CBC Airs Less Foreign Content Than Reported
A recent report from the lobby group ‘Friends of Canadian Broadcasting’ exaggerates the amount of foreign programming on the CBC.
According to Ian Morrison, a spokesperson for the group, “A full 25% of CBC’s prime time schedule is now devoted to foreign, mostly American, programs.”
A graph showing the number of hours of Canadian content on CBC TV during the spring season.
Morrison made that remark on June 30th as the organization released a report examining the amount of foreign programming on the CBC between Feb 21st and March 13th, 2009.
What the report didn’t say however, is that the amount of foreign programming on the CBC varies widely according to what’s on the schedule in any given week. Although it’s true that there was 25 per cent foreign content on the network during the weeks they studied, more half the time that percentage drops to about 18 per cent.
It all depends what’s movie is playing in the Sunday night movie slot. If it’s a foreign movie, running for two hours, then you get 25 per cent foreign content for that week. If it’s a Canadian movie, which more than half of them are, then the amount of foreign content drops to 18 per cent. (Click here to see the Spring 2009 schedule).
The report also says “Canadian content during prime time on CBC English TV has reached a 20-year low.” But it’s worth noting that the real low point for foreign programming on the CBC was reached in 1981, 28 years ago, when more than 40 per cent of the schedule was foreign (click here to see the 1981 schedule).
In the eighties the CBC schedule looked a lot like an American network with shows like M*A*S*H, WKRP, Three’s Company, Mork & Mindy and Happy Days filling almost half the slots.
By the mid-nineties, the CBC had reversed course and introduced an all-Canadian lineup, but the prime-time audience share suffered, which is why CBC executives made the decision to bring back some American shows into the lineup.
What do you think? Should the CBC go back to airing as much Canadian content as possible, or should it stick to its current approach of about 80 per cent Canadian content?
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I think 80% is reasonable because so many Canadians also have access to satellite and cable networks that must also air a share of Canadian-content programming. Thus, jobs in the industry and connections to a ‘cultural fabric’ still remain, even if not as strongly over broadcast TV. If CBC were not so dependent on ad revenues for TV, then I’d be all for 100% Can-Con all the time, even if some of it didn’t bring in reasonable viewing numbers. CBC Radio One and most of CBC Radio Two is all Can-con as well, which is a positive.
I would agree that around 80% is good enough given CBC’s situation. I remember the CBC president said it cost 10 times more to make a show like the border than it does to buy jeopardy. And at least jeopardy is a high brow show that is hosted by a Canadian, so its not like they are are giving up quality when they do get a imported show. I also think the movies they show are fine, like not everyone might like happy Gilmore but it pays the bills and it is a real comedy thats not to stupid and overly obnoxious unlike will ferrell.
80% sounds about right to me, so long as the other 20% matches the sort of audience and tone of a pubcaster. Despite the critics, I think Jeapoardy “fits” the CBC perfectly.
I wouldn’t mid seeing the CBC take some chances with that other 20% though and airing more non-American, but foreign content from Europe or other English-speaking pubcasters on occassion.
It’s not as simple, I don’t think, as a percentage. It’s a matter of knowing your audience and building loyalty. Mere audience share doesn’t tell the story for a public broadcaster.
I urged people to write in and urge the CBC to keep Radio 3 and thousands responded. I urged people to write in and help keep Radio 3 all Canadian all the time and thousands responded. I urged people to write the government and help with the CBC budget crisis and some responded but many shurgged and said “I’ll watch the Simpsons somewhere else.”
I used to know who the audience for CBC-TV was, I don’t anymore – many people I know who used to watch CBC have largely switched to TVO, Showcase and Bravo. Maintaining a public broadcaster means more than ratings, it means building a loyal audience and offering them unique, engaging programming that they can’t find ‘somewhere else.’
80% / 20% or whatever is really beside the point, although obviously as a public broadcaster that wants to provide programming that people can’t find elsewhere – Canadian programming is an obvious choice.
I think that 80% is reasonable.
But perhaps the “Friends of Canadian Content” should also put some effort into proofreading…”English” shouldn’t be a difficult word to spell, especially in reports.
Now if we could just dodge the goal of 100% lifestyle! programming!
Also, I wonder if anyone is noticing the slow disappearance of childrens programming? Bit by bit it is being sucked off the air.
I guess the reality of ensuring ‘viability’ (read: raking in the dough) means carrying some content for the brain-dead, e.g. ‘Three’s Company’ et al. Money generated thanks to the viewing habits of the [insert crying smiley here] ever growing numbers of crainialy challenged can then fund the good stuff that the CBC should be airing.
Hey, does anyone have a contact at http://www.hww.ca? A good piece on preserving the brain-dead (brain deadius) and their cousins the crainialy challenged (crainius missingus) might result in better Canadian TV…