TORONTO – CTV and Global threw themselves some parties this week to celebrate spending hundreds of millions of Canadian dollars to stuff Canada’s primetime television with American dramas. And hundreds of Canadian actors and other industry workers were out on the sidewalk protesting.
"These private shindigs the broadcasters threw for themselves are disgraceful. And so was their latest junket to Hollywood to sell out their country’s broadcasting system," said Richard Hardacre, National President of ACTRA.
ACTRA members and others rallied in front of Massey Hall this morning as Global Television followed up CTV’s party Monday. Both networks are celebrating their foreign programming purchases. Last year, private broadcasters spent over $470 million on foreign drama and less than $70 million on Canadian programs.
"These shameless self-serving parties clearly demonstrate that the networks don’t care about their own country’s culture and can’t be trusted to do anything with their licences other than rebroadcast someone else’s work," said Stephen Waddell. "It’s time for the CRTC to live up to its regulatory role, since the broadcasters don’t have the slightest intention to live up to theirs," added Waddell.
Canada’s private broadcasters were let off the hook when Canadian drama content regulations were watered down by the CRTC in its disastrous 1999 TV Policy decision. The result is Canadian network primetime schedules dominated by U.S. shows. ACTRA demands that the CRTC reinstate drama content regulations on the private broadcasters before Canadian culture completely fades to black.
