Tory knives are out for the CBC
- Thread starter moviefan
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LOL. It's also curious that some of the people who think the CBC produces better Canadians are the same ones that say threads about current affairs in this country are "boring."
Here Here !! (standing up and applauding.) Take some of the money wasted by those toy soldiers at DOD HQ in Ottawa and shift it to the CBC.
I would actually increase CBC's budget and their mandate to include more regional programming...I hardly know anything about what's going on in other parts of the country (CBC is a bit Hawgtown-centric).
Ok, so they want to cut $1 billion from CBC and then add $1 billion to the prison system.
Imagine if that was what they campaigned on.
We'll take your money and get rid of public tv by filling the jails with minor criminals.
That would have worked well.
Under the new proposed laws, a rapist will spend less time behind bars then someone who had 6 pot plants.
Imagine if that was what they campaigned on.
We'll take your money and get rid of public tv by filling the jails with minor criminals.
That would have worked well.
Under the new proposed laws, a rapist will spend less time behind bars then someone who had 6 pot plants.
How do you measure 'under watched', as compared to other Canadian broadcasters.
Consider that CTV's Flashpoint, Canada's number 1 drama has on average 1.5 million viewers, where CBC HNIC catches over 2 million viewers weekly.
Considering that the critically acclaimed Boardwalk Empire averaged 3.2 million last year in a market 10 time bigger, The CBC's Tudor pulling in 900,000 is nothing to sneeze at.
Silly me I just assumed that the ratings were poor enough so that they couldn't get enough advertising dollars to operate without a billion dollar subsidy. Ever other network in Canada operates without subsidy but I guess the CBC needs dough to keep our culture alive or provide local content in the maritimes and Quebec or some such. You look up the ratings by network but they are either underwatched or a total disaster in operations or both.
But hey if you are happy to subsidize them so they can buy a foreign HBO production like Boardwalk Empire about Atlantic City USA ( you do realize the 3.2 million viewers you quote are the American viewers and ratings don't you? Might want to check these things out a little better) or the Tudors which was subsidized by the CBC, amongst others. It was a fine series but was filmed entirely in Ireland (where all of our money went) and of course dealt with British history. Don't know whether it made or lost money, but it had nothing to do with Canada directly.
In terms of good television produced by the CBC in Canada currently what do we have the The National, Marketplace, HNIC and what? Battle of the Blades
and Dragon's Den ?You haven't justified the CBC you have just raised more questions.
It is done by private enterprise. You do realize that we are giving a crown corporation a billion dollars so it can unfairly compete with Candian owned, operated companies that pay Canadian taxes? Is that what we really want to do. Well that was a bit harsh I suppose because we also fund french television in Quebec and a half hour of local news in the maritimes.
There are all sorts of different types of subsides in the television industry. Most are not as obvious. You subsidize the weaker smaller networks by being all but forced to buy them in packages with more popular network o your cable or satellite service. Do some math and you will find out that you more than you do with $35 for the CBC. I certainly get my $35 worth.Silly me I just assumed that the ratings were poor enough so that they couldn't get enough advertising dollars to operate without a billion dollar subsidy. Ever other network in Canada operates without subsidy but I guess the CBC needs dough to keep our culture alive or provide local content in the maritimes and Quebec or some such. You look up the ratings by network but they are either underwatched or a total disaster in operations or both.
But hey if you are happy to subsidize them so they can buy a foreign HBO production like Boardwalk Empire about Atlantic City USA ( you do realize the 3.2 million viewers you quote are the American viewers and ratings don't you? Might want to check these things out a little better) or the Tudors which was subsidized by the CBC, amongst others. It was a fine series but was filmed entirely in Ireland (where all of our money went) and of course dealt with British history. Don't know whether it made or lost money, but it had nothing to do with Canada directly.
In terms of good television produced by the CBC in Canada currently what do we have the The National, Marketplace, HNIC and what? Battle of the Blades
You haven't justified the CBC you have just raised more questions.
