Source: National Post

Canadians rely on over-the-air television stations for news about their communities -- the kind of local coverage that specialty channels cannot provide. Sadly, the deepening recession has put the future of over-the-air television at risk. Even the CBC, which is suffering from the same ad revenue downturn as the private Canadian networks, is talking about selling off stations and shrinking its geographic coverage.

This is worrying because when it comes to TV, Canadians consider local news their top priority. A recent POLLARA survey of 1,200 cable and satellite subscribers found that 76% consider local TV news very important and an additional 20% find it somewhat important. Such local programming is most threatened in smaller communities, where there is often only one TV source.

Yet, while the broadcasters suffer, the Canadian television distributors are thriving. Huge companies like Rogers and Shaw are reporting big profits from their cable operations. Perhaps some of these profits can be channeled into saving local TV in Canada.

We propose the following: The CBC should reduce ads on TV, except during professional sports coverage. This would inject new revenue into the competing private television business. In return for vacating ads on non-sports programs, CBC Television should be refinanced either by a levy on cable and satellite distributors to be determined by the CRTC, or through general government revenues, or by some combination of the two. This would transform CBC Television into a genuine public broadcaster.

Private over-the-air television networks should also have access to fee-for-carriage as determined by the CRTC provided they promise to use the money to maintain and enhance local and drama programming. The same POLLARA survey found that 54% of cable and satellite subscribers would be willing to pay $3 more per month to protect and enhance Canadian programming. This new approach could be phased in over several years.

We do not claim to be the first to advance such a proposal. More than four years ago, a speaker at the annual conference of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters said that CBC's "English-language television has tended to become more commercial, more in direct competition with private television and more driven to use American programming to attract advertising dollars -- an approach which does not appear to be successful. We believe that CBC English-language television should become, and will have to become, more distinctive if it is to remain viable and fulfill its role as a unique public broadcaster."

He continued: "We should consider giving it a mandate that clearly articulates its role as a unique Canadian broadcaster, and seek to reduce or eliminate mass-audience American programming from its schedule. In terms of foreign content, CBC could concentrate on non-North American international programming, that tends to be underrepresented in the system.

"Along the same lines, we would seek to reduce CBC's dependence on advertising revenue and its competition with the private sector for these valuable dollars, especially in non-sports programming. This refocused CBC will, obviously, have to be provided with stable and long-term public funding."

Stephen Harper delivered those remarks as Leader of the Official Opposition on Nov. 29, 2004.

-Ian Morrison speaks for Friends of Canadian Broadcasting, Peter Murdoch is vice-president for media of the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union and Steve Waddell is national executive director of ACTRA.

© National Post