At mip the Canadians were feted by Reed Midem head Xavier Roy who commended Canada for its ‘exceptional audiovisual industry’ and the ‘dynamic policy of production which gives so much force and scope to your market.’

Fresh from an ebullient market where children’s programming, specifically animation, did very well, it’s disheartening to consider that numerous Canadian producers trying to get kids’ shows greenlighted are having ‘a tough slog’ maintaining the scope and force.

Producer Ann Bromley, after an international children’s programming judging stint wherein u.k. and Australian product shone (particularly noting the excellence of the live action drama/adventure shows for preteens), feels that Canada is lagging behind in this arena.

The problems identified in the Alliance for Children and Television’s industrial strategy research confirm there’s a problem. act’s Kealy Wilkinson says the children’s production sector has the capacity to produce far more than they can place on Canadian nets, and that typically the funds to successfully produce live action drama (children’s preferred genre) are not available here.

It’s especially disturbing when one of the scarce safe havens for this type of programming in Ontario – tvontario with its stellar afterschool/early evening kids slot – is not considered to be serving an essential role by the province’s culture minister Marilyn Mushinski, who is looking at privatization strategies, saying that ‘there are private broadcasters and cable companies now providing significant educational broadcasting at a fraction of the cost to taxpayers for tvo.’

Huh? Weekdays afterschool reveal tvo’s Bill Nye The Science Guy, arguably one of the best shows out there, as the solo educational entry among a non-public variety of animated entries like Batman and Robin, live action sitcoms like Saved by the Bell, and a ton of talk shows in the 4 p.m. slot. Hardly a plethora of alternative educational programming.

In addition to acquiring enlightened shows on the entertainment side (and kids are watching things that are intelligent, as witnessed by tvo’s GhostWriter’s 40 share), Wilkinson says that no one else is doing the curriculum programming done by tvo that helps level the playing field for children in remote locations. ‘That’s why tvo is absolutely essential.’

Pubcasters have seen thinner funding for some time now, but are not content to pass on a skinnier menu to their clientele. Resource-seeking initiatives, such as tvo’s new Children’s Programming Fund, and forging ties even beyond the pbi coalition, such as Disney u.k.’s interest in tvo’s new McCabe Mysteries series are hopeful indicators.

In the bigger broadcast picture, the fcc’s push for more educational programming in tandem with a movement towards tighter ec quotas may turn the tide and help unplug the children’s production bottleneck in Canada. It’s ironic that one of the beneficial factors is influence from the u.s., the font of all licensing-driven kids shows.

While private broadcasters weigh the costs of targeting youth, and face continued pressure to tone down the violence and pump up the value – which may result in programming more in line with some of the Australian fare – producers opine there must also be protection for children’s programming at the public broadcast level. As Pat Ferns puts it: ‘if that falls away, not only the industry, but the public will be really hurt.’