Cbc Drops U.S. Shows From TV Network Is Attempting To Preserve Its Canadian Identity
The Canadian Broadcasting Corp., a dominant force on the nation’s airwaves, said Thursday it will drop all U.S. shows from its prime-time TV schedule in a bid to protect its identity and boost home-grown production.
The move, to take effect next fall, coincides with the most wrenching budget cuts ever undertaken by the publicly funded CBC.
It is under federal orders to slash spending over the next 18 months by $168 million, one-sixth of its budget, and says up to 2,000 of its 9,000 employees face layoffs.
Ironically, the CBC will lose money by dropping the 2 hours of Hollywood programming it now shows each week between 7 p.m. and 11 p.m.
But CBC President Perrin Beatty said the move was part of a broader effort to give the network a more distinctly Canadian identity.
U.S. programs are widely available in Canada on privately owned channels as well as on U.S. channels received through cable systems.
“I do not believe in trying to build an electronic wall around Canada,” Beatty said in a speech broadcast live by CBC.
“We should invite the best the world has to offer into our homes.
“But we also have a responsibility to ensure that Canadian voices continue to be heard in Canadian homes.”
His audience of business executives applauded when he announced the scrapping of U.S. prime-time programs.
U.S. shows currently on CBC’s schedule include “Central Park West,” “Fresh Prince of Bel Air,” “The Nanny,” and “Can’t Hurry Love.”
CBC cannot yet afford to drop all U.S.-produced daytime programming, but will work toward that goal, Beatty said.
According to CBC, English-speaking Canadians spend three-quarters of their TV viewing time watching American programs.
About 86 percent of all dramatic shows - as opposed to news or sports - are U.S.-produced.
“These are not the kind of realities that bode well for the future of a distinct Canadian culture or an independent Canada,” Beatty said.
He said the CBC would stop trying to imitate private broadcasters, and instead increase its emphasis on quality children’s programming, cultural coverage, and broadcasts aimed at communities ignored by commercial channels.
“We will carve out our distinct space on the spectrum,” he said.
“We will be resolutely Canadian. We will tell Canadian stories, not grudgingly or as an afterthought, but enthusiastically.”
Beatty acknowledged that Hollywood-made shows draw big audiences for CBC and earn the network $2.50 in revenue for each $1 spent to purchase the shows.
“But the price we pay isn’t just monetary,” he said. “It can also be measured in reduced distinctiveness in what is perhaps the most competitive television environment on earth.”
He said the money currently spent on U.S. shows will be redirected to support Canadian producers, writers and performers.
New projects in the works include a Canadian biography series and a co-production with British Broadcasting Corp. about the history of television news, he said.