Sans a directive to block out unclassified American programming, the crtc’s violence decision is receiving kudos from cable companies and broadcasters alike, but has left remaining concern over the cost of encrypting a mountain of programming.

While the English-language broadcasters participating in the v-chip trials being run by Shaw and Rogers are finding encoding programming a minimal investment, the Quebec-based broadcasters are labeling the v-chip decision heavy-handed, and at worse, a serious potential cost burden.

Andre Provencher, vp programming for Tele-Metropole, pegs the classification costs to Quebec broadcasters in the order of several hundreds of thousands of dollars. Hundreds of hours of drama and children’s programs, including teleromans, are produced in Quebec each year and these programs cannot be jointly classified with the Americans, or others, nor can the cost of the classification be easily shared, he says.

Given the cost and logistical nightmare of encoding, ‘we’re asking ourselves, does the remedy correspond to the illness?’ says Provencher.

Monic Lessard, vp programming at Canal Famille, the French-speaking children’s specialty service, says it makes sense to employ a v-chip because satellite signal distribution is wreaking havoc with the watershed hour. ‘But when I hear a classification system is going to cost a fortuneand to think we could invest that money in quality shows and shows for children exactly with that goal of countering those violent choices, it makes me feel sick. It just doesn’t make sense.’

According to English-language broadcasters participating in v-chip testing to date, the costs incurred in encrypting have been minimal. ctv’s Gary Maavara and cbc’s Linda Leslie says it’s been primarily an investment in time for someone to sit and watch and implement the codes.

‘It’s not the same as closed captioning where you have to watch everything in realtime. Some programs, like movies, will take a little longer to classify, but for the most part it’s just a matter of plugging in the codes,’ says Maavara, vp development and public affairs for ctv.

Alison Clayton, who wrote the classification system being tested currently and organizer of the v-chip test for Rogers, says the cost of encrypting won’t be nearly as big as the broadcasters are estimating. The encryption hardware is running about $8,000, units the mainstream broadcasters already have in-house to facilitate closed captioning, and the software about $600.

But unquestionably there will still be a much greater body of programming to encode come September, particularly in the Quebec market for which Provencher says the financial implications of the decision ‘haven’t been carefully weighed.’

‘On the English side, it makes sense to have a North American classification system, but we would have appreciated it if the commission would have given more consideration to the differences between the francophone and anglophone market.’

Bill Merrill, vp programming for cfcf-tv, Montreal, says there are other problems with the v-chip solution which may curtail the problem of 9 p.m.-scheduled programs showing up via satellite at 6 p.m. in Vancouver but leave broadcasters receiving the feed first still with a dilemma.

‘How are we going to rate every show when some come direct via satellite from the u.s. and go right to air? General Hospital, for example, is on the air at 3 p.m. and nobody can screen it because it arrives direct. The point is, we have shows that come down an hour before they go to air.’

According to Clayton, the technology will allow series to be rated as a whole and take a huge step towards correcting the problem. Friends, for example, which changes minimally in the violence, language and sex categories, would be given a rating which is simply plugged in even minutes before the show.

‘Someone doesn’t have to watch the entire show each time. It’s not as onerous as many seem to think.’

What may be a little onerous is co-ordinating a classification strategy with the u.s., says Trina McQueen, president of Discovery Channel and chair of agvot.

‘The only real concern I have is that they’re expecting agvot to come up with a classification system by September and the American’s have a Jan. 1 deadline. I’m concerned if we are making decisions without knowing fully what the American’s have planned. It’s absolutely, significantly and fundamentally important that our system resonates with theirs.’

At this point, agvot and the Canadian Association of Broadcasters are looking to set up a meeting with the North American Broadcasting Association and are expecting to meet with nab and the ampa’s Jack Valenti in the upcoming weeks.

In addition to nailing down the classification code, the structure of the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council will have to change. Currently all members are private broadcasters and it’s going to have to be opened up to all sectors of the industry, says cab president Michael McCabe.

The debate on the impact of the v-chip on the types of programs produced rambles on in the States, with House Commerce Committee chair Thomas Bliley saying producers will use it as an excuse to go gangbusters on violence and sex, while Ted Turner swings towards the theory that the v-chip will lead to more Brady Bunch-type programming.

This side of the 49th parallel, programmers are questioning the heights to which the whole violence debate has climbed.

Both anglophone and francophone programmers point out they aren’t receiving complaints on tv violence and that a Canadian encryption system won’t solve the problem of encrypting direct feeds from the u.s.

A year after the Power Rangers imbroglio, CanWest Global’s Doug Hoover, tk??????tk, says there haven’t been any subsequent violence-related complaints.

‘Power Rangers is still readily available through cable. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles continued and continues to run on Canadian broadcasters. As a programmer, I’m making the point that, first, we don’t get complaints, and second, I don’t think it’s an issue with conventional television until the satellite distribution undermines the 9 p.m. cutoff. The Canadian programmers have been more than responsible.’

Tele-Metropole has had virtually no complaints from the public on the issue of tv violence, says Provencher. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers has been the one exception and it was withdrawn from Tele-Metropole at the same time CanWest Global Communications pulled it from their system.

Lessard agrees that in some ways, the issue of tv violence is overstated. Canal Famille imposes its own zero-tolerance level for violence in its programming, but even with ReBoot, the channel’s most action-oriented show, ‘We did not get one single complaining phone call. Nothing at all.’

Lessard also makes the point that news has been left classification-exempt, which is leaving out, in her experience, the programming with a greater effect on children than the Power Rangers.

‘When we talk to kids about violence, they tell us about newscasts, teleromans and reality documentaries because that’s what directly affects their lives. That hurts much more than Woody Woodpecker knocking on the other guy’s head.’