productions destined for the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. The association states such a move "would be at the expense of the CTF, to the detriment of both conventional and specialty and pay television services, as well as their affiliated and independent producers." The other four initiatives put forward by the CAB are ensuring that copyright law supports Canadian culture, creating the necessary business opportunities for Canadian programming in a digital environment, developing a Canadian music strategy for radio, and nation building through a local reflection strategy. Under copyright concerns, the CAB wants Section 31 of the Copyright Act amended so that Internet businesses do not have the right to retransmit network signals at rates set by the Copyright Board (CCR, Oct. 26/00). Instead, the association recommends that "new technology businesses such as JumpTV should be based on free market negotiation of copyright interest". However, it opposes the introduction of a "new right of making available" into the Copyright Act. So while it wants Internet businesses to have to negotiate copyright fees, it doesn’t want the copyright changes that would force broadcasters to negotiate directly with authors for rights to their work (CCR, Oct. 26/01). The CAB also urges the government to ensure that the copyright interests of Canadian broadcasters are represented in international treaties, and that the administration of copyright is streamlined. To create business opportunities in the digital environment, the private broadcasters want the government to confirm that programmers can fully exploit new revenue opportunities presented by interactive, digital transmission technology. Its recommendations relating to its fifth initiative of nation building through local reflection revolve largely around the issue of time shifting of local signals by direct-to-home satellite TV distributors and more recently on digital cable (CCR, Jan. 18/02, Oct. 11/01). "In Canada, we will need to fully re-evaluate the DTH policy if we expect local television, particularly in markets where the population base is under 300,000, to survive and prosper in the future," the CAB writes.

Private broadcasters want access to funding, but less prime time requirements

News | 03/01/2002 5:00 am EST

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