Preserving Canadian programming: It’s time for some new solutions

“Complex, contradictory, labyrinthine.” A television critic’s take on the plot line of 24 or The West Wing? Nope. That’s a frustrated industry executive speaking in a recent newspaper article about the business of TV production in Canada - a system that many now believe is “broken.” The assessment isn’t far off the mark. Canadian producers and performers have loudly lamented Ottawa’s decision to slice $25 million from the budget of the Canadian Television Fund (CTF). This cut has jeopardized dozens of proposed new programs. Meanwhile, veteran broadcaster Trina McQueen has prepared a report for the CRTC that recommends a thorough overhaul to our current system of funding TV drama. The CTF situation should concern anyone who cares about television in this country. But it’s not the only threat to the quality and diversity of Canadian TV programming. The broadcast industry has reached a watershed. Developments on several fronts will set a new course for television in the next few years. Industry consolidation, global trade agreements and new technologies could change everything, from the basic business model for broadcasters to the existing system of subsidies and protections for Canadian content. Viewers in this country need a broadcast industry that is robust and competitive. But they also want programming that is distinctively Canadian. We need new policies for the broadcast sector that will deal with a changing environment and promote domestic content, while recognizing the realities of the marketplace. Here are three ideas worth considering: Protection for Public Service Broadcasting Public service channels such as VisionTV, APTN and the provincial public broadcasters are industry leaders in supporting distinctive Canadian content. Unfortunately, their very independence from the major corporate players puts them in a vulnerable competitive position. One possible solution is the creation of a special “foundation tier” that would serve as an oasis within the TV system for public service broadcasters. This all-Canadian package would be the basic, “must-buy” offering from cable and satellite companies. Revised Rules on Canadian Content CanCon requirements are supposed to make certain that viewers can enjoy their choice of top-quality domestic programs. So why is it so hard to find compelling shows that speak to the lives and concerns of Canadians? Part of the problem is that the current system focuses on the sheer tonnage of Canadian content that networks air during the broadcast day, while doing little to encourage higher standards of homegrown programming. My suggestion? Let’s rethink Canadian content rules, and start rewarding broadcasters for delivering quality rather than quantity. Why not develop a new system that awards bonus CanCon credits to those networks that actually take risks on innovative and exciting new programs? A New Approach to Acquiring Foreign Content The more money that Canadian networks shell out on foreign shows, the less they have to spend on domestic programming. So maybe it’s time for our broadcasters to consider the creation of a buying consortium. Rather than bidding against each other for foreign content - and helping to drive up prices - Canadian networks could buy as a group. Afterward, those programs would be auctioned to the highest bidders, with Telefilm Canada distributing any profits to consortium members for investment in independent production. (If U.S. studios and networks objected to this, we could always try a scaled-down version of the plan, involving only public and public service broadcasters.) Admittedly, these ideas depart from industry orthodoxy. But the CTF crisis has demonstrated the fragility of the structures that currently support the creation of Canadian content. We need new thinking if we want to preserve a Canadian television system that truly is Canadian. Bill Roberts is president/CEO of Vision TV.

Preserving Canadian programming: It’s time for some new solutions

News | 06/05/2003 4:00 am EDT

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