Intelligence and CBC trading barbs in the media
There’s “no conspiracy,” says a CBC spokesperson about the negotiations underway with the executive producer of Intelligence.
The show, starring Max Headroom Matt Frewer, has been a critical success, but only reached moderate audience levels (averaging 250,000 viewers weekly). The show’s head, Chris Haddock, complained to the online news site TheTyee.ca that his show wasn’t being promoted well enough by the CBC.
…Haddock suspects that the low numbers are in part a useful problem deliberately created by those who have their own reasons to change how drama is done at the network. “Somewhere in the CBC someone is saying ‘do not promote this show.’”
“The question is why would they be so hostile to the show? I can’t for the life of me put my finger on it because it is broadly appealing and has had such success internationally.”
The CBC shot back, addressing Haddock’s comments, saying there are lots of shows that need promotion and there’s nothing sinister going on with the Intelligence promotion.
We’re disappointed he feels he’s not being adequately promoted (but at same time doubt there’s a producer in the history of show business who thinks their program HAS been adequately promoted). And with all due respect to Chris, his is not the only program in our schedule that requires promotion. I can tell you that the program has received significant promotion in both its first and second seasons. It will continue to do so through its season finale;
What do you think of the promotion of the show? Has it reached you?
P.S. Anonymous CBC management blogger “Ouimet” caught this sticker on the ground on Queen Street West promoting the second season.
Cool sticker.
I wonder if we cleaned up after them?
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Intelligence is fantastic! I just watched the season finale today, on the edge of my seat.
However, I am a CBC junkie, I always look first to CBC, before watching American shite. If that were not the case, Intelligence would never have caught my attention.
Intelligence is my favourite show. I’ve watched every episode since day one. I looked forward to it every week, popping up some popcorn and snuggling up on the couch to watch the latest episode. I can’t believe more people don’t watch this show. It’s so full of intrigue and drama, the characters are great and it takes place in Vancouver to boot. Every episode felt like a little movie because the plot moved along so fast and the production values were very high. Yes CBC promoted this show but I don’t recall ever seeing a commercial where the viewer could see clips from the previous or upcoming episode so they could get updated on the plot and see what was about to happen next. Why would someone want to tune into a show if they keep seeing the same generic promo? Chris Haddock is just so talented it blows my mind. And I’m afraid we’re gonna lose him to some American show then everyone will look back and finally give him credit for the great work he did. Intelligence is WAY better than Little Mosque on the Prairie.
It sort of looks like each of the 250,000 Intelligence viewers has been asked to come here and put in a kind word, no? Apparently it’s the best show to ever hit the airwaves.
A show like LMOTP gets 3-4 times the audience, and comments here are about split good/bad. But nobody has ever disliked Intelligence… not even the right wingers who hate all CBC shows! C’mon, it’s got drugs and anti-Americanism. Nothing?
One has to wonder what exactly is going on at the CBC. I for one thought very highly of this programme, believing it to be an excellent blend of drama, creativity, high quality production, and Canadiana that is tremendously unique across the TV space. For the upper echelon on CBC management to disagree that Intelligence wasn’t promoted is a farce – I did not witness even one 30 second spot in the Hockey Night in Canada.
For the longest time I had to pass the large wall of posters at Main and Cordova that said “More Sex, More Drugs, More Violence” and always felt kinda gross because in that part of the Downtown Eastside the last thing anyone would want is those things.
Basically it was a cliched way to promote “just another cop show” in a very insensitive way. So yes, the promotion reached me but I was disgusted enough to avoid it.
I think the BBC productions Hustle, Doctor Who and Torchwood (all of which I like) received more and more consistent promotion than Intelligence. I terms of home grown product the CBC has a tendency to back the safest, least interesting, middle of the road shows. ( Little Mosque on the Prarie and Air Farce) Perhaps this easier to do than cultivate solid, innovative, quality programmes of substance – after all who needs to spend money developing that here in Canada when the BBC does it all for you?
I do not believe that the CBC wants to keep Intelligence – a programme that can stand toe to toe with anything of quality produced abroad – around and had my doubts about that long before Mr. Haddock stated his own views.
