International TV success first requires a strong domestic market: AA’s Bolen

Digital distribution, the export of Canadian programming and progressive policy directions will intertwine to shape The Future of Television in Canada, according to a green paper of that name prepared by Nordicity Group Ltd. for the Banff World Television Festival. While a Town Hall discussion of the paper took place last month, its assertions remain a topic of debate – and they should for some time. "Nordicity provides a framework in which a whole lot of policy ideas can be positioned and considered, and certainly makes the case that we’re dealing with a mature industry," says Ian Morrison, spokesperson for the advocacy group Friends of Canadian Broadcasting. "They are commenting on a situation that arises from a long period in which there has been no broadcasting and cultural policy in this country." This mature industry is increasingly under assault from new technologies and is hampered by a steady decline in exported content – two issues that need to be tackled through new policy, according to the report. The document reads: "Canada’s future in television will be determined by its ability to seize opportunities and address challenges presented by technological developments, foreign markets, and by its own domestic strategies and policies…. takes stock of the sector’s position in the international production scene, and then articulates policy choices for addressing its financing gap and competitive challenges." Beginning with the discussion of new technologies, the green paper states that on-demand television and the Internet will not destroy or dominate broadcast TV, but they need to be accounted for. Jim Shaw, CEO of Shaw Communications Inc. says it could be 10 years before even half of the television content in Canada is viewed on-demand. But to that end, he says Shaw Communications as a broadcaster will continue to ensure the customers get what they want, which likely means increasing the amount of on-demand programming it offers. As for the Internet and other new media formats, the report suggests that broadcasters and producers need new terms of trade to deal with the challenges presented by these technologies, particularly when dividing the profits generated from new platforms. Norm Bolen, executive VP, content group, at Alliance Atlantis Communications Inc., was a participant in the discussion at the Banff conference and says the terms of trade discussion was lively, but adds that he feels extended debate on this topic is counterproductive. "My view is we really need to focus on getting some rather than thinking who’s going to get what out of it," he says. "Nobody knows which business models are going to work or which content is going to stick, but if we don’t get out there and play, experiment and take some risks together and stop worrying so much about the fine points, we’re going to be overwhelmed by foreign content ." Once the spoils from these markets have been determined, Bolen feels the best way to approach rights issues and other terms of engagement between the production community and broadcasters is to have bilateral market negotiations. He adds that there is some scepticism as to whether there is one broad, industry-wide solution to deal with the issue, which Nordicity’s paper suggests is an option if broadcasters and producers cannot approach rights exploitation opportunities on a pragmatic basis. The second phase of the report deals with the decline in revenues generated from the sale of Canadian programming outside of the country. One chart from the Canadian Film and Television Production Association shows the export value of Canadian television production dropping from $611 million in 1999/2000 to $270 million in 2004/05, while a second graph from Telefilm Canada details a drop in Canadian international treaty co-production from $670 million in 2000 to $179 million in 2005 (see story on p.7 for more on international co-productions). The report is clearly in favour of reversing this trend, and offers a number of suggestions for doing so. "The more Canada invests in domestically produced content, not specifically targeted at Canadian-only audiences, the greater chance Canada has at increasing revenues in this area," it reads. Morrison concurs with the rationale. "If you care about Canadians seeing Canadian stories on Canadian screens, that kind of thing is not going to happen without some form of subsidy," he says. "The programs that are going to succeed on the world stage are going to be less authentically Canadian." However, any attempt to increase exports of Canadian programming specifically to bolster the finances of the industry may be in vain, according to Bolen. "I think people have to be fairly cautious about how big an opportunity they see this to be, because the truth is, other countries, big countries, big markets, have focused a lot on domestic production and they’re just not buying as much foreign content," he says. "You can’t create a market just by producing good content: it has to be driven by demand as well." To further his point Bolen points to Trailer Park Boys, a Canadian program produced by Topsail Entertainment and distributed by Alliance on its Showcase channel. He says the show is distributed in numerous countries, but the amount of money coming in from those sales is still not nearly enough to finance the show’s production. Bolen does feel the international co-production treaties need to be revisited, but specifically targeting markets in other countries with certain programming is not the answer yet. "All international success stories are based on having a strong domestic market first," Bolen says. "The important thing is to have a strong system that supports talent and provides resources for production domestically." He believes home-grown skills drive the international marketplace, so organizations like the National Screen Institute and Telefilm Canada need to be supported and perhaps enhanced. He continues: "There is the question of budgets…but talent, creativity and skills are also very, very important. The quality of programming isn’t always directly correlated with the cost of programming." Moving onto policy development, the Nordicity green paper pointed to the remarkable range of support mechanisms for Canadian broadcasters and producers available through the Department of Canadian Heritage, Canadian Television Fund, CRTC, and provincial governments. "However, there has yet to emerge a coherent television broadcasting and production strategy, one that integrates the domestic with the international markets and takes account of the restructuring of content delivery as a result of new digital technology platforms," reads the document. The paper also said that while demand for Canadian television programming has been increasing, the public financial support from the federal government has remained relatively stagnant. Of course, all policy issues need to be addressed with an eye on the future of television in Canada, and reports like Nordicity’s green paper are necessary stimulators of these discussions. Morrison applauds the paper, and while Bolen doesn’t agree with all of its conclusions, he says the industry needs strong debates to better understand the pertinent issues. He adds: "We have had a very strong broadcast system that has served Canada very well in many respects….It would be prudent of us to continue focusing on keeping that system strong, and that means understanding how it works and reinforcing the mechanisms we have in place that make it strong."

International TV success first requires a strong domestic market: AA’s Bolen

Broadcast | July 4, 2006

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