Stursberg says CBC to pressure government for greater share of CTF

The executive VP of CBC English Television says he’s pushing the government to raise to 50% the amount of Canadian Television Fund (CTF) monies that is set aside for the public broadcaster. Canadian Heritage minister Liza Frulla stated in her June 13 speech in Banff that the public broadcaster’s envelope would be based on the historical average contributed by the CTF to the CBC projects – about 37%. But Richard Stursberg argues that the CBC’s share should return to the 50% level the public broadcaster enjoyed when the CTF first emerged because that is the only way to ensure that new dollars will go into producing domestic TV drama. "We have spent a lot of time recommitting the corporation to drama," Stursberg tells Canadian Communications Reports. "The CRTC has come up with ad incentives that will allow the privates to increase the amount of money they spend without tapping into the fund. (CCR, Dec. 6/04). We think the right thing to do under the circumstances is to increase the CBC’s draw because the private networks can go elsewhere to fund their drama, which will increase the entire domestic drama pie." The unions and other organizations, however, don’t agree that will hold true. Unions such as the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA), and the Writers Guild of Canada (WGD) fear that giving more CTF money to the public broadcaster will signal to the private broadcasters that they don’t have to commission homegrown TV drama. "I think the proposal to increase the share is non-starter because I absolutely agree with the unions that the private sector must not be left off the hook. They have a role to play in producing Canadian TV drama," said Ian Morrison, spokesperson for Friends of Canadian Broadcasting. During a session, entitled Canadian Funding Gap: Here, There and Everywhere, Stursberg stated that if the private broadcasters were granted less CTF money, they would be obligated to go elsewhere – to the non-CTF ad incentives being offered by the CRTC – to finance drama, and that that development would result in more money flowing into Canadian productions. The CBC runs less advertising than the private networks, and as a public broadcaster isn’t planning to tap into the ad incentives. He added that the public broadcasters – which has a schedule that is predominantly Canadian – would be able to produce yet more domestic TV drama as well because it would have a greater chunk of the CTF funding. Claire Samson, president and CEO of the Association des producteurs de films et de télévision du Québec (APFTQ) and a panel member, questioned how the "CBC’s bulimia" could cure the whole system. Stursberg retorted, "My suggestions are obviously more focused on English Canada. There is no question that there are profound differences between the two broadcasting systems (English Canada and French Canada)…If you want to increase the maximize volume of production, then CBC should get more of the CTF money."

Stursberg says CBC to pressure government for greater share of CTF

News | 06/24/2005 4:00 am EDT

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