The Decline of Canadian Television Programming

The ongoing establishment and continuity of a Canadian cultural identity has long been a focus of the nation's policy makers. Awareness of the influential role of Canadian broadcasting is imperative in utilizing its powerful impact to foster this identity. The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) was established as the federal broadcasting regulator to act in compliance with the Broadcasting Act. Its mandate is to encourage Canadian expression and ensure the availability of Canadian content to its nation's citizens. The CRTC has established regulations and policies to increase the amount of Canadian content broadcasted and encourage the production of original Canadian programming. This Canadian cultural sovereignty is meant to protect the country's culture and promote the industries that foster its preservation and growth. However, the pressures of CRTC requirements on private broadcasters have adverse effects on the creation of original Canadian drama programming.

CRTC regulations are contradictory to the commission's mandate, as demonstrated by Canadian content (CanCon) quotas and the CRTC's 1999 policy changes, which resulted in the production of inauthentic, poor quality, and non-dramatic Canadian programming. Criteria determined by the CRTC that decides what is considered Canadian content allows for the production of inauthentic programming that does not reflect Canadian values. Regulations that obligate broadcasters to show a significant amount of Canadian content cause poor quality programming to be produced just to meet certain requirements. Policy changes that reduce the minimum expenditure requirements of drama production and change the definitions of priority programming enable broadcasters to produce decreased amounts of original Canadian drama programming. Although the CRTC makes clear the influential role of Canadian content in enhancing national culture and identity, its regulations and policies cause this content to suffer.

Canadian content or CanCon quotas are regulations put into place by the CRTC to control the amount of American content that is broadcast in Canada. These quotas require broadcasters to air a predominant amount of Canadian content; allowing Canadian programming to compete with the United States. As specified on the CRTC website, private broadcasters must devote 60% of their daily schedule and 50% of prime time to Canadian programming. The CRTC has also laid out certain criteria that must be met to determine if a program is officially Canadian content. According to its official website, the CRTC certifies programs as Canadian content if the producer and key creative personnel are Canadian, and if 75% of service costs and post-production lab costs are paid to Canadians.

There are several aspects of these CanCon quotas which work to undermine the original intentions of their creation. The first is the criteria used to determine whether a program can be classified as Canadian content. It is based on the country of origin of those involved in the production of the programming, but does not address the actual content. In her article Canadian Content Rules or Why Bryan Adams Isn't Canadian Content, Elizabeth Hurst indicates the incongruities of the CanCon criteria: "There are no points on any CanCon scale for cultural or artistic merit. Your television show doesn't have to be good. It just has to meet their criteria." The rationale for the criteria is that if Canadians are involved in production, then the content of the program will therefore be Canadian. The assumption that "anything produced by Canadian citizens is 'CanCon' regardless of its substance" does not guarantee that Canadian values will be reflected (Stanbury).

The contradictory results of these criteria are demonstrated in the type of programming that is produced. CanCon criteria ensure Canadians are involved in producing programs, but this does not ensure that the content being produced reflects a Canadian way of life or values. As a result, many shows are produced and filmed in Canada, but intended primarily for the more profitable U.S. market. Broadcasters "strive to produce programs that are virtually indistinguishable from their American counterparts in the hopes that these so-called industrial dramas will gain favour in the international market" (Allen & Tate). An example of these types of shows is The X-Files. Launched in 1993, this Fox television series was very popular and widely successful. The first five seasons were filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia, allowing the show to meet CanCon criteria. However, the only aspect of The X-Files that is Canadian is its filming location. It was created for the U.S. market and reflects no Canadian values.

Another example of inauthentic Canadian programming is CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. Although it was filmed for CBS in California, the show was co-produced by Toronto-based media company Alliance-Atlantis, and thus considered Canadian content according to CRTC regulations. Once again, programming focused on the U.S. market with little reflection of Canadian values is deemed as officially Canadian. The CRTC's method of "measuring content by the nationality of inputs does not assure that Canadian stories get told, merely that stories get told by Canadians and Canadians get the jobs" (Allen & Tate).

The second contradictory aspect of CanCon quotas is the nature of their requirements. The CRTC requires that 60% of the content aired by private broadcasters during primetime must be Canadian content. However, there is no requirement for the quality of this programming. As a result, broadcasters are producing Canadian programming merely to fill content requirements, and not to create quality shows. This practice is not new; it has been an obstacle since the creation of CanCon quotas. The Trouble with Tracy is an example of a Canadian television series of extremely low quality. Produced by CTV in 1970, it is widely considered to be one of the worst situation comedies ever created.

Train 48 is a more recent example of low quality Canadian programming created mainly to meet CanCon requirements. Produced by Protocol Entertainment for Global, the show launched in 2003. With extremely low production values, a cast of little-known actors, and mostly improvised dialogue, critics called the show a "shortcut to meeting CanCon requirements" (Davidson). The formatting rights were bought from the Australian show Going Home, meaning the show was not even an original Canadian idea. Although the incorporation of current Canadian events such as the SARS outbreak allowed the show to reflect real Canadian values and a way of life, its poor quality production undermined these efforts.

Many groups recognize the detrimental effects of CRTC CanCon quotas. The Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA) is a Canadian labour union that lobbies for policy changes in media broadcasting. ACTRA is active in its opposition to these regulations. Their website states that "the existing Canadian content regulations permit the production of material with little relevance to Canadian audiences to qualify as Canadian for regulatory and funding purposes. This is unacceptable." Both CanCon quotas, and the criteria used to determine what is considered Canadian content, are CRTC regulations that contradict their intended purposes by resulting in the production of increasingly low quality programming, as well as inauthentic Canadian shows that are focused on the U.S. market and therefore do not reflect true Canadian values.