Then there's the subsidy you pay to support the small local stations/channels to the tune of up to $100 million, with the help of the CRTC.
Where Tudors was filmed has little to do with the viewership. Using your argument anything produced outside of Canada is less worthy to support and produce. Financial assistance for film production is also available through a number of federal programs, including Telefilm Canada's Canada Feature Film Fund, the Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit Program, Canada Council for the Arts grants, and the Cultural Industries Development Fund. The Canadian Television Fund, a public/private partnership, is also an important supporter of the Canadian television and film industry. If you you think the CBC is the only media funded by the government think again. Do you want to also take away the funding for all Canadian arts. Even Harper tried that but back off big time from the backlash.
The next time you watch something on the 'private' Canadian networks, watch the credits at the end and see what government agencies give them financing and subsidies. Then you also have to look at the tax breaks given to Canadian productions. Those are subsidies as well available to 'private' companies in the industry.
I am aware of the American market. That's why I commented that those ratings were for a market 10x larger, ie. the US.
The first salvo in Harpo's Americanization of the CBC.
http://thechronicleherald.ca/Canada/1265424.html
http://thechronicleherald.ca/Canada/1265424.html
Are you saying it won't be on CBC News channel. I didn't watch the bloody debate either as most are a waste of time. I'll get the synopsis about 10 times today on Radio and various tv channels
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Blackrock your arguments make no sense. When that is pointed out to you in no uncertain terms, and your examples are made a mockery of with the facts, you wander off into some nonsensical discussion about other funding programs which are not the subject of whether the CBC is underwatched or not needed. The rating for CBC are well below CTV's and may even be below Global's. Bolstering ratings by buying US or British (or Irish made for that matter) made TV, using taxpayers money to compete with Candian company's would seem a poor use of funds by anyones definition.
If buying non-Canadian content is profitable this only means that the rest of it is worse than we thought - both ratings and cost-wise. If it isn't profitable why are we doing it?
The sole (and the original) purpose for keeping the CBC around should be to provide service to regions not serviced by the other networks. With the exception of the french language television the need diminishes every year because of internet, satelite communications etc etc.
Why people cannot admit that, with a handful of exceptions, Canadians have by and large turned their back on CBC's home produced content is puzzling. One almost supposes you must be a CBC employee and are afraid of being booted off the gravey train or are Rick Mercer's uncle.
If buying non-Canadian content is profitable this only means that the rest of it is worse than we thought - both ratings and cost-wise. If it isn't profitable why are we doing it?
The sole (and the original) purpose for keeping the CBC around should be to provide service to regions not serviced by the other networks. With the exception of the french language television the need diminishes every year because of internet, satelite communications etc etc.
Why people cannot admit that, with a handful of exceptions, Canadians have by and large turned their back on CBC's home produced content is puzzling. One almost supposes you must be a CBC employee and are afraid of being booted off the gravey train or are Rick Mercer's uncle.
The funding argument was in response to the claim that only CBC get public funding and shouldn't. A lot of people in the industry get pubic funding. I'm fully aware that there isn't enough CANCON to fill up a twenty-four hour multi channel broadcast spectrum, USA and international programs are needed, but that doesn't mean the CBC fails to pull its weight in the Canadian market. Some non Canadian content is not profitable. There is some real junk on the US airwaves. They get broadcasted, panned and dumped, sometimes.
I agree with this. CBC's mandate should be to further the Canadian national interest. I interpret that broadly, so promoting things like hockey seems right on the money to me because hockey is part of the Canadian identity, and Canadian sport generally probably fits under that umbrella. Certainly news programs, and domestic produced television and radio series. However, I don't see how the national interest is furthered by running "Coronation Street".
