Content seems to get lost in the fight between broadcasters and cable firms

Source: Montreal Gazette

Ever wonder why we have Canadian cable companies and Canadian broadcasters, if all they air is American programming and still charge us a fortune? Couldn't we just cut out the middle-man and pay NBC directly for their TV shows?

OK, I'm being facetious. But with cable bills on the rise, broadcasters threatening to close local stations and less Canadian programming on TV, lots of Canadians are asking themselves these questions.

We Canadians have produced tonnes of amazing television, from Mr. Dressup to the Beachcombers, Degrassi to Trailer Park Boys (OK, I'm a little biased on that one). These programs have gone down as icons that make us all proud. And we're still able to produce popular and innovative Canadian programs. We just need to be able to air them.

You've probably seen the big broadcasters join together in their "Local TV Matters" campaign. I agree, local TV does matter.

The broadcasters want cable companies to pay for it. I agree, they should. When big cable earns $2 billion in profits, when they pay American stations upward of $300 million for their signals but give nothing to Canadian broadcasters, there's something wrong.

But having Canadian programming on local TV also matters. It's time to end the free ride for both broadcasters and big cable and make them give something back for the money they earn from Canadian consumers.

The most important conversation - the one that isn't being heard - is about drama and comedy. The rules say you should be getting a good selection of Canadian programming from your cable companies and broadcasters - including drama, comedy and local news. But for years we haven't been getting what we're paying for with our cable fees or our taxes.

Cable companies are making buckets of money - especially since cable rates were deregulated. They pay specialty channels a fee to be able to offer their services as part of their cable packages, but give nothing to conventional broadcasters like CTV, Global and CBC. In fact Trailer Park Boys got made because of the spending and content requirements on specialty channels. We need to take that lesson and bring it to conventional stations so other programs have a chance.

Our TV regulator, the CRTC, recently ordered cable companies to pay 1.5 per cent of their gross revenues to help support the broadcasters in producing local programming. This is good. Unfortunately cable companies have chosen to pass that buck on to you. That is bad. Now they are threatening to do the same thing again. They're fighting the broadcasters' calls for fee-for-carriage. And promising that if they're forced to pay, you will pay. That is really bad.

Broadcasters should be fairly paid for the services, but they also must give something back to Canadians. If we end the cable companies' free ride, we also need to end the free ride for broadcasters.

The broadcasters want you to think the only thing at stake is local programming - namely news. That's because they don't want to talk about the crisis in Canadian drama and comedy and the fact that Canadians can't see our own scripted series on our conventional TV networks.

Why is that? Canadian English-language drama and comedy has been a rarity on prime time since 1999 - the year that the CRTC relaxed the rules for private broadcasters. Since then, private broadcasters have been filling Canada's prime-time schedules with U.S. shows. Last year they spent $740 million on U.S. and foreign programming and just $54 million on Canadian English-language dramas and comedies.

Sure we've got a few great Canadian TV shows on air, Flashpoint and This Hour Has 22 Minutes, to name two. But 10 years ago we had so many more programs to choose from. Why should we settle for less - especially when we're the ones footing the bill?

Being able to tune into Canadian TV drama and comedy is critical to the cultural health of our country. How do we know what it is to be Canadian if we can't see and share our experiences, our own lives, our communities, our heroes, and our history on TV, the most popular and pervasive cultural medium in history?

So what can be done to make sure Canadian TV is actually Canadian?

Revenues from fee-for-carriage must be seen on the screen in the form of new, original local, dramatic and comedic programming - broadcasters can't be handed a bag of money to take on their L.A. shopping sprees.

Cable giants must not be allowed to pass the buck on to Canadian consumers as they so outrageously have done before. The CRTC should direct them to pay from their own overflowing coffers, again, the cost of doing business. With $10 billion in revenues, big cable can afford it.

Our public broadcaster needs support - the CBC must be included in any new money being put into the conventional system.

It's time the CRTC made big cable and broadcasters do their part. If Canadian cable companies and broadcasters don't make space for Canadian TV no one else will. And if they don't - then why do we need them?

Robb Wells is a Canadian actor and screenwriter, best known for portraying Ricky on Trailer Park Boys.

© Montreal Gazette