Reported proposals that the cbc be funded with contributions from a telecommunications tax have generally met with disfavor among representatives of the industries concerned.

Response comes in the wake of rumored recommendations in the Juneau report that suggest Canadian cultural institutions be strengthened and the cbc receive funding from a tax on cable, telephone and other telecommunications services.

The document, which will be released Jan. 31 and concerns government support of the cbc, Telefilm Canada and the National Film Board, is being prepared by former cbc president Pierre Juneau, tvontario head Peter Herrndorf and Simon Fraser University communications professor Catherine Murray.

Ken Stein, vp of regulatory affairs at Shaw Cable, says Shaw is opposed to the idea of a tax, pointing to the funds already contributed via the Cable Production Fund. He says there would be a negative public reaction after the fact, when the levy was reflected in cable bills. ‘People want to have a choice,’ says Stein, adding: ‘Nobody is dealing with the problems at the cbc.’

Chris Frank, director of regulatory and governmental affairs at direct-to-home satellite supplier ExpressVu, says the company supports the cbc but not a direct tax.

‘The bottom line is that a directed tax would make our product more expensive, and we’re already in a very competitive market,’ says Frank. ‘Overlaying a 5% or 10% tax on our service – a tax which the u.s. suppliers who sell through the gray market in Canada don’t have to pay – will make us less competitive.’

Says ExpressVu head Ted Boyle: ‘This is the wrong time to do this, to delineate the cost of the cbc on a per household amount on a monthly basis with the requirements this country has to pull together and to be a distinct North American entity. It may cause a backlash in certain parts of the country, or perhaps, in effect, a tax revolt.’

Whatever the medicine meted out to cbc, the industry in Quebec may not see it as the solution for Radio-Canada. The panel’s suggestions that commercial- supported programs be removed from the cbc schedule, thereby freeing up ad revenues for private broadcasters, could be problematic in the province.

Historically, cbc and its French-language counterpart have functioned quite separately. The differences are noteworthy.

Radio-Canada is even more dependent on advertising revenues, which now make up 45% to 50% of all its revenues. And the latest bbm ratings sweeps (in November) gave Radio-Canada the lead in primetime with a 32 share of the market, as compared to a 30 share for the rival TVA Network, well beyond the reach of cbc in the vastly more competitive English-language tv market.

And again this past fall, it was reported Radio-Canada made new inroads in advertising sales at the expense of private networks, inciting tva to place full-page ads in the daily newspapers in the form of an open letter to the prime minister denouncing Radio-Canada’s program buying and ad selling practices.

The question arises: if a cap is placed on Radio-Canada ad revenues, would those dollars necessarily go to private networks with considerably smaller program budgets?