Well the CRTC released its brief late Friday afternoon, and I think it's safe to say that it wasn't something anybody was expecting. At first glance, this appears quite favorable to creatives, as it puts the issue of what obligations the broadasters should have front and centre in the proceedings. The other interesting change is the commission's intent to look at each broadcast group's entire holdings, ie: not just CTV, but CTV + MTV, Much, Bravo!, Newsnet, etc. The profit centre that is specialty will be figured into the equation.
This suggests and signals a big change. It's no wonder the broadcasters had 'no comment,' and to tell you the truth, I don't have one either right now. This one, you need to read the article yourself, and mull over what you think. I'm pretty sure we'll be getting into it next week.
Go read Grant Robertson and James Bradshaw's coverage in the weekend Globe and Mail. I've added emphasis to some of the more interesting excerpts below.
In a move that would reshape prime time television, the federal broadcast regulator is considering placing a cap on how much the country's biggest TV networks can spend to acquire hit U.S. shows, such as Grey's Anatomy, The Office and House.
The proposal, which came as a shock to network executives Friday, would require CTV, Global, CITY-TV and others to spend the same amount on Canadian programming as they do on U.S. shows. For every $1 spent on programs from outside the country, a dollar would have to be spent at home creating a domestic show.
The announcement by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission comes just days after new federal data showed the networks spent a record $775-million on foreign programming last year, with most of that content coming from major Hollywood studios.
There are concerns in Ottawa that runaway spending to lock up U.S. shows that do well in the race for ratings is now contributing to network television's financial woes in Canada.
“The commission, at first blush, finds a lot of merit in the idea,” the CRTC said in Friday's announcement, suggesting the proposal could be tested on a trial basis for one year.
Last year, spending on foreign shows hit a record $775-million, compared with $619-million to make domestic programs. The numbers include several commercial networks; CTV, Global, CITY-TV, and French networks such as TVA. Public broadcaster CBC is not included.
The networks refused comment on the CRTC announcement Friday, saying they need more time to study it.
It is also possible that such a move could spark a trade war with the U.S, one executive said, if American networks complained about government intervention in the TV market.
The changes affect licence renewal hearings being held in April. The major broadcasters have argued that the state of conventional network television is in decline, as audiences migrate to cable and the Internet. Most industry revenue growth now comes from specialty channels, which collect small fees on monthly cable bills. CanWest Global Communications Corp. and CTVglobemedia Inc., parent company of The Globe and Mail, have bought up dozens of specialty channels between them to take advantage of the steady revenue they offer.
The CRTC said Friday that it will hold licence renewal hearings that combine the big networks with their cable channels starting in 2010, rather than treating them as two separate businesses. The CRTC said it wants to view the broadcasting operations as a whole to determine their profitability, and whether major concessions are needed.
The regulator also decided to issue one-year licence terms for the broadcasters, citing the financial pressure on the big networks, after a steep drop in profits. Licences are usually issued for a seven-year period for the broadcasters, but the one-year term would allow the networks to come back and seek further changes if their situation worsens.
And the comments are the usual passel of right-wing populist idiocy: bomb the CRTC, sell the CBC, why are they so mean to Conservatives? Jeez Louise, everytime I think of how direct democracy would work I get hives.
2 comments:
I think the US has much bigger fish to fry at the moment. And it's not as if we can't get our hands on all the USAContent we want if we want and when we want at this point, anyway.
I like the dollar-for-dollar idea. I like it a lot. We'll have to be careful not to let ourselves be strangled by the law of unintended consequences if CRTC runs with it, but as part of the measures we'll need for the next few years it could help improve the situation.
Ha! I would love to see the CRTC try to regulate the Internet. I would also "love" to have the CRTC force me to watch videos of Nickelback over and over again. It will be swell.
But seriously, how will the CRTC even be able to try to regulate the Internet?
Post a Comment