The crtc’s new television policy is being hotly, sometimes cynically, debated across the spectrum of Canada’s production and broadcast industries with assessments ranging from ‘naive’ to ‘delightful’.

There’s no debating that Canada’s television mirror will reflect more of what the crtc calls ‘Canadian’ in the first new season of the next millennium, but whether the new images will resonate with this nation’s viewers, ay, there’s the rub.

In fact, Canadians who like to watch will be well into 2001 before they or the industry – regulators, broadcasters, producers, special-interest advocates, or pundits – can even begin to judge the successes and failures of the commission’s 1999 television policy since it only comes into effect in September 2000.

The dense policy document, released June 11, has juiced commentary in the normally dry broadcasting sector, drawing vehement opposition and some disillusionment from some quarters, while private broadcasters seem pleasantly startled, with still other observers handing down mixed reviews and wanting more specifics.

In short, the new tv policy: requires more Canadian content from ctv, Global and wic (recognizing that tva is a large station group which already exceeds the requirements in the policy); affords them more hours in which to receive credit for ‘priority’ genres; and provides for bonus credits for programming with six to nine Cancon points.

But one of the most controversial aspects of the policy is that it lets these broadcasters spend what they like to produce or license the required Canadian fare.

The new policy says these large station groups must air at least eight hours of ‘priority’ programming (aka underrepresented categories) every week, with priority Canadian defined as: drama; music and dance; entertainment magazines; variety; documentaries longer than 30 minutes; and regional programs produced in centres more than 150 km from Montreal, Vancouver or Toronto in all categories other than news and information.

To make it easier for broadcasters to provide eight hours, commission chair Francoise Bertrand says the crtc has ‘extended’ evening prime to ‘run from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m., seven days a week,’ up from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. during the week and 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. on weekends. ‘These changes will extend prime time by five hours per week. This will result in more flexibility to broadcast Canadian series.’

More ‘priority’ programming, more time to slot it in, and more credit towards total Cancon requirements for doing so: when these networks program Canadian drama – the costliest genre – in peak time the crtc will apply a 150% credit to those which meet 100% Cancon criteria. This credit already exists for dramas aired between 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. But the private ‘casters are gleeful the crtc will apply a 125% credit to six- to nine-point Canadian content shows, or those which include as little as 60% of the Cancon criteria.

This provision, combined with the crtc’s move to stop regulating minimum Cancon spending, provokes the most scorn among critics. Again and again industry players and observers have said the crtc cannot expect better Canadian programming as a result of this policy. More Canuck content, but not of higher quality.

One industry observer calls the policy ‘naive,’ pointing out the crtc has somehow not learned that when it comes to Canadian programming, private broadcasters will only produce quality, costly genres such as drama when they are forced to so do.

Elizabeth McDonald, president of the cftpa, says the commission’s plan ‘to bonus’ six-point to nine-point programs has caused ‘great concern’ among independent producers. She says the 125% bonus is unnecessary since these productions are cheap to produce and are readily exported. Furthermore, she agrees that since the crtc won’t require minimum Cancon spending, it’s unclear what spending patterns will be.

A veteran Montreal producer says the 125% credit for under 10 on 10 drama will only serve to increase the incidence of commissions reserved for series with a u.s. presale. She says there will be little incentive to do 10 on 10 drama.

Directors Guild of Canada president Allan King is also skeptical. He says historically, ‘if [the broadcasters] are not required on the record to spend, they spend less or they don’t spend.’ King does add, however, that ‘you can’t really convict somebody on history.’

As for the policy’s requirement that more regional programming air nationally or across a station group, McDonald reckons either the broadcasters will make this ‘a good chance…to talk to the regions or a huge opportunity for in-house game shows that don’t reflect anything [cultural] to anyone.’

McDonald says while some independents want primetime to start at 7 p.m. to favor family fare, there’s a ‘huge debate’ on whether shows slotted at 7 can be Cancon without being ‘first run’.

Canadian Association of Broadcasters president Michael McCabe takes a pragmatic view of Canada’s economic funding model and what it can support. He says the Canadian Television Fund can only support so many 10-point productions, whereas six- to nine-point productions derive more of their revenue from foreign sales and other sources.

