CanWest Global’s success is being used against it by its competitors.

After months of hype, CanWest Global’s benefits package is a disappointment to some. More news, 26 half-hours of kids’ programming per year and a Western hammerlock on at least one of the New Producers Series is no inspiration for the bruised and battered Alberta production industry. But as the crtc sorts through the doomsday screeching, the threats of depleting the Canadian production resources in Alberta, indeed messing the entire Canadian broadcasting landscape up for years if CanWest is licensed, part of the question has to be: can we blame CanWest?

It is through no great machinations of the crtc that Izzy Asper has managed to turn Australia’s Network Ten into a cash cow, made a go of New Zealand, and provided hit-savvy programming exec Doug Hoover with the capital to vacuum the majority of big u.s. ratings draws. It’s also no fault of CanWest’s that wic is only now putting in place an effective national distribution and sales strategy or that ctv has hobbled itself with internal politics for the past two decades.

And now, when business is the name of the game, CanWest takes a hit for filing an application with the primary goal of expanding its reach and amortizing the millions it spends on programming over the greatest number of eyeballs. It’s what every one of the major broadcasting units wants and is vying for in Ontario and Vancouver, but it’s okay for them since they’re only playing catch-up with CanWest which has gotten bigger than everybody else and skewed the playing field. It would seem, well, very Canadian, to deny them a licence because they’ve become too successful.

Having said that, what to do about CanWest’s proposed contribution to the Alberta production industry? News does not independent production make. Yes, the underserved entertainment categories this year suck up about $12 million of the CanWest systems’ $45 million Canadian programming budget, a portion of which spent in the Alberta region on the likes of Jake and the Kid.

But surely to enter the market, producers feel, there must be more ‘benefits’ than a children’s series and the guarantee of at least one one-off each year. Alberta producers – Canadian producers, really – but Alberta producers without an ampdc or an arts-friendly government specifically, need it more today than yesterday.

Broadcasting is a growth industry. With a powerhouse wielding the financial and distribution clout of CanWest, surely there could be more in the package. If that holds true then wic too, with 1995 revenues of $442.3 million and profits running $82.7 million, should be on the hook to meet its commitments to the Alberta production industry, competition or not, and called on its threats of being unable to make its projections if CanWest is welcomed in.

What’s left is for the crtc to push each would-be national broadcaster – CanWest (1995 revenue $336.7 million, profits $90.4 million), wic, Baton (1995 rev of $254.3 million, profits $36.1 million), and chum (1995 revenue 217.4, $25 million in profit) – to maximum density. All have specialty channels in the works. Economies of scale should be an advantage. Serious incentives should offer more than the minimum and the opportunity to access a national window, yet be financially realistic for all parties.