Recently commissioned studies of broadcaster commitment to the Prairie provinces paint a dismal picture of the Western regional production landscape.

The Western Television Production Study, prepared for the Department of Canadian Heritage, finds that total broadcaster financing (cbc, private, pay and specialty tv) of Western television decreased by 33% between ’93/94 and ’97/98 (to $10.6 million from $15.8 million). Comparatively, during this five-year period, total Canadian tv production spending by the broadcasters dropped only 7%, to $33.7 million from $36.1 million.

Between ’93/94 and ’97/98, private broadcaster spending on Western production fell 32% to $3.5 million from $5.2 million. Meanwhile, total English-language tv production expenditures by the private broadcasters decreased by less than 4%.

Consequently, the study points out that it would appear that the funding lost by the West was reallocated to Canadian production outside the Western provinces. While private conventional broadcasters reduced their support of Western production by $1.7 million between ’93/94 and ’97/98, their total Canadian production expenditure was reduced by $500,000.

A just-completed report card on Alberta broadcasters, titled A Watchful Eye: Alberta Broadcasting Review, commissioned by the Alberta Motion Picture Industry Association, finds that while the private broadcasters have made commitments to developing and financing Alberta production, the weekly schedules of these stations devote an average of 1% to 2% of Cancon airtime to programs from Alberta producers.

The study recommends that ampia seek support for Alberta independent production under Section F of the crtc application process. As well, the document recommends that ampia intervene at all upcoming licence renewal hearings and propose that 10% of all Canadian programming by Alberta broadcasters be derived from the local independent sector and that 10% of airtime be allocated for Alberta independent production, spread over all the genres and including primetime slots. Specifically, this would mean that eight hours a week would be acquired from the Alberta indie production sector, with two hours a week dedicated to Alberta-produced primetime drama.

Private broadcaster spending

The Western Television Production Study offers a look at the track record of the private broadcasters over the past five years.

According to the report, ctv’s support of the West has varied. In ’97/98, Western production expenditures totaled $2.4 million, representing 43% of the broadcaster’s total Canadian production budget. A year earlier, ctv’s investment in the West was $1.1 million, representing 93% of its total spending on Canadian production; in ’95/96, the total was $0.8 million, only 14% of the total financing; and in ’94/95, $1.1 million was spent in the West, representing 35% of the total expenditure.

Ironically, support from CanWest Global, which is headquartered in Winnipeg, has steadily declined, from $2.5 million in ’93/94 (36% of its total Canadian spending) to $2.3 million in ’94/95 (88% of total spending) to zero by ’97/98, at a time when its total Canadian production expenditures were $4.5 million.

While the private commitments have fallen, pay and specialty broadcasters have steadily increased their acquisition of programming from Western producers – to $2 million (42% of their Canadian spending) in ’97/98 from $200,000 in ’93/94 (10% of their total Canadian production expenditures).

However, while the specialty channels have opened new doors for Western producers, they cannot offer the fees required to finance projects on their own or to trigger the federal funds.

Drama decline

By genre, Western Canadian drama production showed the most significant decline over the past five years, falling 21% to $40 million in ’97/98 from a high of $50.7 million in ’93/94. The most significant decrease in drama financing was from the cbc (to $4.7 million from $10.4 million), then CanWest Global (to zero from $2.4 million), followed by ctv ($2.2 million in ’93/94, nil in ’95/96, and rebounding to $2.3 million in ’97/98).

Furthermore, during the five years of the study, almost half the drama series produced in the West were copros with Ontario companies and one-third of the projects were not developed in the West.

By ’97/98, drama had dropped to 70% of total Western production from 90%, while documentary production rose to 13% of total Western production budgets from 4%, and kids’ programming to 15% from 5%. These shifts, according to the study, indicate the reduced participation of conventional broadcasters in the West and the increasing role of specialty channels.

Western provinces are dependent on dramatic production as the single largest component of their total television production levels, and the Heritage document expresses concern that while b.c. and Alberta have broadcaster drama commitments to the crtc through vtv and A-Channel, Saskatchewan and Manitoba are without this benefit.

The Alberta study finds that A-Channel has met its promises of performance to date, having committed $1,285,000 to 15 projects since its launch. So far nine projects worth $28 million in production have been completed through the fund. However, only 1% or half an hour of a total 70 Cancon hours on A-Channel was programmed with Alberta independent producers.