‘Intelligence’ is my only not-to-be-missed show. Its excellent writing and topical
story lines remind me of the early days of ‘Law & Order’ and ‘West Wing.’ I watch CBC via cable in the Seattle area. I think the low numbers of viewers
is because of the complexity of the show…I have tried to get relatives to watch
it, but it’s tough mid season to pick up on the story line and characters. I have
seen NO promotion on CBC for the show and NO promotion of the reruns of Season 1 (shown last summer.) I would like to see episodes ‘streamed’ on the
Web site so viewers can catch up.
I’m a fan of both Little Mosque andIntelligence. And Doctor Who.
Frankly, I don’t see the need to view this as a problem.
I watch CBC &/or Newsworld every day & I found out about the Season 2 premier thru John Doyle’s column in the Globe. I see more promos in a week for Little Mosque than I’ve seen all season for Intelligence & the Intelligence promos I’ve seen have only been in the last few weeks. For some reason, this show is just not reaching the audience it should be & the lack of promotion certainly isn’t helping. I’m still looking forward to a 3rd season & hope that it happens.
I think aaron makes a good point that if Intelligence is such a good show, why do its advertisements look like something for a Gangster flick?
Ask the CBC – THEY make them, NOT Haddock who makes “Intelligence”…
Well, the series IS partly about a crime boss, albeit one who’d like to call it quits with that line of work and survive doing so. A certain amount of gangster-stuff is expected here.
I really like the “Gangland Hit” posters up around Vancouver and in the papers, but the first thing I thought when I saw them was “Finally! They are promoting one of the best shows on TV! I wonder why they waited until the very last episode?”
It was the first time I’d caught an intelligence ad outside the CBC website or while watching CBC.
If you want to steal another program’s or station’s viewers you have to reach them. That’s something I don’t think has been done very well for intelligence – that’s just from a fan’s point of view. I do see intelligence advertised on CBC.ca, but does the average TV viewer looking for something good on Monday night necessarily look to cbc.ca for information?
I hope we get a third season, and I hope some actual promotions outside the CBC hive are done to let people know when it begins.
I’m a fan of Doctor Who and Torchwood and I have exactly the same complaint: these shows are not very well promoted either. But in fairness to Intelligence, it’s not very well promoted, either.
In fact promotion for ANY program on CBC that isn’t the Tudors or Little Mosque doesn’t get much more than cursory promos. I don’t think I’ve seen a single promo for Who Do You Think You Are this fall, which is a shame as it’s a great show.
And any promo that does happen on CBC (except Little Mosque) tends to be the same generic highlight reel. There is never the sort of “This week on Doctor Who” or “This week on Intelligence” or “This week on Dragon’s Den” The private broadcasters would never think that viewers wouldn’t want to see a promo that told them why this week’s episode is compulsory viewing. I get that the CBC is too cash-strapped to do this (and did away with the personnel probably that could) but it’s a strategy that pretty much shoots the Corporation in the foot week after week.
I work close by CITY-TV in Toronto and saw both the sidewalk stickers and the “Gangland Hit” poster. I have to say, though, that I wish more on-air teasers and trailers had been used to keep viewers already watching the CBC intrigued and informed.
Mind you, I’m the first to recognize that television is facing a lot of hurdles theses days with the Internet, DVD, podcast, etc. so I’m not sure the CBC marketing department should be taking too much blame for the seeming failure of the marketing to garner new audiences. All round, it has been a dismal season in television with audiences dropping away from even sure fire hits like Heroes (airing opposite Intelligence on Monday nights) and Desperate Housewives.
This still does not mean that Intelligence should be dropped from the broadcast line-up. There are several potent reasons to keep it on the air.
1. It’s the best damned Canadian drama on television right now. Strong and subtle performances, whip-smart writing, a dramatic and timely story arc that speaks to contemporary Canadian audiences.
2. Showcase is now broadcasting the entire first season of Intelligence giving new viewers a chance to catch-up to the show and it’s storyline. Given the growth the show has seen this year, and the fact that U.S. television is about to take a dive with the strike, it seems that canceling Intelligence at this juncture would be a very bad idea.
