Kirstine Layfield Responds
Over the last few weeks the CBC has received a ton of criticism and attention in the media, culminating with Heritage Minister James Moore’s comments from last week that the CBC should “stop chasing revenues and eyeballs.”
On Saturday, Kirstine Layfield, the executive director of programming for CBC Television, responded to some of the criticism.
People say the CBC is chasing eyeballs. Personally, I have never met an eyeball. I have met Canadians from across our great country who have eyes — and ears and hearts and minds. They have a thirst to understand their world from a Canadian perspective and a desire to hear their own stories and music. This is the audience of the CBC.
Layfield also addressed some of funding issues, ratings, and competition with the privates. Her full comment is here. It’s worth a read.
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Nice one Kristine.
And the usual attempts to drown the truth out continue in her wake, I see.
Right.
Yep the reason Coronation Street episodes now go online a whole week after they air is because Layfield didn’t want to lose eyeballs on Sunday repeat days (TV eyeballs = ad revenue, online eyeballs = nothing). In fact, getting any CBC shows online (like everyone else is doing) have been a nightmare because the upstairs folks think it will drive ratings down.
And don’t get me started on the drive to write scripts around product placement deals. Public broadcaster indeed.
So long as the government fails to fund the CBC in the manner that they should, these tactics will have to continue.
Dwight, your boundless enthusiasm is appreciated, but in this instance I don’t think that that’s a particularly helpful idea.
I don’t know that my enthusiasm is boundless here. I’m just feeling ground down right now.