From Bernstein's post, "An American Fiasco...It Can't Happen Here.":
The fiasco that’s playing itself out in the United States with Jay Leno, Conan O’Brien and NBC could not happen here in Canada. There was a time when it could but the amassing of television properties by just a few large conglomerates has put an end to anyone being able to force CTV, Global and even CBC to do anything they don’t want to do.
The affiliates said enough is enough. We don’t care if NBC is saving money by not running an expensive drama at ten. Your gain is our loss.
In the U.S. the affiliates wield all the power.
For all the bull coming from CTV and Global about saving local TV the fact is the Canadian networks co-opted the local owners and bought them out years ago. CTV and Global own almost all the stations that broadcast their signal. If CTV or Global is saving money on a show that is not delivering audience it is their call as to whether the money savings are worth the audience loss. There are no affiliates left to complain. There is no local left. In Canada it is always about the network. In Canada it is always about the bottom line of CTV and Global.
What’s most interesting about the Leno problem at NBC is that the show was working well-enough for the network. Sure they were getting about one-half to one-third of the audience that ABC, CBS and Fox were getting in the ten o’clock time slot, but they were only paying 20 percent of what the other networks were doling out for shows like CSI Miami and The Good Wife. Do the math. They were actually making more money on the cheap Leno show with five million viewers than they would have made with a cop show or hospital drama with 10 to 15 million viewers. NBC in fact did not want to move or cancel Leno it was working for them.
In the U.S. it was the power of local TV, real local TV, that made the difference.
We shouldn't just beat up on the Networks with this current example. The CRTC "tv review" which concluded last month, which was supposed to be something other than another discussion of fee for carr...uh... value for sign... um...toys for tots or whatever the fuck... was also looking at the entire system.
Up to now, cable channels have benefited from having "must carry" rules at the CRTC; ie, if a channel got a license from the CRTC cable and sat had to put them on. (There are other "category 2" licenses that don't have to be carried, but have to negotiate their way on, but they are far fewer.)
Well, it's clear that a pissed-off public wants the choice of "unbundling" and "a la carte" at a price point that doesn't punish them, and that means that down the road all cable channels might have to negotiate.
When I was in NYC last weekend, every two minutes on Time Warner Cable, it seemed, there was Bobby Flay, saying that he knew that people missed the HD signals of The Food Network and HGTV, and you should write so and and so to make sure they get on the dial...
... how many of the Canadian specialties will people go to bat for? It's a heckuva question. Makes my brainpan hurt.
Anyway, Howard's full tale is well worth your time. Go read.
3 comments:
Isn't this because of the Comcast sale, though? The affiliates need to sign off on the sale, so they saw their opportunity and ran with it.
Of course, it's not like an opportunity like that would ever come up in Canada, but without it the affiliates were pretty much powerless, weren't they?
No John, I don't think that's true. The full entry on Howard's site explains it, but the affiliates aren't powerless. Not by a long shot.
Yes, I didn't read Howard's full explanation, sorry, I got distracted by the very cool Boardwalk Empire trailer, thanks for posting that.
Certainly the US affiliates have power. It seems like it's sometimes tricky to wield.
This guy also has a take on it, and ends with this:
Yes, I think Gaspin has been very forthright in telling us the chronology of what’s gone on with the Leno situation, and his concerns as a good corporate citizen of NBCU.
But isn’t he kidding himself, ladies and gentlemen of the jury—and us as well—if he doesn’t think that an honest connecting of the dots inevitably and irrefutably leads to the conclusion that the reason NBC all of a sudden fears another “PR nightmare” right now is because they are indeed worried about the political fallout it could have on the Comcast deal.
Gaspin says he’s just doing his job and does not hear footsteps from Philadelphia. But clearly one of the jobs of a top executive at NBCU today is to ensure that the Comcast deal gets done, since management of NBCU and parent General Electric have said they believe that the consummation of the deal is in the best interests of the company.
As the saying goes, in life, timing is everything. And this is one of the few times in recent years that timing has given the advantage to the affiliates.
And for all of us who believe that the Leno primetime move was bad for TV, we’ll grab a break wherever we can get one.
(really, I don't care about any of this, I'm just distracted until someone, somewhere schedules The Bridge.
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