Radio / Television News

ACTRA slams broadcasters for U.S. spend


TORONTO – With the CRTC's annual release of financial and other statistics from Canadian broadcasters, ACTRA, the actors union, is up in arms. "Last year we were shocked that so-called Canadian private broadcasters spent four times more on U.S. programming than they did on original Canadian drama. Now we're appalled to learn that in 2005, they spent almost five times more. The system is clearly broken," said Stephen Waddell, ACTRA's national executive director, in a statement. According to the CRTC's report, broadcasters spent $401 million on imported drama, mostly from the U.S., and $86.6 million on original Canadian drama in...