Montreal: Quebec’s three leading private broadcasters, Reseau TVA, Television Quatre Saisons and Astral Media, are calling on the Canadian Television Fund’s board of directors to immediately establish a special allocation of at least $8 million for French-language, private broadcasters’ programs rejected in this spring’s LFP round.

At an April 16 press conference, the broadcasters pointed to particularly ‘unbalanced results in the French-language market’ as the basis for the special allocation demand. They say the $8 million should be drawn from CTF’s existing 2003/04 resources, or from next year’s projected revenues.

‘With respect to the francophone market, the results published April 14 favor public broadcasters’ programming to the extent that they violate the very principles and objectives that presided over the creation of the LFP,’ says Raynald Briere, president and CEO, Groupe TVA.

Pointing to built-in ‘distortions in 2003/04 LFP guidelines and the overall lack of resources,’ the private broadcasters say close to 70% of this year’s LFP funding for French-language drama is going to public broadcasters, notably Radio-Canada.

(In Quebec, programs licensed by private broadcasters received 32% of LFP funds; in the English market, private broadcaster-backed programs received 70% of funding.)

Pierre Roy, president and CEO of Les Chaines Tele-Astral, says CTF’s new ranking criteria for 2003/04 had been ‘clearly described as a pilot project, and that it would be possible to take corrective measures if required.’

At a separate press conference held the same day, representatives from the APFTQ, UDA, SARTEC, ARRQ and APVQ distributed a non-exhaustive list of some 50 independently produced shows from Quebec producers denied LFP funding.

Claire Samson, APFTQ president and CEO, says 68% of all French-track productions have been refused LFP backing, compared to only 28% last year. Samson describes the situation as ‘catastrophic,’ adding $40 million in production is at immediate risk, representing up to 900 jobs.

‘The Canadian audiovisual economy is already very tight so it’s very unlikely broadcasters have any margin to maneuver,’ says Jacquelin Bouchard, chairman of the APFTQ. Bouchard says options are severely limited and include ‘finding additional money where there is none, [program] reruns or buy [ready-made] foreign acquisitions.’

‘This is not just a problem of independent production [but] a problem for the Canadian broadcasting system as a whole,’ says Bouchard, adding: ‘What attracts audiences, at least in Quebec, is Canadian, Quebec francophone content. Ratings will decline with reruns and foreign acquisitions. As such, the cultural [reflection] that television represents will retreat 20 years in the past.’

In Quebec, producers and programmers are faced with multiple uncertainties, or a kind of double jeopardy, adds Bouchard.

On top of the CTF crisis, the industry here is faced with the uncertainty surrounding the status of the Parti Quebecois budget, tabled March 11. The 1.66% across-the-board cut to the production tax credit and elimination of benefits related to broadcaster-supplied manpower and affiliate production have already taken effect. What remains uncertain, however, at least until the newly elected Liberal government tables a budget, are the ‘positive’ aspects of the budget, namely the $20 million in additional credits for SODEC and other A/V sector programs.

‘If the additional credits are not retained then that will be strike three,’ says Bouchard.

La Fete Productions president Rock Demers points out Finance Minister John Manley’s budget cuts to CTF ‘are particularly unjust because they are in effect retroactive’ – as the budget was tabled Feb. 18 – only days after the CTF spring program application deadline.

Eleven TVA primetime series have been rejected, including five programs ranked among the top 10 most popular shows in the francophone TV market. They include Emma, Les poupees russes, Histoires de filles, Km/h and Cauchemar d’amour.

Top-rated TQS shows turned down by the LFP include 450 Chemin du Golf, 3 x Rien and Ratpack.

Astral-commissioned youth series rejected include the flagship series Real.TV and Un grenade avec ca.

Dramas and youth series from SRC that did not make the final LFP cut include Le monde de Charlotte, Trois petit tours, La Vie qui tue and Ayoye!, while rejected Tele-Quebec-commissioned series include L’Ecole de bonheur, Une histoire de famille, Phylactere cola III, FX and 11 Somerset.