TORONTO – Canadian actors used CanWest Global’s upfront presentation today to protest the purchase of American programming for airing on prime time on Canadian broadcasters.
CTV and Global each revealed their fall broadcast schedules to advertisers, the media and others this week, much of which is focused on popular American fare, purchased recently in Los Angeles for hundreds of millions of dollars (although with our dollar approaching 95-cents U.S., the price may seem less steep this year).
"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 Canadian actors union, ACTRA.
"These shameless self-serving parties (Ed. note: Which are regularly attended by those acting in the programs, be they Canadians or Americans) 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," added ACTRA’s 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."
Both CTV and Global are celebrating their foreign programming purchases this week, which, it’s worth noting, are enjoyed by millions of Canadians every day. Last year, private broadcasters spent over $470 million on foreign drama and less than $70 million on Canadian programs, says the ACTRA release.
ACTRA is still upset that 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," says the release.
Below, Canadian actors Wendy Crewson and Gordon Pinsent talk to CTV’s eTalk while protesting at today’s Global Television’s upfront launch.
