Why would the national broadcaster want to create a PR disaster?

Source: Globe and Mail

Monday afternoon, just after the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) made public its intriguing but slippery plan to solve the infamous fee-for-carriage dispute, the nabobs of the TV and cable rackets unleashed their responses.

The cable guys were a tad miffed – dismissive even, in the usual manner of cable execs who believe they control the universe. The TV types were pleased, but in a hesitant manner.

Then it came – the sound of rattling cufflinks. Umbrage. Outrage. Steven Guiton, the CBC’s regulatory officer, stepped up to the microphones, looking furious. He proceeded to announce the imminent end of public broadcasting in Canada. “There does not appear to be a future for public broadcasting further to this decision” he said.

Horror! Murder in Gatineau, Quebec. The CRTC has killed the CBC. Driven a stake through its heart.

Watching this unfold on CBC was an interesting experience. The CBC reporter, Rosemary Barton, admitted to not understanding the CBC’s problem. Nobody did, actually. Not long after, Hubert Lacroix, the CBC’s president, turned up on CBCNN’s Power & Politics. More umbrage and dismay. Cufflinks rattling like castanets, all finger-wagging fury. Host Evan Solomon was as mystified as the rest of Canada – exactly what was the CBC’s big problemo?

The gist is easy to grasp but remains very puzzling. The CRTC excluded the CBC from the possibility of negotiating a fee for its signals with the cable and satellite gang, for the very good reason that the CBC is mandated to provide its content to Canadians. It can’t negotiate over what it is obliged to provide. The CRTC put the CBC’s position to one side and said it would deal with it later.

The CBC response was the spoilt-brat reaction epitomized. Private broadcasters, which have only one stream of revenue for over-the-air channels (ad revenue), were being given the possibility of a second revenue stream from cable companies paying fees. The CBC already has two revenue streams – government money and ad revenue. In this instance, it gave all the appearance of wanting three revenue streams.

Even those who admire the CBC and fully support its existence as a stalwart public broadcaster – as I do – must be gobsmacked here. The CBC says the private broadcasters are getting a break because the old model, relying on advertising revenue to support all commitments, is broken. CBC says it too has suffered from a drop in ad revenue. Therefore, it should get a break too – even though it operates under an entirely different set of rules. Talk about a sense of entitlement. Braying about their business model and complaining about “a level playing field,” Guiton and Lacroix would not have last 30 seconds on Dragons’ Den.

When Konrad von Finckenstein, the CRTC chair, appeared on Power & Politics, he looked as perplexed as everyone else. “First of all, the CBC has a future. It’s an integral part of the Canadian broadcasting system,” he said. He patiently explained that the Broadcasting Act states that the CBC must always be accessible to Canadians. Thus, it can’t use removal of CBC signals as leverage. “We cannot have decisions where access to the CBC is in doubt,” he said. Eventually, he explained, the CBC situation would be dealt with: “There was just too much on the table to deal with in one sitting, so we decided to deal with the private broadcast system before turning to the public one.”

It was rather like a parent explaining to the kid having the hissy fit that the gifties would be coming later, that’s all. The CBC’s reaction to the CRTC plan was hysterical and utterly unwarranted. It is in the unique position of providing a ton of Canadian content to Canadians while the private broadcasters have been given a break on that issue. It was the time for CBC to act with maturity and point to its responsibilities and achievements. Instead the cufflinks rattled and the umbrage unfolded.

What’s odd is the fact that CBC was creating a PR disaster. And it markets itself relentlessly and successfully these days. When it rejigged The National and CBC Newsworld, it spent a fortune on marketing and advertising. The ads keep coming. Fair enough. The Corp has had hits with Battle of the Blades and Dragons’ Den, and Republic of Doyle is doing well. CBC has a swagger about it these days. Crying poor and complaining is far from the best strategy. A little dignity and a reality check, please.

© Globe and Mail