The Writers Guild of Canada (WGC) urged the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to weigh its Broadcasting Act obligations over the business models of broadcasters and streamers during the final week of the Path Forward hearings in Gatineau, Que.
“Jobs are drying up, livelihoods are threatened or heading south of the border; Canadian stories are at risk,” WGC president Alex Levine (pictured) told commissioners on Wednesday (Dec. 6). “It’s not an exaggeration to say that we are at a make-or-break moment in the Canadian broadcasting system.”
Levine cited the guild’s previously-revealed statistic that its Canadian-citizen members have seen their aggregate earnings decline by close to 22% over the last five years, adjusted for inflation.
Neal McDougall, WGC’s assistant executive director, asserted that testimonies from broadcasters and streamers have asked the CRTC to “privilege their business models over your mandate,” adding that flexibility means corporations can “contribute less, invest less, and not engage Canadian screenwriters.”
He further noted that even though streamers have been in the system for years now, the WGC hasn’t seen robust engagement with its members. “If we had, we wouldn’t see that 22% decline,” said McDougall.
McDougall said one of the WGC’s fears is that, under a modernized broadcasting system, traditional broadcasters will be “allowed to walk away from their mandate to serve Canadians, abandoning programs of national interest (PNI) and minimizing their contributions to a few genres of their choice.”
“Over a decade ago we sat in this very room and listened to them tell you that making programs of national interest was in their DNA, so they didn’t need regulation to force them to do it,” he continued. “Now, they are telling you they don’t want to do PNI, they just want to do news, but also news isn’t profitable either, so they need money from foreign online undertakings to pay for that. Next, they will come back and tell you that news is too much for them, and they shouldn’t have to do that either. Mark our words, we’ve seen this playbook before.”
The WGC has proposed a 5% minimum initial base contribution that should be directed to the development and production of PNI genres. McDougall told commissioners the WGC would support the idea of foreign-owned online undertakings being able to tap into funds for the production of Canadian content, saying that if they contribute to the system, they should be able to benefit from it.
During Telefilm Canada’s testimony earlier that day, executive director and CEO Julie Roy proposed the CRTC direct 20% of the initial base contributions to the creation of Canadian and Indigenous feature films.
Roy told the CRTC that feature films are “an integral part” of the Canadian broadcasting system and make up a significant portion of streaming catalogues, especially as theatrical windows continue to shrink and audiences increasingly adopt streaming as their primary way to watch films.
Francesca Accinelli, VP, promotion, communications and international relations, highlighted that Telefilm is already working with foreign organizations such as Apple to promote Canadian content, with initiatives such as the Made in Canada Spotlight campaign.
“We want to meet people where they’re at,” said Accinelli. “Marketing campaigns for feature films are in desperate need of additional financing to penetrate the wonderful cultural noise that exists.”
Representatives at TVO concurred with the notion of base contributions supporting Canadian films, as well as long-form documentaries and educational programs for children.
Jennifer Hinshelwood, COO of the TVO Media Education Group, added that TVO is also in favour of the proposal from the Canadian Media Producers Association that 20% of the contributions should be allocated to certified funds such as the Black Screen Fund, the Indigenous Screen Office, and the Canadian Independent Screen Fund. It is also in favour of APTN’s proposal for the creation of a Services of Exceptional Importance Fund to provide direct funding to public service-oriented broadcasters.
The Path Forward hearings will conclude on Friday (Dec. 8.)