GATINEAU – The CRTC will make public its recommendations for the future of the Canadian Television Fund at 2 p.m. today.
It’s a story Cartt.ca has been following closely for about 18 months and the release should be a sensation at the Banff World TV Fest beginning this weekend in the Alberta town (Cartt.ca will be there, of course, covering that gathering).
In December of 2006, cable companies Shaw Communications and Quebecor Media decided to withhold their contributions to the fund, citing numerous issues the companies had with the fund, from its corporate governance to the types of programming being made with the money contributed by cable and satellite TV customers ($150 million a year) and taxpayers ($100 million).
In response to the cablers complaints, the Commission launched a task force into the CTF, on which CRTC vice-chair, broadcasting, Michel Arpin, filed a report in June of 2007. However, his conclusions left most stakeholders upset and left more than a few questions unanswered. For example, Arpin’s report recommended that the cable and DTH customers’ $150 million go to making more populist fare while the government appropriation be set aside to fund programming that addresses specific cultural objectives.
So, to flesh it out even further and to make sure all stakeholders were heard publicly (the Arpin report was put together privately and then released to the public) the CRTC held hearings into the future of the $250 million annual fund, from which Cartt.ca provided coverage.
However, two weeks after the hearings ended in February, the federal government said it would determine the future of the CTF, and asked the CRTC to file its report and recommendations from the hearings as soon as possible.
So, once released today, it will be up to Heritage Minister Josée Verner to come to a decision. But, with Parliament approaching its summer recess soon, such a decision may take a while.
– Greg O’Brien
