OTTAWA – While not mentioning the CRTC’s decision on programs of national interest (PNI) specifically, the three largest Canadian broadcasters have sent a letter to Canadian MPs (also printing it as a full page ad in the Parliament Hill newspaper The Hill Times), asking them to ignore the complaints of the creative community and let recent CRTC decisions stand.
The letter, signed by Bell Media president Randy Lennox, Corus Entertainment EVP and chief operating officer Barbara Williams and Rogers Media president Rick Brace says the CRTC undertook a years-long process to overhaul its TV regulations to try and prepare for the future and that complaints being made by the creative community are baseless.
(Ed note: We hear the complaints from the likes of ACTRA, the CMPA and others, however, they are finding traction among MPs and last week those groups published their own letter in the Hill Times. The CRTC decision has also caused the Quebec government to get involved, too.)
Here is the letter, in full, below.
For over sixty years, Canadian private broadcasters have been the single most important engines fueling the Canadian broadcasting system. From our coverage of local news, overwhelmingly considered by Canadian viewers as the most desired and compelling type of content as well as an important tool for democratic engagement, to our financial support for and showcasing of captivating Canadian programs, we have proven time and again that we are the key destination for Canadian voices and stories.
Over the past few months, our partners in the creative community have launched an aggressive lobby campaign designed to convince the Federal Government that certain decisions made by the CRTC are bad for the Canadian cultural sector. Nothing could be further from the truth.
In reality, these decisions will increase the investments large media groups are required to make in English-language Canadian programming by more than $155 million over the next five years. Collectively, we will spend $5.6 billion during this period to create Canadian content, including dramas, documentaries, and local and national news programming. This is in addition to the tens of thousands of Canadians we employ on a full time basis across Canada and the millions we invest in local organizations, charities and emergency alerting activities.
With these decisions, the CRTC appropriately chose to adjust how the Canadian broadcast sector is regulated, to move away from the protectionist measures that made sense in a pre-digital era, towards a modernized approach focused on marketing, promotion and export – so our stories can be heard here at home and around the world.
“The claims made by the independent production sector that we must be forced to produce specific types of Canadian content, from certain parties and schedule those programs at designated times are both disappointing and puzzling.”
The claims made by the independent production sector that we must be forced to produce specific types of Canadian content, from certain parties and schedule those programs at designated times are both disappointing and puzzling. First, as broadcasters, we are in the business of creating and selling programs that people want to watch. Never has it been more important to invest in content that allows us to compete and differentiate ourselves from an increasing array of unregulated foreign-based digital services that are now operating in Canada. Second, we have a proven track record of exceeding our spending requirements on Canadian programming and, specifically, drama and documentary programming not because we have to, but because it makes good business sense to do so in a global media environment. There is nothing to suggest that will change going forward.
We understand all too well how the current disruption to our traditional business models has caused anxiety and fear among all stakeholders in the industry. But this is precisely why the old tools for supporting our industry are no longer effective. Our best chance for success and future growth is to work together to tell great stories that can compete on an international stage – and not by fighting over outdated rules and regulations that don’t even apply to half the players in the system.
Sending these decisions back for reconsideration will only create more uncertainty for our businesses at a time when we need to be laser focused on our audiences. The CRTC decisions were made after a lengthy public process with thousands of pages of evidence and, more importantly, where Canadians across the country voiced what they wanted from their broadcast system. This is not the time to take the Canadian content industry backwards; rather, this is precisely when it should be taking a giant leap forward.
Randy Lennox, president, Bell Media
Barbara Williams, EVP and COO, Corus Entertainment
Rick Brace, president, Rogers Media