Halfway through its licence term, cfrn has spent $3.8 million, or 45% of its $7-million commitment, on 99 Alberta projects. However, only 2%, or two of 83 Cancon hours on cfrn’s weekly schedule, was from Alberta producers.

cfcn will have to expend its contributions to the local industry at double its current rate in order to meet its $7.5-million, five-year commitment to the Alberta industry. cfcn has spent 28%, or $2.1 million, on 77 Alberta projects halfway through its licence term. Like other broadcasters, cfcn’s airing of Alberta independent production was less than 1% – half an hour in an 86-hour Cancon week.

WIC Western International Communications’ Alberta holdings include citv, cict and WIC Premium Television. Its licence commitment of $11.7 million for cict and citv does not allocate a specific portion of this funding to be spent in Alberta. However, wic’s support of Alberta in ’97/98 was $1.1 million, a decrease from the $2.3 million spent in ’96/97.

Among the Alberta-based broadcasters, citv scored the highest on actual airing of Alberta programming, with 6% (4.5 hours of 71.5 total Cancon hours) of its schedule devoted to made-in-Alberta production. However, no Alberta indie productions were broadcast in primetime nor was there a strong representation of Alberta productions in the underrepresented categories of children’s, drama and music.

Access tallied $1.9 million in direct funding to Alberta independent producers, with an additional $2.7 million provided to Alberta producers through Ministry of Education initiatives.

Western representatives of the broadcasters mentioned in the studies say they are stretching available resources as far as they can.

Scott McPherson at WIC Premium Television, which operates the pay-tv licence in Western Canada for Superchannel, has a pool of development money for long-form projects, running around $500,000 per year, while the free television side hands out $900,000 in development annually. Over $2 million per year is available in equity and licence fees, he says.

In addition to the monetary help, McPherson points out that wic acts as a story editor on all the projects it gets involved in and works with emerging writers and producers in the West to get projects off the ground.

‘Since we offer recoupable development loans, we have a vested interest in getting projects into production,’ he explains. ‘We are very proactive and help find story editors, executive producers and other contacts for writers.’

For example, Dinsosaur Hunter, which recently wrapped production in Saskatchewan, began as a book, My Daniel by Pam Conrad, which had been circulating around the wic offices. Set in the 1920s, the story follows the adventures of a young brother and sister hunting for dinosaur bones.

McPherson brought the project to Gail Tilson at Independent Moving Pictures in Regina. Writer Edwina Follows was chosen to work on the screenplay and Ric Stephenson to direct. wic anted up development money and a full licence fee for the $3-million family feature and brought Credo Entertainment of Winnipeg on board as executive producer.

Other projects wic is currently developing with Western producers include the feature Crossing from Vancouver’s Roger Larry; the feature Escape from Rangoon; the third season of Incredible Story Studios, AD2010 and Mythquest, all with Minds Eye Pictures of Regina; an animated series with Gordon Stanfield Animation in Vancouver; and, Borderline, a feature being produced by Regina’s Heartland Motion Pictures and written by Larry Mollin.

Edmonton series in

development at VTV

Louise Clarke, head of independent production ctv Western Region, notes that she works in conjunction with the network to develop tv series and mows for the main network. She is currently developing a one-hour primetime series with Edmonton production company Realtime Films. Titled Boom, the contemporary drama centers on a boxer who leaves the ring to become a lawyer in a Western oil-boom town where everyone has come from somewhere else to get rich quick. Hidden pasts, greed and lots of scheming provide the dramatic tension of the series.

ctv affiliate vtv has a mandate to develop limited series, family dramas (four to six half-hour family dramas), as well as license half-hour dramas from emerging talent through the Storytellers anthology series and one-hour docs in the Pacific Profiles strand.

Family dramas on tap at vtv this year are Mentors (with Minds Eye/Anaid Productions of Edmonton) and The Magician’s House from Forefront Entertainment of Vancouver.

An animated children’s series, D’Myna Leagues, to be produced out of Vancouver with Studio b, was first developed with a vtv licence, which was augmented by the main network.

Clarke says so far vtv has managed a strong track record in getting its programming picked up for broadcast on the main network.