The military isn't profitable either, why do that? Generally government spending isn't measured in terms of profitability, but rather in terms of public net benefit. Often this benefit accrues in ways that are hard to account. What's the "profit" in having the government spend money to clean up an environmental contaminated site? How do you nail down the precise economic benefit of having a military, or a school, or a road? Currently the Conservative government is spending money promoting elements from our history--making sure people know about the war of 1812, where's the profit in that? These things clearly benefit the public, although they are hard to nail down in terms of profit and loss.
In the case of the CBC, to me, the reason for its existence is to further promote Canadian culture, Canadian national identity, and the smooth functioning of Canada as a society. With regard to the latter, making sure that communities everywhere are included in Canada's identity and culture, even where it is not necessarily profitable to include them. We don't want to give away our hinterlands to some other nation just because it's not *currently* profitable to operate there, so we subsidize operations there--and the CBC is part of it.
I think it is more than that. It is about making sure that there is a shared identity in Canada, a shared vision, a shared understanding of what it means to be Canadian. We want everyone in Canada to know the same stories, laugh at the same jokes, participate in the same political debates and discussions. As such the CBC has a role to play everywhere--you can't bring people in Toronto closer to people in Yellowknife unless you operate in both Toronto and Yellowknife, unless you are a big player in both Toronto and in Yellowknife. For example, "Hockey Night in Canada" I would say is an important part of our shared identity of what it means to be a Canadian. You can sit down with a Canadian from pretty much anywhere and talk about hockey, and he or she's probably seen some of the same games you have.
And by the way, my access to the CBC these days is primarily via the internet. I hardly ever watch TV anymore, but I do download and listen to CBC podcasts, and access various bits of their web content. Your notion that the CBC is or should be strictly a television broadcaster is just flat out wrong. Television broadcasting is just one part of what the CBC does, and for many people it remains an important part.
I don't give a fuck about Hockey Night in Canada.
The CBC is far more than that to me.
I work all over the country. In places you've probably never heard of. I've been there. I've been in places where you drive down the road for 5 hours and you don't even see so much as a mail box. And through it all is the CBC1's blanket coverage. A voice in the wilderness. And it's quality programming to boot. As I drive - one station fades out and I spin the radio and pull in the next frequency.
As far as the TV is concerned, the CBC is the best news, the most canadian content, across the country, documentaries, thought provoking shows, movies, culture.
I get enough reality bullshit in my day to day life. I don't need to watch it again on TV thanks. I don't need to watch some old goofie guy with a mullet going after guys out on bail, or some other idiot exterminating rats. I know that shit probably appeals to the moviefans out there, but not me.
The CBC is far more than that to me.
I work all over the country. In places you've probably never heard of. I've been there. I've been in places where you drive down the road for 5 hours and you don't even see so much as a mail box. And through it all is the CBC1's blanket coverage. A voice in the wilderness. And it's quality programming to boot. As I drive - one station fades out and I spin the radio and pull in the next frequency.
As far as the TV is concerned, the CBC is the best news, the most canadian content, across the country, documentaries, thought provoking shows, movies, culture.
I get enough reality bullshit in my day to day life. I don't need to watch it again on TV thanks. I don't need to watch some old goofie guy with a mullet going after guys out on bail, or some other idiot exterminating rats. I know that shit probably appeals to the moviefans out there, but not me.
It solves a budget problem for them. They are underfunded, and these programs draw advertising dollars. The problem could be solved by increasing their funding, prohibiting them from running advertising, and implementing rules that require them to justify any foreign programming they do run. I don't object to SOME foreign programming on the CBC, but they should have to justify it in terms of their mandate--how does that programming build Canada's identity, contribute to dialogue and debate on current issues, bring Canadians together, and so on.
So I can see playing films and documentaries about current topics, or events significant to Canada, but I can't see how Coronation Street fits into that.
I actually think Coronation Street undermines the mandate because it occupies peak viewing hours denying those time slots to programming that would be more in line with their mandate.
The CBC shouldn't be worried about making money. It's objectives, its public benefit, lies elsewhere.
