Definition of Canadian TV under scrutiny at

CRTC hearings
Last Updated: Monday, November 27, 2006 | 11:00 AM ET

CBC Arts

What Canadians see on TV in the future could be affected by hearings beginning Monday in
Gatineau, Que.

Seven years ago, the Canadian broadcast regulator, the Canadian Radio-television and
Telecommunications Commission, removed the rule forcing private conventional television
broadcasters to spend a minimum amount on Canadian dramatic programming.

The result, some groups say, has been a sharp drop in Canadian dramas and comedies on
television.

On Monday, broadcasters, producers and other "stakeholders" in Canadian TV go before

the CRTC as it begins a review of over-the-air television policy.

Scripted drama
For ACTRA, the union representing Canadian actors, the hearings are a chance to demand new
policies that force broadcasters to spend on Canadian drama.

"The future is bleak … I believe and I fear, in respect of Canadian programming because
broadcasters and others are not being required now to produce scripted drama," Stephen
Waddell, executive director of ACTRA told CBC Radio.

In 1999, the CRTC changed the rules to allow broadcasters to include reality TV and
entertainment magazines to make up their quota of Canadian programming.

"In 1999, there were 12 one-hour television series. And just two years later, after those rules
were changed — the expenditure and content requirements were eliminated — we were down to
four Canadian one-hour television series and we've seen it actually decline since then," Waddell
said.

Expensive to produce
Drama is expensive to produce, and without rules to force private sector broadcasters to make
it, there was little incentive to do anything but buy U.S. programming.
The production sector is seconding ACTRA's call for the CRTC to force broadcasters to spend a
percentage of their advertising revenues on Canadian drama.

"It's not a showdown. But we think it's a major turning point in the industry if we want a viable
production sector and we want viable and competitive programming that people want to watch,"
said Guy Mayson, president of the Canadian Film and Television Production Association.

Not surprisingly, the private networks are arguing against any change.

The program most watched by Canadians last season was CSI, a U.S. show, but also a drama.
That's proof, Waddell said, that Canadians want to watch drama.

But he argued Canadians should have stories of their own to watch, dramas reflecting life in this
country.

Entertainment newsmagazines
Another issue likely to come up at the hearings is whether entertainment newsmagazines are the
kind of programming that should be considered part of broadcasters' "Canadian content."

The CFTPA asked the broadcast regulator to monitor these programs leading up to this week's
hearings.

On weeknights on Global last week, Entertainment Tonight Canada was the only Canadian show
running in prime time.

On CTV, the Canadian offerings were E-Talk Daily and Corner Gas.

The entertainment magazine shows carry a lot of news about the personal lives and appearances
of Beyoncé and George Clooney, raising the question of whether they should be considered
Canadian, said Mayson.

"There seems to be a classic case of taking an awful lot of foreign entertainment promotional
information and inserting a little bit of Canadian promotion, and having that show qualify as
Canadian," he said.

When the CRTC expanded its definition of "priority" Canadian programming in 1999 to make
shows like these eligible, the idea was to provide promotion for Canadian films, television,
music and stars.

If the shows are primarily vehicles to promote U.S. entertainment, their eligibility as priority
programming should be questioned, Mayson says.

He's hoping the CRTC will reconsider the rules involving these programs as it goes through its
review.
Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/arts/tv/story/2006/11/27/crtc-hearings.html#ixzz0vaxKWZy1

Success of Mäori Television under scrutiny

June 24th, 2010 - 9:49 UTC
by Andy Sennitt.

British media studies researcher Richard Turner is keen to find out why
Mäori Television has such growing appeal to a non-Mäori audience. Just six years after it went
to air, the station is already a world leader among indigenous broadcasters and potentially an
inspiration to others, Mr Turner says.

He is at Massey University’s Albany campus on a Commonwealth Scholarship to conduct

research for a master’s degree into the reasons for Mäori Television’s popularity and why so
many non-Mäori viewers are tuning in. He says he was a fan of the station when he lived in
London, viewing it online like growing numbers worldwide. Mäori Television’s latest ratings
poll, released last week, indicate that three-quarters of its two million-plus New Zealand viewers
are non-Mäori.

Mr Turner says the appeal to non-Mäori audiences appears to be a distinctive aspect of its
success. “My research will explore, through qualitative study, why such a high volume of Päkehä
are tuning into the channel. I am interested to discover what shows non-Mäori are watching, and
whether Päkehä are embracing te reo me ngä tikanga Mäori [Mäori language and culture]. I want
to find out if Mäori Television is offering Päkehä an alternative to New Zealand’s mainstream
channels.”

He says part of it may be about what Mäori Television is doing right – but part also may relate to
what mainstream stations are doing wrong in viewers’ eyes. “Is it because they want to learn
about Mäori culture, language and views? Do they identity more strongly with a Mäori
perspective? Or, is it because they are fed up with mainstream television’s menu of mostly
imported American and British soaps, dramas and reality shows?”
Preliminary research indicates viewers are attracted to what he calls a more “thoughtful” style of
reporting and debate on news and current affairs programmes such as Native Affairs and Te
Käea, where different viewpoints are expressed and viewers see Mäori communicating with each
other rather than responding to what he considers an often aggressive, negative mode of
questioning on mainstream television.

Mr Turner believes the quality and range of its programming, the scope of its Mäori language
broadcasting, and rating success may make it an inspiration to other indigenous television
stations – even those that are older but have not gained the same degree of popularity beyond
their target audience, such as Welsh language channel SC4. Mäori Television hosted the World
Indigenous Television Broadcasting Conference in 2008, which led to the establishment of the
World Indigenous Television Broadcasters’ Network.

A statement on the station’s website says it has growing numbers of online viewers in 188
countries, with New Zealand first, followed by Australia, the United States, Britain and Canada.
Mr Turner is conducting interviews as well as focus groups with Päkeh? who watch Mäori
Television regularly or sporadically.

(Source: Massey University)