OTTAWA – The CBC has finally convinced the CRTC to accept a new programming proposal for its category 1 specialty service bold, sparking sharply worded dissents from two of its commissioners.
As Cartt.ca has reported, the Commission directed CBC to come up with another programming strategy in line with the channel’s original nature of service, (programming reflective of the living realities of rural Canadians), after rejecting the CBC’s first attempt last April. CBC re-branded the channel as bold from Country Canada in March, 2008 claiming challenges in sourcing programming, and limited financial resources to produce original content consistent with its original nature of service.
In its decision, the Commission accepted most of CBC’s proposals, and imposed that the channel provide information, interaction and entertainment programming dedicated to reflecting Canada’s various regions, including Canada’s rural and non-urban regions, to national and regional audiences. It’s mandate must “reflect in its programming the unique tapestry of Canada’s regions, including programming that reflects the living realities of rural Canadians”, and defined “rural Canadians” as individuals from rural non-metro adjacent areas, rural metro adjacent areas and rural northern areas.
In defining “programming dedicated to reflecting Canada’s various regions”, the CRTC said that shall mean English-language programs in which the principal photography occurred in Canada at a distance of more than 150 kilometres from Montréal, Toronto or Vancouver.
But Commissioner Peter Menzies said in a dissenting opinion that “(a)llowing the dilution of the Category A ‘genres’ into an increasing clutter is disrespectful of the interests of consumers”, as well as inhibiting “ the opportunity for innovation and excellence that is the purpose of the open-entry Category B (or 2) licences”.
“This decision was approved by the narrowest of margins”, he wrote. “Hopefully, that fact and this dissent will make the point that the Commission must move from an era of protectionism to a 21st-century approach that emphasizes the relationships between producer, provider and consumer and that will allow Canadians – to the greatest extent possible – to pay for and watch that which they prefer in a fashion that they find most satisfactory.”
Commissioner Marc Patrone wrote that the new, watered-down version of bold “represents a broken promise to Canadians”, and suggested that CBC consider returning the channel’s licence to the CRTC.
“With this decision, we allow the public broadcaster to turn its specialty service into what I consider ‘CBC 2’, an extension of its over-the-air service”, reads his dissenting opinion. “We are, in effect, rewarding the public broadcaster for reneging on its obligations and essentially making a mockery of the licensing process. During my time here, I can recall no other regulatory instance where the product delivered by a licensee fell so short of what was originally promised.”
