CBC’s time

has come

The cbc goes before the crtc March 21 for its first licence renewal since 1987. While there is little concern that the French and English networks will get their licences, it’s evident the hearings will be loaded with contentious points as to just how the Mother Corp should chart its way into the 21st century. The list of intervenors – from individual producers to communications companies – tallies at about 275 to date.

The cbc is not the only target of intervention; the Ministry of Canadian Heritage is getting some scrutiny for its future dealings on the front of punitive budget cuts. The Directors Guild of Canada notes in its intervention that defence funding increased by at least twice the rate as cbc funding in the past decade. The dgc wonders whether such comparisons are in the past: ‘There is no sign yet that the new government will rethink federal priorities.’

While there is an overall sense of compassion from the private sector for the cbc’s limited funds, the corporation does not escape some severe criticism in consideration of the new licence. The overriding industry issues addressed to the commission are: the amount and origination of regional programming on the cbc; a need to increase children’s and drama programming; in-house versus independent production; and the public network’s survival in the 500-channel universe.

Overall, there is a concern that cbc English tv is looking more and more like a private network, based on its satellite broadcasting plans, dependence on ad revenues and American programming.

Friends of Canadian Broadcasting deduced from a 1991 survey of the Canadian viewing public that ‘Canadians have no genuinely private or public television networks, only hybrids.’

actra targets the satellite issue as potentially challenging ‘current regulation and the cosponsorship of specialty licence applications.’ It concludes: ‘We find more and more that the senior management of the cbc has undermined its real commitment to its mandate through adapting a private sector approach to the marketplace.’

The matter of whether cbc should depend on ad revenues is most often paralleled in intervention briefs with the success of commercial-free CBC Radio. Says actra: ‘(We) believe that the absence of advertising in CBC Radio is a key factor in its unique success’ and ‘this same approach should apply to cbc television.’ Here, government support would have to pave the way.

As for American programming, there is pressure on the cbc to replace its daytime u.s. slate with Cancon, according to a long-term objective of the 1987 licence to increase Cancon levels to account for 90% of the full broadcast day. The Canadian Film and Television Production Association asserts: ‘There is no reason – apart from the economic advantages the Corporation derives – for the cbc to continue to carry u.s. programming.’

While Cancon was a major issue of the 1987 licence renewal, the general feeling from broadcasters and producers is one of support this time around, since the cbc has made significant headway in this area. The commission’s expectation in ’87 was for the broadcaster to maintain an average of 22.5 hours per week in primetime on the English network ‘and increase this level as funds become available.’

cbc has exceeded the expectation, met the long-term objective of 25 hours per week, and all despite dwindling funds.

The issue of regional programming remains unsolved. Sheridan Scott, cbc vice-president of corporate affairs and planning, defends the corporation’s efforts in this area: ‘We believe we have achieved a fair balance given the input from the regions that is available.’

Ian Morrison, spokesperson for Friends of Canadian Broadcasting, has this to say on the regional issue: ‘We want to build some type of defense for providing public broadcaster expression of a region to itself as well as to the rest of the country.’

The crtc placed an expectation on the cbc to increase its representation of native Canadians in the last licence, and Scott feels the matter has been addressed ‘in a programming strategy. An example is North of 60, a show that represents a number of native people as part of the story line, not as some kind of tokenism.’

In 1987, the commission stipulated a 50% acquisition from Canadian independent producers (not including news, sports or public affairs programs). The cbc has exceeded that mark, and when asked how, Scott responds: ‘There has been a desire to make sure independent productions are a focus.’ However, when questioned if exceeding the objective is part of a maturation of the industry, she didn’t comment.