Denis Harvey, who retired as cbc’s vice-president English television two years ago, recently joined Atlantis Films as president and ceo of YOU: Your Channel, a new specialty channel application.

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Trying to put the past broadcasting year in perspective and then relate it to the future is difficult because it has been change, change and more change.

I saw change accelerating in my eight years as vice-president of cbc English television, but it was nothing compared to the changes I watched from a comfortable retirement seat over the last two years.

There were the technological advances that were both exciting and frightening; the ownership changes in the industry; the impact on all aspects of the industry due to the economic downturn; the increase in specialty channels; the diminishing audiences of major networks… and each new development triggering countless other repercussions.

I recently left retirement to join Atlantis Films as president and ceo of their new specialty channel application, YOU: Your Channel.

The extent of the incredible changes I was now facing was underlined in a rather amusing way – it took me days just to master the new technology of the phone on my desk.

Of all the changes, the new technology and the threat of the 500-channel universe have been getting most of the attention. Everyone, from cable and telephone companies to broadcasters and producers, have been caught up in the debate on how to survive in the new competitive world.

And as we try to position ourselves for these changes, we must once again ask the questions: is television answering the original promise of being the greatest educational tool in history?

We must narrow the focus of that question here in Canada, as we head into one of the more crucial periods in our history, and ask ourselves just how much is television contributing to preserving our future and our national identity.

We cannot avoid the fact that primetime on Canadian channels is still dominated by u.s. programming. Yes, it is programming that all of us enjoy watching, but it is about another culture, not ours; about other problems, not ours; about other successes, not ours; about another country’s history and traditions, not ours; about another country’s legal and political systems, not ours.

Private broadcasters and independent television producers have tried valiantly at times to change this sad imbalance of programming. But the realities of the high cost of quality television and the small Canadian marketplace have made it very difficult.

Only the cbc, with its annual parliamentary grant, has been able to offer a good cross-section of Canadian programming, from children’s through science, the arts, documentaries, news, consumer affairs, musical variety, comedy and drama.

Even these efforts have been hurt by budget cuts in recent years and are now seriously threatened by more future cuts already announced.

One of the answers to this growing problem is what attracted me back to the business and that answer is the current efforts by the crtc to license new specialty channels.

After the television structural hearings which involved the entire industry, the crtc issued a call in June for applications for new specialty channels. That call stressed over and over that Canadian content, Canadian talent and Canadian producers would be all-important in the awarding of new licences.

With the combined financial revenues from commercials and subscriber fees, specialty channels should be able to finance program schedules that will be primarily Canadian.

The crtc has also stressed in its call that programming diversity must be offered – in other words, not just more of the same.

The new channels will create the biggest boom in Canadian program production that we have seen in years. And the Canadian viewer will be the big winner as the new channels offer programs in specific areas of interest rarely covered in today’s television.

There are over 40 applicants still in the running for these specialty licences and persistent rumors state that a maximum of six channels will be awarded licences after the hearings in February. However, more are expected to be licensed in the future.

Extensive research that we did showed that Canadians wanted more television that was not just entertaining but that enhanced their lives, that helped them explore new activities and endeavors, that helped them cope with a rapidly changing society.

And because our society here in Canada is not the society of the United States, we need programming that deals with our values and our needs.

We are now in the process of talking to independent producers from across the country and that is the most exciting aspect of this entire process. Their ideas will become what we will eventually see on these new channels… programs that will give us new insights into this country and its people.