Source : Globe & Mail

The federal broadcast regulator has ordered Canada's three major English-language private television networks to increase the money they spend on homemade drama and to try to raise viewership of these dramas.

In a seven-page notice, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) says it wants CTV, Global and CHUM to increase their annual expenditures on Canadian drama to 6 per cent of total annual gross revenues from the current industry average of 3.3 per cent. That threshold would be achieved in increments over five years.

Similarly, the CRTC is now requiring the networks, through marketing and scheduling, to boost the viewing of English-language drama programming so that by 2008-2009, Canadian productions will enjoy at least 16.5 per cent of the networks' total drama viewership. In 2003-2004, the industry average was 9.2 per cent, with CTV reporting that 10.5 per cent of its total drama viewership was of Canadian shows, CHUM 9.1 per cent and Global 8.4.

The CRTC first floated its proposed targets for viewing and expenditures last August, then sought comments from industry players before making its decision to order increased commitments from the networks.

In its notice, the commission acknowledges that it "will be a challenge for" CTV, Global and CHUM to reach these targets, which, if achieved, will represent an 80-per-cent increase in both investment and audience from current levels. But the CRTC believes they're "achievable" if the major networks "take advantage" of an incentive program the CRTC announced in November, 2004. That program permits broadcasters to air additional advertising on popular U.S.-made prime-time programs. According to the CRTC, the networks would be able to show between 30 seconds and eight minutes more advertising for each hour of original Canadian drama they telecast in prime time. Bonus seconds and minutes are awarded, too, if ratings increase for these Canadian shows or if a network hikes its Canadian drama spending.

Private broadcasters have been lashed in recent years by the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists and the Canadian Film and Television Production Association, among others, who claim the networks have shirked their commitment to homemade drama since 1999, when the CRTC expanded the definition of "priority programming" to include reality TV, documentaries and entertainment magazines.

Yesterday, ACTRA's director of public policy and communications Ken Thompson repeated his organization's opinion that "an incentive program on its own is not enough. It has to be part of a more comprehensive regulatory program," including requirements that networks show Canadian drama in prime time. Thompson urged the CRTC to use licence-renewal hearings for CBC, CTV and Global to review its TV policy.

The Canadian Association of Broadcasters had no comment yesterday, but has previously told the CRTC that "a 40-per-cent increase in viewing would be a more reasonable and attainable industry objective," instead of the 80 per cent mandated.

Friday's CRTC release also said Canada's specialty channels have to reach a 7.5-per-cent increase in their viewing targets for Canadian drama, using a 1.5-per-cent increase per year over the next five years. The commission noted that, given the wide disparities between English-language specialty services -- in 2003-2004, Canadian drama on these was as low as 1 per cent and as high as 44 per cent -- "a single industry objective for all services would be impracticable."

© Globe & Mail

Related Documents

February 1, 2006 - ACTRA: CRTC takes a step in the right direction, but still a long way to go
ACTRA criticizes failure of CRTC to impose positive obligations on private broadcasters to increase production and exhibition of Canadian drama.

January 27, 2006 - CRTC: Broadcasting Public Notice CRTC 2006-11
CRTC announces viewing and expenditure incentives for English-language Canadian television drama.