Recent policy changes to CRTC regulations have enabled broadcasters to produce decreasing amounts of original Canadian drama programming. In a speech made by Richard Stursberg, executive vice president of the CBC, the decline of Canadian drama programming is addressed: "While drama is the most popular category of prime-time programming - it accounts for more than half of screen time - Canadian drama accounts for only 9% of screen time and 5% of viewers. And every year since 1999 that viewership has been falling." This decline of Canadian drama programming coincides with CRTC policy changes.

In 1999, the CRTC made several changes to its policies that resulted in undesirable results for Canadian programming. The CRTC decided to relax the rules that forced broadcasters to create new Canadian drama programming. This was accomplished by expanding the definition of priority programming to include news magazine, arts and entertainment, lifestyle, and reality programming. Broadcasters were now allowed to fulfill their Canadian content quotas with these types of programming. The CRTC also announced on its website the elimination of "the regulatory requirement for expenditures on Canadian programming," highlighting their concern that "the existing expenditure requirements are complex and may not provide licensees with the flexibility they require to adapt their programming strategies to a highly competitive marketplace."

The CRTC's elimination of certain requirements had severe consequences for Canadian drama programming. Broadcasters focused more on the creation of inexpensive programming that could fill CanCon quotas, and less on the creation of original Canadian content. An example of such programming is Canadian Idol. Launched in June 2003 on CTV, this show is an example of the increasing popularity of reality television, which has resulted in the decline in production of original Canadian television drama. The format was taken from the popular show American Idol, which was based on an original British show. Canadian Idol is a clear example of programming that is merely a Canadian version of its American counterpart. The production of entertainment programming also increased; an example being Entertainment Tonight Canada. Also a Canadian spin-off of an original American show, it was launched in September 2005 on Global.

In a Canadian Heritage Standings Committee review of the CRTC's policy changes, the result of the CRTC's abandonment of Canadian expenditure requirements as a condition of licence is made clear: "Distinctively Canadian drama and comedy has been disappearing from Canadian screens given the greater flexibility that the CRTC's 1999 policy grants Canadian broadcasters." There is little incentive for private broadcasters to produce expensive Canadian drama programming to meet CanCon quotas. It is much easier and more efficient for the broadcasters to create inexpensive reality television and entertainment news programming to fill CRTC requirements.

The contradictory regulations put in place by the CRTC have negative impacts on Canadian television. Original Canadian drama programming is either not being produced at all, or it is being created cheaply to meet requirements or focused on U.S. markets. In any one of these scenarios, the affect on Canadian television programming is negative. However, the problem of CRTC policies has been addressed and several solutions have been proposed. The Writers Guild of Canada (WGC), an organization that represents Canadian screenwriters, suggests a possible solution to the issues at hand. "Over-the-air broadcasters like CTV, Global and CHUM should be required to spend a minimum of 7% of their advertising revenues on the production of Canadian drama, as well as more money on script and concept development." This requirement would ensure that broadcasters were spending adequate funding on the creation of drama programming.

The Canadian Television Fund (CTF) is another possible solution to the issue of the lack of Canadian drama programming. The CTF is a non-profit corporation funded by the Canadian government and Canadian cable and satellite industries that works to support the production and broadcast of high-quality Canadian television programs. The Minster of Canadian Heritage Sheila Copps credits the Canadian Television Fund as influential in the production of Canadian programming, stating that funds "have aided in more than 2,000 projects representing 10,900 hours of Canadian television programming in the under-represented categories of children's, documentary, and drama." An increased focus on the production of drama programming by the CTF could help to fix the problems created by CRTC regulations and policy changes.

The first step towards better Canadian programming is to build a comprehensive awareness of the issues at stake. Contradictory regulations of the CRTC cause drama programming to suffer. The criteria that determines Canadian content is focused on production, and not on the actual themes or content of the programming. This in turn allows for the production of inauthentic Canadian shows that are directed at U.S. markets and reflect American values, but are still considered Canadian. Restrictive quotas placed on broadcasters result in low quality shows created mainly to fill these Canadian content requirements. Policies that change the definition of priority programming and eliminate broadcaster's expenditure requirements work as incentives to produce less drama programming, replacing it with less expensive reality television and entertainment news shows.

Overall, original Canadian drama programming has suffered as a result of these contradictory CRTC regulations. Reflections of Canadian values in Canadian broadcasting help to create and maintain a strong Canadian identity. If the broadcasting environment continues on its current path, how will Canada be able to preserve the cultural sovereignty this nation strives to uphold?

Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA). Website: http://www.actra.ca/actra/control/main

Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission. Website: http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/home-accueil.htm

Clifford Lincoln. "Our Cultural Sovereignty: The Second Century of Canadian Broadcasting." June 2003. Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage.

Elizabeth Hurst. "Canadian Content Rules or Why Bryan Adams Isn't Canadian Content"

"Regulate Broadcasters to Save Canadian TV." Media Release. 28 Sept 2006. Writers Guild of Canada.

Richard Stursberg. "Television Drama: English Canada's Most Important Cultural Challenge."

Broadcast Executives Society. 17 Feb 2005. Four Season's Hotel, Toronto.

Sean Davidson. "Train 48: Fast, Cheap and on Track." 15 Dec 2003. Playback Magazine.

Sheila Copps. "Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage." 8 Nov 2001. Parliament of Canada

Valerie Allen & Marsha A Tate. "Integrating distinctively Canadian elements into television drama: a formula for success or failure? The Due South experience." 2003. Canadian Journal of Communication.

W. T. Stanbury. "Cancon Rules Should be Canned." Oct 1996. Policy Options Magazine.