Montreal: ‘i think this was the best cab convention I’ve been to so far,’ remarked crtc chair Francoise Bertrand moments before she and close to 400 fellow delegates were ushered into the closing party and Gold Ribbon Award ceremony at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Nov. 2.

Jam-packed with conferences that covered such recurring issues as the advancement of digital technology and the Internet, this year’s Canadian Association of Broadcasters annual convention, Broadcasting ’99, focused on subsequent themes of globalization and convergence.

How broadcasters should build their business models and government should design public policy in order to facilitate the ever-changing needs of the industry were questions repeatedly addressed, yet never definitively answered, throughout the two-day event, suggesting a collective confusion about the future of the Canadian broadcast industry.

Appropriately, MIT Media Lab’s Andrew Lippman opened the convention by driving home the theme of ‘blurring lines.’

‘Understand that you’re in the business of customers, not programming or distribution,’ he said to a roomful of programmers and distributors, including Alliance Atlantis Broadcasting’s Phyllis Yaffe, Space: The Imagination Station’s Paul Gratton and Global Television’s Kevin Shea.

‘You have to go into any business that it takes to keep and grow your customers.’

Conversely, noted futurist Ken Goldstein explained in a FuturePlan session that ‘non-media companies are taking on media-type roles,’ a sentiment later echoed by Michael J. Wolf, author of The Entertainment Economy.

What this means is that as the Internet plays an increasingly central role in the marketing and sales of brands across the board, companies outside the broadcasting industry are becoming programmers/content providers – ctv, for example, might find itself competing with The Gap. As such, borders would then become irrelevant, setting the stage for the much-anticipated ‘global economy’ in which the only way Canadian broadcasters would be able to compete would be by way of massive convergence.

‘Important edge’

‘Canadian content,’ Goldstein suggested, ‘may give Canadian broadcasters an important edge.’ However, the programming model, which he said is currently based on ‘protection, regulation and spending,’ will be based on ‘brand-critical programming.’

Public policy and funding ‘must encourage both a strong industrial base…and export,’ said Goldstein. Also, transition and cross-platform strategies are now crucial.

Goldstein predicted the use of digital cable will grow from 2% today to 45% in 2010 and digital satellite/mmds from 5% to 18%. ‘There will be more changes in broadcasting over the next 10 years than in the last 50,’ he added.

cab president and ceo Michael McCabe outlined cab’s five-year FuturePlan, which will be updated yearly to keep pace with the ever-changing broadcast environment. Key issues the industry will face in the coming years, he said, include policy and regulatory frameworks for digital tv; trade policies to ensure Canada’s cultural industries flourish domestically and abroad; development of a tv program financing model that increases the supply of unique and popular Canadian programming; a timely monitor of new media and its impact on broadcasting systems to signal the need for business policy and regulatory change; and policies to establish an appropriate balance between public and private broadcasters.

In a discussion on trends, Ian Saville, executive vp, Cossette Communication-Marketing, said if regulators don’t facilitate Canadian companies to ‘get big quick, we’re going to die.’

Loosening restrictions on foreign ownership and Canadian content is one way to enable Canadian broadcasters to flourish, said Stephannie Larocque, communications and media analyst, Bunting Warburg Dillon Read. Consolidation and, hence, cross-promotions, affect the bottom line and excite the market, she pointed out.

On the flip side, John Cassaday, president and ceo of Corus Entertainment (Shaw’s strategic spin-off), whose company is focused on children’s and music programming, is excited about the advent of digital because it creates opportunities for segmentation. ‘We want to slice and dice the children’s markets so we can defend against global competition,’ he said.

Likewise, Saville said niche players are critical, but they won’t stay niche for long. They will become big fast, then merge and make alliances: ‘Alone they can’t survive.’

On the subject of digital tv itself, Michael McEwen, president of Canadian Digital tv, hosted a discussion made up of a panel of American broadcast engineers.

Among the various levels of enthusiasm for the digital future, the most notable comment was made by Peter Smith, vp, technical planning and engineering at nbc: ‘We’re not quite sure when hdtv rolled out – whether it was last year, this year or next year?’

As it stands, reception remains a problem and u.s. broadcasters are in the midst of trying everything until they find the right way to go.

Canadians are said to be following shortly behind.

On a less technical note, Trina McQueen, exec vp at ctv, asked the question, ‘Do people want more boxes and wires in their living rooms, and if so, where are they going to put them?

‘If you’re going to bet on anything,’ she added, ‘bet on content. Copyright is wealth.’

In an address to members of the association, Bertrand revealed that the decision on the cbc/src, Newsworld/rdi licence renewal will be announced in December. She told Playback, ‘It is a very strong decision,’ and specified the details will be released before Dec. 21.

New framework

Bertrand also announced that in December, the crtc will put forth the new licensing framework for specialty and pay-tv as well as the definition of the tv content categories and drama programs.

Impressed with cab’s FuturePlan, she said the commission is working on a plan of its own for the following three years – which will include process, diagnosis, interviews, facts, and quantitative data – to be released this winter.

According to McCabe, Bertrand asked him to bring cab’s FuturePlan to the crtc and a government official has asked him to take a copy to the Prime Minister’s Office.

The closing night of the cab convention culminated in the esteemed Gold Ribbon Awards ceremony.

bctv Vancouver topped the winners by taking home three awards, one in the news: special series category for the five-part series B.C. in the Red and two promotion Gold Ribbons for ‘If it matters ’98’ and ‘Canucks Combo.’

Best television community service project went to cfmt-tv Montreal for Operation Solidairite. The station also won gold in the multimarket programming category for Le Gala Metrostar.

Toronto’s Citytv won a promotion gold in the multimarket category for FashionTelevision and a best entertainment show gold for its Festival Shmooze.

cftk-tv Terrace took gold in the documentaries and public affairs category for the one-hour news special Carving the Future.

ckem-tv Edmonton’s News@Six scored the breaking news Gold Ribbon for its exclusive coverage of a suicidal gunman terrorizing a schoolyard.

cklg-tv Kitchener won the Gold Ribbon for news for Parkhill Dam Tragedy.

In specialty services, MuchMusic won the programming and promotion Gold for the 1998 MuchMusic Video Awards and Space: The Imagination Station took home the promotion Gold for its ‘Space Imagination’ campaign.

Normand Beauchamp, Paul-Emile Beaulne, Robert D.F. Lawson (posthumously) and Cam Gardiner were each awarded Gold Ribbons in recognition of their contributions to the broadcasting community.

Broadcast Hall of Fame inductees included the late Walter Blackburn, the late Ian Clark, the late Jamie MacLeod, Jacques Proulx, the late F. Baxter Ricard, the late Phyllis Switzer, Peter Warren (host, WIC Network), Arthur Weinthal (consultant, Alliance Atlantis Communications) and the late Stuart Craig, who passed away Saturday, Oct. 30, the day before the convention began. Celine Dion was also inducted.