Almost all of the documentary programming has aired nationally, she says. Mentors, a kids’ series produced by Minds Eye and Anaid, was first developed and licensed as a pilot by cfrn, then wic, ctv affiliate vtv, cfrn and Vision tv took licences on the first set of episodes. vtv has ordered an additional five episodes and Mentors will be broadcast nationally on ctv this summer.

New kids on the block

The Aboriginal Peoples Television Network, which launches in September on basic cable, is setting up a base in Winnipeg. The network has committed to $6 million in presales and acquisitions from independent producers in its first year and $7.5 million by year two.

The mandate of the network is to reflect all regions of Canada and all program genres – kids’, news, docs, music, drama, sports, historical and cultural programming, says director of communications Jennifer David.

The projects must have some aboriginal context or theme and/or be produced by an aboriginal filmmaker. ‘If the main character in a drama is aboriginal, that counts,’ says David. Producers themselves do not have to be aboriginal, she says.

Criteria for program selections and to ensure all regions of Canada are covered are currently being drawn up by the board of directors.

Aboriginal-language programming will make up 30 hours per week of the schedule – 18 hours of French-language programming and 72 hours of English-language programming. International indigenous programming will make up 10% of the schedule.

New money at CLT

With the September launch of Canadian Learning Television by the Chum Group (which has bought educational Alberta broadcaster Access), new money is expected to be available to the production community. clt anticipates spending 30% of its discretionary budget on projects from the independent production community, says Peter Palframan, vp finance and operations. The business plan calls for spending $400,000 on indie production in year one and $750,000 by year seven.

‘We will be primarily supporting Alberta producers – around 50% of the money will be allocated to local producers – but the reality is as a national specialty it is important for us to represent as many provinces as possible,’ he says.

clt’s programming will include how-to shows, documentaries and all other forms of programs related to learning.

Access currently signs over 60% of its schedule to provincial educational agencies and post-secondary institutions, and commissions independent producers, mostly in Alberta, to produce the programs required. In ’97/98, $1.38 million in production money was allocated to contract outside producers on informational programming, ranging from series on daycare and addiction counseling to language arts. Slightly less, $1.34 million in projects, was contracted out.

Access will also help producers leverage other funds and find additional broadcast licences, says programming manager Jill Bonenfant.

The remaining 40% of the Access broadcast schedule is devoted to informal educational and formal educational programming. In ’97/98, $91,850 (of a total budget of $119,100) in prelicences was handed out to Western producers. Acquisitions from Western producers totaled $85,400 (out of a total Canadian acquisitions budget of $176,150).

In ’98/99, presales to Western producers totaled $143,750 (from a total budget of $241,250) and Western acquisitions tallied $103,750 (from a Canadian total of $181,250)

Access is taking first-window rights on a 31-part tai chi series being produced by Dinosaur Soup Productions of Edmonton, and regional broadcasters scn, Knowledge and the New vr are also taking windows to help finance the show.

When Discovery Channel chose not to renew Great North’s Acorn :The Nature Nut for the upcoming season, Access took a 25% equity position in the program and has become the lead broadcaster.

Bonenfant says Access is looking at taking a coproducing role in more of its new projects. ‘We are wide open to working out facilities, deals, sponsorship, and equity investment partnerships with producers,’ she says.

SCN support up 125%

Regional broadcaster scn has managed to increase its commitment to Saskatchewan producers by more than 125% over the past five years despite a budget cut.

In ’94/95, scn licensed 42 projects with $375,000 (20% of its annual programming budget), as compared to ’98/99, when 123 Saskatchewan projects were given a total of $864,000 (52% of its programming budget).

scn’s Richard Gustin points out that he pays five times as much for regional, Saskatchewan programming because the local nature of the shows make them difficult to finance with other national windows.

For the first time, scn has taken a lead role on a new series by acquiring Canadian rights to Minds Eye’s new kids’ series Prairie Berry Pie. Gustin says he plans to sell some windows to other broadcasters such as tvontario or Treehouse. scn often partners with Knowledge Network, tvo, Access and other regional broadcasters, as well as the specialty channels to share the costs of programming through shared windows.

scn would like to develop regional dramas and is looking at ways to find new programming dollars through partnership deals with other broadcasters, underwriting strategies which would team up all the educational broadcasters across Canada to offer sponsors access to a greater percentage of the market, and other entrepreneurial initiatives.