Friends of Canadian Broadcasting’s latest report on TV programming content across 10 Canadian markets, released this week, found that CBC English TV’s primetime Canadian content has reached a 20-year low, with 25% of the pubcaster’s primetime schedule made up of foreign, mostly U.S., programming.

The findings, taken during the spring sweep period from mid-February to mid-March (when Nielsen measures audiences), are based on an annual sample of TV programming in major markets across the country. They show that while CBC English TV increased primetime domestic content from 22.5 hours a week in 1990 to 27 in 2000, it now only broadcasts 21 hours of Cancon during primetime a week, of its 28 hours of weekly primetime programming.

‘I think that the CBC’s move in the direction of largely American programming was intended to boost audiences, therefore advertising — and may not have done that,’ says FCB spokesperson Ian Morrison. ‘CBC may be still a little bit ahead from a business point of view… by buying the foreign shows, but it won’t be on the revenue side.

‘CBC may have overestimated the advertising potential of programs like Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune,’ says Morrison. ‘Fifty-plus is not a desirable demographic for advertisers. It’s not that [the demo] doesn’t spend money, it’s rather that they’re easier to reach and therefore they’re not as valuable a commodity for the broadcasters,’ he says, noting that CTV dropped Jeopardy after carrying it for over a decade. ‘Presumably it’s because they noticed that, while it had good numbers, they weren’t the kind of numbers that advertisers liked, so the cost-benefit ratio wasn’t very good.’

But CBC spokesperson Jeff Keay says the move isn’t surprising given the current economic climate. ‘As we’ve done for many years in the early hours of primetime,’ says Keay, ‘we make use of selected non-Canadian programming to attract viewers to the Canadian programming and to generate revenues — especially these days, we need to, given our current financial challenges.

‘I think the shows attract reasonable numbers,’ says Keay. ‘We program for a broad spectrum of Canadians, consistent with our mandate, so there may be some shows that skew somewhat older and some shows that skew somewhat younger, like Dragons’ Den — we cover a lot of ground, as a public broadcaster that’s our mandate and we’re happy to do that.’

From Media in Canada