‘We can go on looking down our noses at the six- to nine-pointers, saying `You’re bad boys if you do those,’ but the crtc has created two models. The crtc doesn’t distinguish between the two [six- to nine-pointers and 10-pointers]. I think we’ve got to get over this business of `you’re all bad if you’re running The Outer Limits.’ ‘

He adds that the 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. time period attracts ‘80% of the viewing audience watching ‘in the heart of primetime, not 50%. It’s opening [that earlier period] up for family-type shows, documentaries.’ He says doc producers at this month’s Banff Television Festival were delighted because the policy opens new sales avenues to them.

Kevin Shea, president of Global Television, and Ivan Fecan, president and ceo at ctv, both predict losses of viewers and ad revenue if their networks use the extra Cancon credits to produce poor quality or cheap programming. Both emphasize that the changes – the extra Canadian content and the extra hour in which to air it – will allow them to develop more distinct branding in a fragmented marketplace.

Says Shea: ‘This tv policy forces Global to behave as a network and to position itself vis-a-vis the other networks.’

Fecan notes that ‘the hut (households using television) levels are very good. . . between 7 and 8. But what you don’t have is a lot of u.s. network competition. There are a great deal of things that could be done.’

While both men emphasize that no decisions have been made on how to satisfy the new requirements, both expect they’ll be looking to air more documentaries and family programs.

But Shea is concerned about the policy’s take on kids’ programming since the document says only programs aired in evening prime will qualify for the 150% Cancon bonus. ‘Global is the only private [over-the-air] broadcaster still doing lots of kids’ programming in the a.m.,’ says Shea. But ‘there’s no benefit to keeping as much kids’ stuff on the [morning] schedule’ if the bonus credit disappears. ‘I’m convinced that this is an oversight on the crtc’s part,’ he says.

But the crtc’s policy, as reiterated by spokesperson Denis Carmel, is categorical: ‘The only way to reach the 150% credit is during primetime.’

Perhaps one of the strangest policy pronouncements to be handed down (item 61) has the commission encouraging broadcasters to distribute programming financed through the Canadian Television Fund, an essentially industrial strategy concern currently under review by the ctf’s board. The policy document says, ‘distribution by such companies. . . can be of significant benefit to the Canadian broadcasting system and the objectives of the Act.’

‘The commission has no business telling the broadcasters to get into the distribution business,’ says one Montreal producer. She says with the leverage associated with licensing, producers won’t be free to name their own distributor. ‘At Banff, the broadcasters were telling the Europeans, don’t bother with them [the producers], we’re going to be the distributor.’

On the subject of ads, the policy for fall 2000 will allow two new exemptions from the 12-minutes-per-hour rule: promotions for Canadian feature films and promotions for other broadcasters (such as sister specialties, etc.). Canadian broadcasters can already exceed 12 minutes per hour to promote Canadian content, referenda, election ads, and promos for closed-captioning sponsors.

Bob Reaume, vp media and research at the Association of Canadian Advertisers, says the aca is furious with the extra ad exemptions, which he says increase ad ‘clutter’ and reflect the crtc’s disrespect for viewers. He goes so far as to label the new exemptions ‘an unfair business practice.’

Reaume doesn’t think extra ads will lead to broadcasters ordering shorter programs; he thinks the programs will simply be more heavily edited.

‘It’s ironic that the aca would say this – yes, the viewer is getting more and more upset by ads, but it’s not our [advertisers’] fault. We’ve said 12 minutes is an acceptable amount of time. . . but broadcasters are getting permission to bend the rules and the regulator has bought this hook, line and sinker.’

ctv’s Fecan concedes that the aca has a valid concern, but he does not think Canadian broadcasters will move to 15 or 20 minutes of commercials per hour as can occur in America’s deregulated system. He says a regulated 12-minute cap with certain exemptions is ‘very different’ than going to 15 per hour like the u.s. ‘It is an issue for broadcasters that air foreign programming’ because the shows come prepackaged with more than 12 minutes of ads. . . in the case of acquired programming there’s not much we can do.’

Overall, McCabe says the changes will ‘transform the regulatory system into a more modern. . . system that will function in a more competitive world.’

McCabe adds it’s high time the crtc eroded its ‘very detailed’ control of spending and scheduling of Canadian content in favor of increased flexibility. ‘We’ve been saying our Canadian content will give us distinctiveness’ and he says the crtc should let the marketplace decide.

With files from Leo Rice-Barker.