News Releases
November 19, 2004
The following is CBC Television's Letter to the Editor in response to a recent column by the National Post's John Ivison on the House of Commons debate on the Department of Canadian Heritage.
CBC Television Responds to National Post
Re: John Ivison's column "Keeping the barbarians at bay - and CBC afloat" - National Post, November 18, 2004
Dear Editor,
John Ivison's entertaining article about the House of Commons debate on the Department of Canadian Heritage this week had some fun at the expense of cultural nationalists. That is his schtick and he is good at it.
Along the way, he quotes the old saw about CBC Television having "floundering" ratings and "the hundreds of millions of dollars going into English Language TV." I thought, in the interest of informed debate, I should provide an update on our ratings and correct a misconception about CBC Television's funding.
First let me say that ratings alone are a lousy measure of how well a public broadcaster is fulfilling its mandate. If all we were after was ratings, we'd put on a bunch of US programming like the private networks do and people would quite correctly call for us to be dismantled for using taxpayers dollars to do what the private sector can do better. That is not our role.
Our role is to host the Canadian conversation. To give voice to Canadians in all their diversity, telling our stories, celebrating our heroes and educating our kids through news information and high impact distinctive programming. I hasten to add that private broadcasters do some of this programming as well and, in exchange, they are licensed to build profitable businesses around broadcasting popular, mostly American, programming. But for us it is our raison d'être and the most telling measurement of the success of this kind of programming, whether at CBC or Global, is not necessarily market share. Programming of this kind needs a more flexible instrument.
It is, of course, true that you can not have public broadcasting without the public. If no one was watching there would be no point. On average, 62% of the Canadian anglophone population tunes in to CBC Television each week. CBC Television's share in 2003-2004 was up over the previous year both in all-day viewing and in prime time. So far in 2004-2005, CBC Television's share is again tracking ahead of last year (prime time currently running at 7% share this season versus, for instance, Global TV at 8.7%).
What is more exciting and more important than the increase in viewing of CBC Television is that it is in response to programming that is proudly and quintessentially Canadian. Mr. Ivison points to the fact that CBC Television does not do well on the list of Nielsen list of top 20 programs. In fact, Canadian programs generally do not do well in the overall top 20. Why? One reason is that a big US drama program, like West Wing or ER, will spend between three and five times more to make an hour of programming than it costs to make a top end Canadian show.
What he doesn't perhaps know, is that 12 of the top 20 Canadian drama series and 18 of the top 20 Canadian drama specials in 2003-04 were CBC programs. Given our mandate, that is the list that measures our success.
The other misconception that seems to be abroad is that CBC Television costs the taxpayer a billion dollars. CBC Television is one platform out of 18 that CBC/Radio-Canada, operates. It receives $278 million in funding from the public purse. The rest of its budget is raised through advertising and other sources of funds. Compare this to the approximately US$800 million that US government sources contribute to PBS over and above the money they receive from fundraising drives and other revenue sources.
We, in Canada, need to figure out how to free up more funds for Canadian programming not cut what there is. CBC Television wants to produce Canadian programs that dominate not only the Canadian top 20 but the over all top 20. We will not do that, and nor will CTV or Global, if there is less money in the Canadian broadcasting system.
The ultimate question in all this, however, is whether television is solely entertainment or whether it can serve a public purpose. If it is only amusement and diversion then, as your columnist says, bring on Fear Factor. But if, as some believe, television can play the role in twenty first century Canada that the railroad played in the nineteenth and twentieth century, tying us together against forces of geography and economics, then we should invest in it and make it strong.
Yours sincerely,
Slawko Klymkiw
Executive Director
Network Programming
CBC Television
About CBC/Radio-Canada
CBC/Radio-Canada is Canada's national public broadcaster and one of its largest cultural institutions.
CBC/Radio-Canada reaches Canadians through eight national radio and television networks, its full-service web sites, local/regional stations and affiliates, as well as the digital television channel Country Canada, and the continuous music network Galaxie.
In addition, CBC/Radio-Canada has forged partnerships with other broadcasters and is a partner in the satellite radio service SIRIUS Canada as well as in the specialty television services ARTV and The Documentary Channel. Through this array of activities, CBC/Radio-Canada brings diverse regional and cultural perspectives into the daily lives of Canadians in English, French and eight aboriginal languages.
For additional information, please contact:
Pascale Montminy
Director, Public Relations and Operations
Corporate Communications
(613) 288-6243
pascale.montminy(at)cbc.ca
