Audiences for foreign programming should help trigger more CTF funding: Canwest

‘Total hours tuned' to a network's overall programming - not just Canadian content - is the most appropriate audience success metric for determining Canadian Television Fund allocations, Canwest MediaWorks Inc. told the CRTC on day four of the CTF hearings. It was a day ruled by bold recommendations and contrasting viewpoints, and highlighted by a spirited explanation of the unstable reality of picking hit programming from Canwest's Barb Williams. Shaw Communications Inc. senior VP of regulatory and corporate affairs Ken Stein set the stage for Williams yesterday morning when he challenged Canadian broadcasters' track record of investment versus that of the BDU. Shaw, said Stein, didn't flinch at pushing cable to smaller communities in western Canada even though it new the return on investment would be small, and the broadcasters should be just as committed to delivering Canadian content in primetime that Canadians want to watch. Given its turn in front of the commissioners, Canwest countered that even in the best of times, in any market, only 25% of new shows are successful. "I applaud Shaw for cabling small communities," said Williams, Canwest's executive VP of content. "But if they knew that when they hooked up a community and flipped the switch that 75% of the time the service wouldn't come on, and no engineer or anyone else could explain why it didn't work, what would they think then of their business model?" Williams' comment seemed to resonate with the sparse Gatineau audience, even drawing some brief, scattered applause, but it remains to be seen how Canwest's total-hours-tuned proposal will go over with other broadcasters and the commission. CTF monies are currently allocated to broadcasters based on the success of past CTF-funded shows and other Canadian dramas that meet the CTF requirements but did not use CTF money. Using total hours tuned for a broadcaster's entire schedule, argues Canwest, rewards broadcasters who create an atmosphere of success in which CTF-funded shows have a chance to garner a large audience. For instance, Williams noted the slot right after House, Canada's most-watched drama, is one of the most desirable in the line-up that could seriously bolster a CTF-funded show, yet the success of foreign programs is not a criteria in determining broadcast performance envelopes (BPEs). "The metric accounts for the environment that exposes larger audiences to Canadian programming from under-represented genres and helps build word-of-mouth," Williams told the commission. Canwest also proposed increasing the allocation for conventional private broadcasters to 50% of the private funding, with 50% going to discretionary services. Last year's BPEs totalled $18.5 million to CTV, $8.2 million to Canwest, and about $1 million to Rogers Media and other conventional broadcasters. Adopting both of Canwest's suggestions would alter those BPEs to $23 million to CTV, $19 million to Canwest and $10 million to Rogers. "Overall success of a schedule is more stable than a show-by-show analysis," said Williams. "And the inequities of the current model are hard to break due to historical access, et cetera. Our approach affects the baseline and ensures every hour performs as best it can." Shaw presented its own seven-point action plan, which included eliminating the 5% BDU allocation to the CTF, adopting a investment-based approach and focusing on giving consumers programming they want to watch. The cableco predictably derided the CTF, saying it does not deliver programs Canadians watch, has not created a viable production industry and has not increased broadcasters' spending on Canadian programming. "Private broadcasters' spending on Canadian programming as a proportion of their total program expenditures has actually declined from 55 cents per programming dollar in 2000, to only 52 cents in 2006," said Stein. "So, perversely, cable and satellite customers' contributions, which were supposed to increase Canadian programming expenditures, actually allow private broadcasters to put a bigger share of their money toward buying US programming than to buying Canadian programs." While the Shaw proposal may have been based on sound principles, hearing chair Rita Cugini suggested it was light on the specifics. "We're looking for a real plan," she said. "A concrete plan to build success." And as Rogers Communications Inc. vice-chair Phil Lind said earlier in the week, Shaw's proposal to eliminate the BDU contributions is not "within the realm of possibility." That said, Shaw did provide the commission with some points to consider. "We need an investment approach," said Stein. "Part of the problem is we're in a subsidy approach. The experts in programming in Canada are the bankers and the lawyers."

Audiences for foreign programming should help trigger more CTF funding: Canwest

Broadcast | February 8, 2008

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