Industry praises CRTC’s review of Canadian TV drama, but say speed is of the essence

The industry is giving the CRTC a thumbs up for announcing a public process to study ways to boost Canadian TV drama, even as it warns the commission against dragging its feet on the matter. "We’re pleased that the CRTC notice looks both at regulatory requirements and incentives as a means toward increasing dramatic production," Maureen Parker, executive director and CEO of the Writers Guild of Canada, tells Canadian Communications Reports. "We just hope that the commission can come to a speedy resolution. Because with no jobs, our writers are either leaving or taking positions in other areas." Stephen Waddell, national executive director of the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA), echoes similar concerns about the pace of the process. "We’re thankful that the CRTC has acted, and we hope that it’s frankly not too late to be able to put into place not only some incentives for production, but also to re-introduce requirements on broadcasters to commit to Canadian content production," he says. "We’ve been talking about this issue for 18 months. But we’re very pleased that the CRTC has recognized that Canadian drama is in free fall." On September 26, the CRTC issued a call for comments on how to better support the production and broadcast of high-quality, original English-language Canadian TV drama, as well as attract larger audiences to it. The commission is also asking for input on how to ensure the continued production and broadcast of popular, original French-language Canadian drama (Broadcasting Public Notice 2003-54). The process was expected as CRTC chair Charles Dalfen had indicated it was in the works (CCR, Sept. 18/03; CCR Update, Sept. 10/03). Questions posed by the CRTC include: "What are the most important elements necessary to ensure an appropriate quantity of original Canadian drama on English-language television, and to attract larger audiences to such programming?" and "How effective are regulatory requirements, or regulatory incentives, in achieving the objectives of increasing the amount of original, English-language drama programming and attracting larger audiences to that programming?" As well, the CRTC asked Nordicity Group Ltd. to develop a model to assess the financial impact of some of the incentives proposed in the Trina McQueen report it commissioned (CCR, June 5/03). Among the incentives that she proposed was allowing licensees who broadcast 10-point Canadian drama to not only reduce their Canadian content but also to increase the amount of advertising permitted. The publicly released the Nordicity report on Oct. 1, and wants comments on it as well as the McQueen proposals. Specifically, the CRTC wants the major English-language broadcasters to show how these models, or an alternative, would apply to them. But Nordicity’s report, Evaluation of the ‘Dramatic Choices’ Report: Economic Considerations of Certain Audience-based Incentives, has most of the figures blacked out, rendering it almost impossible for members of the public to supply worthwhile comments. CRTC figures show that viewing to Canadian drama as a percentage of all viewing to drama on English-language services increased from 4% in 1983 to 11% in 1998, a figure that has remained stable through 2002. Viewing to Canadian drama as a percentage of all viewing to drama on French-language services increased from 43% in 1991 to 52% in 2002. The statistics include viewing to all Canadian and U.S. conventional, specialty and pay television services with the exception of ethnic channels. The CRTC also notes in its call for comments that in the four years since 1998-99, the number of hours of Canadian drama broadcast by the English-language broadcasters CBC, CTV, and Global has declined by about 68 hours annually. The production industry partly blames the CRTC’s 1999 TV policy for the decline in the amount of drama commissioned by broadcasters. Laszlo Barna, executive producer of Barna-Alper Productions and chair of the Canadian Film and Television Production Association (CFTPA), tells CCR, that the association will be pushing for better scheduling and promotion of Canadian dramas and a revamping of the 1999 policy. "I’m not sure where we’re going with this, but we would certainly like to review the 1999 decision, and we’d like to see drama be required of broadcasters," he says, welcoming the recently announced CRTC process on Canadian drama. "We see this as a good step in turning around the fortunes of drama in this country. You need to be able to dialogue at that level, and to be heard is a prerequisite for change. And we need change." Parker says her association isn’t against incentives, but that regulatory requirements are also necessary to boost Canadian TV drama. "It can’t all be hammer, but we think there should be a mix of incentives and regulations," she notes. "We need to increase the volume of Canadian TV drama being produced, and that will help generate audience loyalty." She is advocating for the production of at least 22 episodes of each Canadian TV drama. Like ACTRA, she also see benefits in having regular time slots for Canadian drama series as well as better promotion and more script development. Furthermore, she states that it is time for broadcasters to step up to the plate. She notes that the licence fees paid by Canadian broadcasters for homegrown productions is far lower than in other countries, such as Australia. The Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) points out that there is a disconnect between the resources available and the amount of Canadian content, including drama, they are expected to produce. "The drama envelope is extremely important for private broadcasters, but it goes beyond drama. It’s one aspect of broadcasting," says Sandra Graham, CAB senior VP of public affairs. "We see a huge disconnect between the objectives of that Heritage and the government put forward, the regulatory obligations that the CRTC requires of broadcasters and then the funding mechanisms that are available to create this distinctly Canadian programming, specifically drama. The amount of services that have been licensed since 1996 when the fund (Canadian Television Fund) first developed has more than doubled. So when you have a look at how many services you’ve got, all with varying amounts of Canadian content requirements, the supply and demand isn’t equaling up." Graham says that was the CAB’s main message at an Oct. 1 roundtable with Heritage and Finance department officials, and will also likely be with regard to the CRTC process.

Industry praises CRTC’s review of Canadian TV drama, but say speed is of the essence

News | 10/03/2003 4:00 am EDT

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