3. The DVD of the first season and Pilot of Intelligence is due out in April, yet again, giving a chance for new viewers to catch-up to the show and it’s characters.
4. The Border is premiering on CBC in January. Another dramatic thriller, this time set in Toronto, that deals with crime, espionage, and contemporary issues is being heavily pushed by the CBC. If viewers flock to The Border they’ll no doubt also be drawn to Intelligence. If CBC leads the fall season with not one but TWO dramatic series about covert operations and crime in Canada then they could very well see viewers who used to watch 24 and Alias now tuning into CBC for their dose of thrills.
I want a third season of Intelligence and I hope that the broadcasters at the CBC realize the wisdom of renewing it for next year.
Amen. The Border and Intelligence can be used to promote each other. Heavily. Especially now of all times. Carpe noctem!
How can anyone be surprised at CBC’s handling of home made dramas after it cancelled “This is Wonderland”?
damn I’m giving up my CBC membership, I was hoping to watch “Intelligence” on Monday but allas another great series bites the corporate dustbin….screw the CBC so-called br-ass it’s OUR the people’s public medium!!
Intelligence is one of the best shows on North American television, comparable in quality to HBO’s The Wire and Britain’s Prime Suspect. Ironically I learned of this show from an American who’d fallen in love with it, so can’t agree it has been widely promoted.
I urge the CBC to continue supporting this show. I don’t doubt Haddock’s statements. Perhaps the Canadian and US governments are uncomfortable with the show, but have the courage to keep it going. The last thing we need is for FOX to take it over and turn it into an inferior American-flavoured product. (Maybe if David Simon took it over I wouldn’t complain as he and Haddock seem to share the same talent and integrity, but it’s got a unique Canadian feel and I’d hate to see the end of that.)
In addition, given the rise in the Canadian dollar and the threat that US productions might relocate to the US, shouldn’t we be supporting more Canadian content production in locations like BC which has a flourishing film industry.
Just so everyone knows. All those gangland hit posters etc, were not CBC – they were paid by the Haddock company.
Will we ever find out who shot J.R.?
T.V. drama is still as good as it ever was.
Sean: I’d love to see Wonderland back on the air with new episodes too. It filled a void in the soul.
Someday…
Unlike some other commenters here, I am not a huge fan of a lot of CBC programming, but Intelligence is one of the main reasons I do tune in. To be fair to the CBC, getting an audience for an episodic drama like Intelligence, especially one with as deep and intricate plot as this is not necessarily a simple thing. Intelligence is not the only show that suffers this issue, lots of the HBO dramas (think Deadwood) have similar challenges. But all of that said, it’s hard to believe that the CBC is truly backing this show as well as they could given what a strong property it is. Why haven’t I seen more pieces in different media (and on other CBC shows) trumpeting sales in 143 foreign markets. It’s too bad. I do hope it will continue on and not suffer the fate of Haddock’s other intelligent shows.
It’s cancelled! The sets have been dismantled, and the cast & crew have dispersed. The public needs to realize that the word came from Ottawa to RR and RS to bury it. We need some paperwork, an email, something, from someone at the CBC. They don’t want Haddock on the CBC. They don’t want his stories. Follow Campbell-Haddock-Da Vinci-Election-No majority…
From the Blog Administrator: For the record, we checked with the CBC’s spokesperson and he told us that there has not yet been a decision on Intelligence. A decision is expected in March.
Yes, the CBC has chronically under-promoted ‘Intelligence’. Why? For several reasons, mainly because its ‘anti-Americanism’ goes against the neo-Con flow. Compliance is manufactured on many levels. The mills are being run full-out by those whose interests demand that Canada be further submitted to the U.S. empire.
Its worse than you think – the neocons took over Neilsen in a secret Bilderberg-sponsored coup last year, and now only their loyal minions get boxes. So that means the 3 people in the sample set that were recorded as watching Intelligence were probably taking down the names of the cast and crew for when RX-84 goes into effect!
