Shifting to include network and national programming in a once exclusively local festival and improving program quality are a few of the items on the broadcasters’ agenda for CanPro 97.

‘What I think we are doing with CanPro now is moving it to another level in which we get the involvement of a lot of the major programmers who are involved in national programming,’ says Michael McCabe, president of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters.

With cab running the show, participants will notice a difference in the gala presentation and a stronger focus on national programming. This switch to more professional management by cab has meant a higher level of involvement by major broadcasters.

In the long run, McCabe would like to see CanPro evolve into a major annual celebration of private television programming, ‘without losing the forum for our local programmers to exchange information and to honor their local production.’

Right now the issue of concern to broadcasters is whether or not there is enough high-quality, primetime drama programming to ensure a Canadian presence on screens in the future.

‘From a business point of view,’ explains McCabe, ‘our priority is to try to engage the production community and the government in the launching of an industrial strategy to increase the quality and quantity of Canadian programming.’

According to McCabe, ‘we really do need, together with the government and the producers, to think about how we can improve the promotion for Canadian programming, because that is really an area where the big American shows beat us hands down every time.’

Although the crtc decision to allow Canadian producers to use commercial airtime without counting it as commercial minutes has enabled producers to increase promotions for their shows, McCabe feels Canadians must go beyond that if they want to secure their place on the airwaves.

‘I don’t know what the strategy is, but I think that it is something that we have to sit down and sort out.’