Are we seeing a new trend here?

[Danster]

It seems lately that the government is actually "doing" something about our multicultural population. Ever since the election this year, there isn't a day where we don't see some inquiry starting to look into what we are allowed to watch or not. Check this link http://www.cbc.ca/story/arts/nationa...oad040817.html

[peano]

Hmmm. The report is due September 30th, one day before Jacques ruling is due. I wish they would look at English broadcasting services too.

[digitalguy_1978]

The CRTC should be cut down to a licensing board only. They should not consider the viability of a channel, it's content or anything else other than the bandwidth available.

[JohnnyG]

You might see that eventually, but it would require a re-write of the Act that empowers the CRTC in the first place, which would mean that the whole issue would have to show up on some political party's radar screen. I'm not sure it's reached this point yet.

Consider too that the CRTC could be tired of taking flak for the decsions they often have no choice but to make. They've been in the press lately for a number of inflamatory rulings and that might not be entirely by accident.

[james99]

If they deny Fox News they will be in the news again.

That could be the death blow for the CRTC :lol:

[JesseJ]

Originally Posted by james99

If they deny Fox News they will be in the news again.

That could be the death blow for the CRTC :lol:

We can only hope..... :wink:

I'm sick of the CRTC...not allowing channels, removing licences, taking over a year to call for input on HD channels...Stick to regulation of pricing and stay the hell out of my television. I hate how we have to protect the multiculturalism of the country, while that simply means Canadian companies that bitch and provide election money to the political parties.

[buritto]

Originally Posted by KinStud

We can only hope..... :wink:

I'm sick of the CRTC...not allowing channels, removing licences, taking over a year to call for input on HD channels...Stick to regulation of pricing and stay the hell out of my television. I hate how we have to protect the multiculturalism of the country, while that simply means Canadian companies that bitch and provide election money to the political parties.

Yup!

[lprice99]

Originally Posted by james99

If they deny Fox News they will be in the news again.

That could be the death blow for the CRTC :lol:

It will be very interesting to see how this will eventually play out. If Fox News is denied access into Canada then we will witness the consequences and fallout for the CRTC and just how ugly the press will be. If the commission ends up disapproving of the Fox news application then the CRTC will deserve all the negative reaction that they'll receive.

Only time will tell if that would really be the actual final "death blow" for the CRTC. Maybe an occurrence like that would lead to real change and get a lot of Canadians thinking that something is genuinely not right.

[Nanuuk]

I disagree that the CRTC is making decisions that they have no choice over. They are political zealots that choose to interpret the Act in a manner that pleases the government. No legislation is ever written like its Napoleonic code!

[Hairball]

Now might be the best time to put pressure on the government for a much needed rewrite of the broadcast act, and changes to the crtc. Write your MP especially if he or she is a Liberal. Alot of political change has occurred in this country durring times of a minority government. It's funny how the publics voice gets heard when every single vote counts for something.

[peano]

Todays the day!

[WalnutCrunch]

The fact of the matter is that without protection for Canadian content there will be no Canadian content. All content will be generated and approved by a foreign entity. That being US broadcasters.

You can have worldwide distribution rights locked up for a program and you do not have enough money to proceed. Once you get US distribution, even on a lowly cable channel, you are rich. That is the market difference. American broadcasters do not care about programming unless it is about Americans. I'd like to believe that the Canadian industry would survive without CRTC Cancon protections, but sad to say, there would be a great many people out of work and there would be no Canuck production outside of US media doctored newscasts.

[thubble]

Originally Posted by WalnutCrunch

The fact of the matter is that without protection for Canadian content there will be no Canadian content. All content will be generated and approved by a foreign entity. That being US broadcasters.

You can have worldwide distribution rights locked up for a program and you do not have enough money to proceed. Once you get US distribution, even on a lowly cable channel, you are rich. That is the market difference. American broadcasters do not care about programming unless it is about Americans. I'd like to believe that the Canadian industry would survive without CRTC Cancon protections, but sad to say, there would be a great many people out of work and there would be no Canuck production outside of US media doctored newscasts.

Yeah, but all the CanCon that's worth watching could easily fit on one channel. Just keep the publicly-funded CBC and put them all on there.

Also, there are some Canadian shows which could compete in the States. What about all the Americans begging their Canadian relatives to tape Trailer Park Boys or all the kids complaining they can't see uncensored episodes of Degrassi: TNG? I believe both these shows have US distribution contracts.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think CanCon produces nearly as many jobs as American shows filmed in Canada. Ironically, most of these shows don't air in Canada, at least not on "legal" channels. Stargate SG-1, for example - it's filmed in Vancouver, yet we still haven't seen the last 2 seasons.

What most people seem to be worried about is that Canada's small population and economy mean that our broadcast industry would easily be overtaken by the US in an "open skies" market. This is true, for the most part, but it's not necessarily a bad thing. We have about a tenth of the population of the US, so it seems fair that our broadcast industry should be about a tenth the size.

As for American broadcasters not caring about non-American programming, again that is a population issue. They would probably in most cases overlook a show set in - for example - Louisville, Kentucky as opposed to New York or LA. Just look at "Cold Squad" vs. "Cold Case": They are EXACTLY the same show in every respect, except one is in Vancouver and one in (I think) New York. Cold Case probably has a bigger budget, but you can't really tell from watching. American broadcasters simply prefer shows that will relate to Americans living in large population centres - nothing will change that.

[awai_00]

Personally, I think a new definition of Canadian content is needed. As far as I'm concerned, The L Word, Battlestar Galactica, Missing, Tru Calling. Those have Canadian content.

Does anyone know how countries like Australia and England handle this issue of foreign programming?