How much Canadian TV actually is out there?
What kind of Canadian TV do average Canadians -- that is, Canadians not in the TV trade -- really want?
And while there always are complaints about how much money is being spent on U.S. programming by Canada's three main private English networks -- which are businesses, remember -- would filling those hours with home-made Canadian programming be any less expensive? (That is not a rhetorical question. We're asking.)
These thoughts have been rolling around since CTV, Global and Citytv -- as well as public broadcaster CBC -- held annual fall-launch presentations recently.
Canadian actors bemoan the scarcity of Canadian dramas and comedies on private networks (although we wonder why they pick on only Global with their picket lines). But do real viewers consider it a crisis?
This isn't meant to be a comprehensive analysis of the Canadian TV conundrum. But please consider the following as talking points to add to the discussion:
- There's substantially more Canadian stuff on TV than you think, if you gaze beyond the narrow parameter of scripted shows in network primetime (traditionally 8-11 p.m., but defined by the CRTC as 6 p.m.-midnight). Focusing only on scripted network primetime is an antiquated gauge, dating back to before there were hundreds of channels.
- Ratings confirm a large chunk of English Canada opts for American primetime shows. But that doesn't mean the Canadian TV biz is non-existent or our culture is doomed. Lord, remember the widespread patriotic buzz during the 2010 Vancouver Olympics? Maybe the knee-jerk fear of English Canada being obliterated by Americana isn't so relevant in the 21st century.
- Canadian dramas and comedies on specialty channels count. Premium cable counts. News programming counts (Quebecor just announced the launch of Sun TV News, to compete with CTV News Channel and CBC News Network). Sports programming counts. Reality programming counts, as does current-affairs programming, children's programming, cartoons, entertainment-magazine shows, documentaries, and all those shows about fashion and food and gardening and renovation. Canada does a lot of that stuff, and really well, too. The CTV National News, or Sportscentre on TSN, or Ice Pilots on History, or Canada's Worst Handyman on Discovery, or anything Canwest does with Mike Holmes in it -- cumulatively, millions of Canadians watch these offerings every week.
- This is all an accident of geography. Back when TV first came through the air, signals from the U.S. spilled over the border. English Canadians became accustomed to watching NBC and CBS and ABC. We actually don't have a birthright to any American stuff, but Canadians would explode if the CRTC blocked the array of U.S. networks, which now includes Fox. The police presence needed to thwart angry mobs would make G20 security look like Paul Blart: Mall Cop. Barring such an extreme move -- which neither the Canadian public nor Canadian actors want -- the Canadian TV industry always will be an odd hybrid.
- Some say it's culturally wrong to have any U.S. programming on Canadian networks. Don't restrict access to the American networks but make the Canadian networks all-Canadian, they say, referencing the not-insignificant notion of dollars spent in Canada versus dollars spent in the U.S. At issue, of course, is the financial viability of that dream, with Canada still a small country population-wise and the private networks having bottom lines to worry about.
- There is a difference between what people say and what they watch. If a survey asks, 'Do you want more Canadian dramas and comedies?' well, theoretically, who would say no? But people vote with their clickers. Promotion can get a show sampled, but that doesn't mean the audience will stay. Ultimately, no one watches anything they don't want to watch. (An aside: By far, the angriest Canadian viewers we ever hear from are those who want to watch something American that isn't available in Canada.)
- In recent regimes, the CBC has increased its primetime Canadiana. This often is forgotten, but as recently as 1995-96 CBC was airing first-run scripted American fare in primetime, with intellectual masterpieces such as The Nanny and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. With the CBC now dedicated to primetime Canadian shows, that does give Canadian actors a built-in avenue for certain things.
- Pointing to the successful Quebec TV industry as a model for network primetime in English Canada is not applicable. The French language acts as a shield. No matter how compelling Grey's Anatomy or House or Jersey Shore may be, they aren't made in French, and we know how annoying subtitles or language-dubbing can be. That automatically opens the door for a certain percentage of home-grown French programming that has a better chance to succeed than something similar made in English Canada.
We're curious to hear your thoughts, especially if you simply are a TV watcher. We know this is a highly emotional issue, so please, if you can, keep it civil. We're Canadians, after all.
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