Vancouver: Broadcasters applying for a new tv licence in Vancouver are mishandling the facts when they attack kvos, says the general manager of the u.s. border-town station.

A frustrated Dave Reid says recent published comments from Citytv exec Moses Znaimer and CanWest Global’s Izzy Asper that kvos does not contribute cash, taxes or jobs to the Canadian economy are false. (Baton/Electrohome, Rogers Broadcasting and Craig Broadcast Systems are the other three broadcasters vying for a licence.)

Refutes arguments

‘I take exception to the notion that we’ve taken money from Vancouver (and) that we are not repatriating any money to Canada,’ says Reid, refuting arguments to the contrary made in the five applications unveiled by the crtc this month.

‘That we are being portrayed as a pariah or immoral is objectionable.’

The Bellingham, Wash., station’s fare is made up almost entirely of syndicated programs, most of them second run. Reid says he buys almost all of his programming from Toronto-based distributor-broadcasters who own the rights to certain programs in Canada.

For example, he buys Seinfeld reruns from City parent CHUM Ltd. and he buys Home Improvement and Blossom from Baton.

Reid says he finds it ironic that he pays his licence fee to a Toronto distributor only to have the Canadian company return the money to the u.s. producers.

Canadian programming

Unlike most of the u.s. border stations, Canadian programming makes up a piece of the kvos sked. On average, 7.5 hours of programming per week are Canadian content, including City signature fare MovieTelevision, Ed’s Night Party, Ooh La La, Electric Circus, MediaTelevision and New Music.

The kvos fall season will see the return of To Serve and Protect, a Cops-style show featuring the Vancouver City Police which is funded by kvos and produced by Vancouver-based Dan Ford. The show regularly wins its Sunday 8 p.m. slot, says Reid.

Reid also points out that he pays both gst and pst in the creation and acquisition of programming, and that kvos has been incorporated in b.c. since 1954. He employs 20 Canadians in Vancouver, a quarter of the overall staff.

Applicants projecting that kvos sucks up $25 million per year in advertising from the Vancouver market are overstating the case, Reid says, although he won’t divulge the revenues derived from this market.

But whatever the income, he says it won’t disappear with a new licence.

‘Vancouver can accommodate another station and money won’t come just from kvos. It’s absurd. A new station will pull viewers from every other station. Advertising dollars follow viewers, not the Canadian flag.’

Tracy Doucette, a media buyer with Vancouver ad house Glennie Stamnes, says another option to sell into ‘would make me very happy,’ but agrees that a new Vancouver service will not mean the end of kvos. The u.s. station claims 15% to 20% of her annual budget.

‘kvos is not a base buy,’ she explains, ‘but it augments what I buy on other stations. Its rates tend to be more reasonable than the other Vancouver stations. The station has decent (sitcom) strip programming (weekdays 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.) that I can buy at an attractive cost per rating point. Why buy a late-night rotation (on a Vancouver station) when I can get ads on at 6?’

Reid says kvos will file clarifying statements with the crtc.