GATINEAU – Count commissioner Michel Morin as someone who isn’t buying Canadian independent television producers’ traditional “poor me” stance.
In his dissent against a piece of the CRTC’s report to the federal cabinet on the $250 million Canadian Television Fund, Morin ripped the public image of those independent producers and called for more accountability on how they spend the 75% of CTF they are guaranteed.
“(T)he Auditor General put in words what everyone had known for more than a decade: the famous 75% quota allocated to independent producers has not lived up to expectations, as they have invested next to nothing while production costs are more often than not on the rise,” writes Morin, referencing the AG’s report on Canadian cultural industry subsidies in 2005.
“It is important to note that this industry – that of independent producers – excels at cultivating its public image as a fragile industry that needs full government support and does not have the means to invest! What a success, what an example, what a demonstration of cultural leadership after a decade and a half of investment of public funds!” reads one of the more sarcastic portions of Morin’s missive.
“Add to that the fact that most of these ‘independent’ companies do not report on their activities, even though they are largely funded with public money.
“…(D)o we need to recall that independent producers are not compelled to report to the CRTC, even though the CRTC, as a regulatory body, has to ensure that they are able to access 75% of the funding for priority programming?” he asks?
“With respect to independent production, licence fees are pegged to production costs. Thus the higher the production costs, the larger the quota of independent producers. The result? Their licence fees are increasing, while broadcasters’ audiences are fragmenting.
“It is that model, rooted in the rules of the CTF, that QMI wants to replace in order to produce Canadian content at a lower cost by extending its broadcast to all the platforms at its disposal,” adds Morin.
The gist of his dissent, though, says that finding enough money for drama programming for the small French-language Quebec market is a serious, growing, problem – and TVA, a broadcaster which already devotes over 90% of its programming budget to Canadian content should be able to opt out of the Canadian Television Fund and spend money in Quebec as it knows the market needs.
During the 18-month-long-and-not-over-yet imbroglio over the future of the CTF, Quebecor Media – owners of major CTF contributor in cable company Videotron, and major CTF user in broadcaster TVA – tabled a proposal that would allow the company to largely pull out of the Fund and create its own that would back French language television programming and multiplatform content development.
Morin called the idea “a thunderbolt” and agreed with QMI that its proposal would have no net effect on the CTF, calling TVA and its parent company a “star pupil” that contributes hundreds of millions of dollars to Quebec culture (so much so, actually that after reading Morin’s list, it appears to us QMI basically owns a market monopoly there).
Quebecor proposed its own funding model where much of the cash from Videotron would be re-directed to the new fund, rather than go to the CTF. However, with TVA no longer drawing down from the CTF, the effect of the removal of Videotron’s contribution would be neutral.
Plus, added Morin, “in the past three years for which data are available, QMI withdrew more from the CTF ($9 million in total) than it contributed through Videotron’s monthly contributions.”
QMI’s proposal would also earmark money to be spent on multiplatform development and not just linear TV programming. “In this era of Facebook, My Space, YouTube, Google and iPod, no undertaking in Quebec has yet seized the opportunity to devise a real multi-platform strategy,” laments Morin.
“We are looking at a star pupil, an adult in the broadcasting system we have known for 40 years, ever since the CRTC was created in 1968. QMI deserves a three-year licence amendment, not a slap in the face.” (The idea called for a three-year period to test “Le Fonds Quebecor” monitored by the CRTC.)
“Now, more than ever, the French-language market needs a lead player capable of competing on all platforms, both fixed and mobile,” adds Morin’s dissent. “Historically, the CRTC – and for this I give full credit – has always taken pains to treat the French-language market as being separate from the markets in the other provinces, which are mostly Anglophone, when the circumstances warranted.
“Why should it be any different for the CTF? Why this new sacred cow?”
