Two perspectives

There is a peculiar – peculiarly Canadian, some might argue – irony in the juxtaposition of two perceptions of Canadian television programming, as described on separate occasions recently by people who really know what they’re talking about.

One view is heartening, and satisfying in the sense of finding gratification in finally seeing achievement after so much hard work.

The other is frustrating, but also important as a reminder that there’s still a lot of hard work ahead.

One view comes from Ted Riley, the head of Atlantis Releasing, and, as one of the country’s top exporters of television programming, eminently qualified to comment on how the rest of the world is responding to the television software we make. The occasion was the conclusion of what appears to be Canada’s best-ever collective performance at the mip-tv international television market in Cannes.

Riley, of course, has the decidedly upbeat story to tell.

‘The world has finally caught up to the way Canadians have always had to do business,’ Riley says. ‘Canada is the envy of the world, truly cosmopolitan, with a credibility no one else has, incomparable access to the u.s., and an unparalleled ability to deal with Europeans.’

The other, closer to home perception, came out in a speech by Robert Lantos, head of Alliance Communications, the largest producer of television product in Canada. He was speaking in Toronto to a gathering of top-level executives who buy and sell television programming in the Canadian market. This is the crowd that determines what programming gets bought for Canada, and for how much.

Here, the role of the representative of Canadian television programming reverts back to missionary.

Some excerpts from Lantos’ speech went this way:

‘The irony is that while Canadian producers have built a reputation for programming that draws audiences around the world, including the world’s richest market, the United States, the Canadian advertising community pays a premium for programming that has the made-in-Hollywood stamp.

‘Eyeball for eyeball, there is greater value in Canadian programs than American programs, not lesser value. Canadian audiences are the intended targets of our programs, not just an incidental audience. We speak to our audiences with specific cultural references that are unique to our own society. That inspires a sense of familiarity and shared experience, which creates immediacy and bonding between the audience and the program. We are alone in the world in believing that indigenous is worth less. We have never been a u.s. colony, so why do we persist in acting like one?’

As he has done many times before, Lantos delivers a compelling argument. That he has to keep doing so, however, is sad.