Cast and crew disperse at the end of every season for a break. If you check the BC film commission schedule you’ll see the shooting schedule for every show being shot in BC.
I just had the displeasure of watching The Border, a show being heavily promoted by the CBC.
The Border is a big yawn as far as I’m concerned. It bears no resemblance to actual reality – along the lines of 24 (a show I cannot stand) – and it lacks the subtlety, nuance, and sophistication of outstanding dramas like Intelligence and The Wire. The jerky camera moves, constant bleeping and staccato noise, is extremely irritating and there isn’t a single likeable or believable character.
If people think CSIS and the feds – and Muslim citizens – are the way they are portrayed on this show, especially after the unconscionable Arar fiasco and the Air India inquiry, I shudder for my country. We must be getting very very stupid.
I will not be watching this show.
The majority of the characters of <b>The Border</b> may not be the actual status quo of law enforcement, but we can – and should – dream of how we’d like such people to be. Otherwise, what’s the point?
(Yes, I know who the exceptions are at the moment. We’ll see if and how those exceptions among the characters evolve over time, if all goes as hoped.)
I plan to keep watching.
Haddock makes excellent shows. They are not well known in the U.S.(where I live), but then the idea is reused (and promoted) like CSI to make a ton of money. I haven’t seen "Intelligence" yet due to no DVDs, internet distribution, or demand from audiences in my locality.
Check out "The Wire" if you like Haddock’s work. Really good TV always has to be discovered independently of promotion. Only the dumbest shows get widespread promotion. I don’t know why, and can only hope that some direct revenue stream is developed to keep good producers making good shows. Once production wraps the show is done and can’t be brought back.
Good TV comes from networks only by accident. Possible suggestion: if a network doesn’t love the show sell the distribution to someone who does. HBO is almost fresh out of good shows. They have money…
A CBC/HBO co-pro(once the WGA strike’s over and done, I trust)?
Hmmm…
I sure hope Intelligence is coming back, it was the only television show that was watching on a regular basis. Please.
Just a quick tip for chris haddock…you have a winner with Intellagance, so why not pitch it to the Amercians .. CBC doesn’t know a great tv show even when it is in there laps. Go ahead chris we can all enjoy it then…
So long as it’s not on Fox. They’d gut the premise.
HBO might well be a better fit.
Well, there it was on 680 News this morning — CBC has cancelled "Intelligence." What a relief to know my chances of finding complex, powerful and exciting, yet so well and seriously done as to be completely believable, stories and characters has been so drastically reduced, and I can continue to buy the cartons of analgesic cream needed to alleviate the pain I get in my thumb from flitting so rapidly and incessantly through channel after channel of singing, dancing, applauding, jeering, sadistic, obsequious, inane, loud, inarticulate, incoherent, cliched, unoriginal, bright and shiny boneheadedness.
Cheers, Nick, for your comment.
Here we have a vicious spiral:
1) dumb-down what is broadcast, so that 2) the stupidified audience doesn’t appreciate what isn’t dumbed-down.
One is forced to subscribe to cable to have something that, if not necessarily worth watching, can serve as background to knitting.
I’m extremely disappointed that Intelligence isn’t being picked up for a third season. If the CBC can fund asinine shows like The Border (YAWN!) and The Guard (essentially a soap opera), surely they can make room for a show that doesn’t cater to the lowest common denominator. I realize we’re not a huge audience and there’s less money to be made, but hey, why can’t the network take some of the profits from the dumb shows that attract the enormous population of idiots, and therefore the advertisers, and use it to fund a show like Intelligence. Once in a blue moon.
(I miss the old CBC, the one that had guts, took risks.)
All preparation for privatizing the CBC, in keeping with the neoCon ideology of the Deciders.
Susan: I fervently hope you’re wrong on that point. An ideologically-motivated purge of the schedule would not be to my liking at all, however credible it may be right now. I’ll admit to a temptation to believe it, particularly looking back at Wonderland and Da Vinci, but I still hope it’s not a temptation grounded in fact.
Lesley:FYI – "The Guard" is a Global show, not a CBC show!