Front Page, Industry News

CRTC report proves Canada’s broadcasting system is broken

Toronto – The CRTC’s 2007 Broadcasting Report confirms that Canadian broadcasters are decreasing their spending on homegrown drama while rapidly filling our airwaves with foreign programming. Canada’s broadcasters spent $401,510,563 on foreign drama programming expenses in 2005 and $478,624,087 in 2006 – a 19.2% increase. Spending on Canadian drama programs have dropped from $82,226,776 in 2005 to $70,918,605 in 2006 – a 13.7% decrease.

“Our broadcasters have decreased their spending on Canadian drama by almost $12 million over the past year”, said Stephen Waddell, ACTRA’s National Executive Director. “Canadian private broadcasters bid against each other at the L.A. Screenings each May and spend more on U.S. programming in one day than they do on Canadian drama in one year. They are filling our public airwaves with hundreds of millions of dollars worth of U.S.-made drama programs and Canadian culture pays the price.”

ACTRA has been sounding the alarm about the crisis in Canadian television drama for years, and demands that the CRTC fix its disastrous 1999 Television Policy. At the CRTC’s review of the regulatory framework for Canadian over-the-air television ACTRA, on December 4, 2006, proposed that the CRTC set a regulatory minimum expenditure of 7% of revenues on English-language drama.

“The CRTC’s recent hearings are crucial for fixing the destructive policy that removed spending requirements for Canadian broadcasters. Clearly the CRTC recognizes the problem and must address it now.” said Waddell.