When it comes to linear vs. streaming, CBC is doing a “balancing act,” says Sally Catto, the pubcaster’s general manager of entertainment, factual and sports.

The 2022-23 programming slate announced Wednesday (June 1) revealed a strategy of pleasing CBC’s linear audiences who skew older with mainstays like returning series Murdoch Mysteries (pictured; Shaftesbury) and Heartland (Dynamo Films and SEVEN24 Films), while trying to target a younger demographic on its Gem streaming service with exclusives such as the new comedy Fakes and returning factual series Best in Miniature (marblemedia).

At this point in time, both linear and Gem “are vital for different reasons to different audiences,” Catto tells Playback Daily, noting the streamer has seen “a significant increase in audience” — 34% over last year — but the traditional network has “audiences from across the country who still do tune in.”

“We have to be very aware of what our competition is doing, but we see ourselves differently. We really do see ourselves as the public broadcaster. We’re not trying to compete with Netflix,” says Catto.

“So we really have that dual strategy that must be in place to make sure that with our broad mandate and our huge country and range of demographics watching CBC, that we are making sure that we keep both in a good position: keep linear stable and focus on growing Gem.”

Wednesday’s Upfront had several new Canadian dramas, including: Plan B (KOTV), Essex County (First Generation Films) and Bones of Crows (Marie Clements Media, Screen Siren Pictures and Grana Productions) among them.

New original factual series include Bollywed (HeartHat Entertainment), Comedy Night with Rick Mercer and Canada’s Ultimate Challenge (Insight Productions and The Gurin Company).

Catto says comedy has always been a strength for CBC and the pubcaster is building on that, bringing back scripted series Sort Of (Sphere Media’s Sienna Films), Son of a Critch (Project 10 Productions), Run the Burbs (Pier 21 Films) and Strays (Thunderbird Entertainment) for second seasons.

“Son of a Critch was a runaway hit, it was one of our highest-rated comedies. Run the Burbs I think really struck a chord, especially with so many people moving outside of the city during the pandemic, and we heard that a lot from audiences,” says Catto, adding that Sort Of also seems to have “really impacted people’s lives.”

“So really we’re in that second year of: ‘OK, that was a lot to order at once and we’re now giving them that second season to cement themselves and grow and have the space and the time to do that.'”

Overall, CBC is always looking at trends and what its audiences are looking for, “but we’re really guided by ‘OK, what’s missing?'” says Catto. “We are focused truly on telling stories from a uniquely Canadian perspective and we really want to represent voices from across the country.”

While the pandemic wasn’t a challenge in terms of commissioning the types of stories CBC wants to tell, it did slow down some productions and “there are certain shows that might have premiered last year that couldn’t,” says Catto.

“That was more of the challenge — that you’re developing shows, and they may be ready to go, but you can only order so many. And if you’ve delayed going into production on some you’ve previously ordered, you have to balance that and push some out to the next year.”

During last year’s Banff World Media Festival, CBC vowed that all of its new original scripted and unscripted series commissioned from indie producers will require at least 30% of all key creative roles be held by those who identify Indigenous, Black and/or people of colour or persons with disabilities.

Asked where CBC stands with that pledge, Catto says it “is in motion.” She notes that while the pubcaster is committed to better representing the country and making progress on that front, they “still have a long way to go.”

“I think the most important thing we are doing and need to keep doing is keep talking to the communities and the different organizations and really get feedback,” says Catto. “This is a live strategy, so it can change, it can move, it can evolve. But the most important thing is to keep that line of communication going when it comes to percentages like that, and when it comes to ‘Are we moving the dial?’ So we’re evaluating that constantly.”

Photo: Yannick Bisson as Detective Murdoch in Season 14 of Murdoch Mysteries. Courtesy of CBC.