From Simon Houpt of the Globe and Mail:
Report on future of CBC a ‘lost opportunity’: Senator
A Canadian senator who serves on a parliamentary committee which just wrapped up a study of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation is attacking his colleagues and the recommendations they made for the public broadcaster, saying their work was “a lost opportunity†whose mission was derailed by petty and sometimes partisan politics. Continue reading.
Join Greg and Diane every Monday as we debate what’s on our minds. This week, we dissect the Emmy nominations.
She Said:
One of the biggest snubs of last year’s Emmys has been rectified this year: Tatiana Maslany got her first nomination as outstanding actress for her multitude of roles on Orphan Black. I hope they give her 7 statues if she wins. Long-running Degrassi — recently revived by Netflix and Family Channel after its cancellation by TeenNick and Bell — was nominated as outstanding children’s program.
That’s some great recognition for Canadian-made shows, when most years we have to be satisfied celebrating individuals who left the Canadian industry for the bright lights of Hollywood … not that there’s anything wrong with that. Go Michael J. Fox (The Good Wife), Semi Chellas (Mad Men), Jeremy Podeswa (Game of Thrones) and Jeff and Mychael Danna (Tyrant) for their nominations, too.
Besides the Canadian invasion, the most interesting trend in this year’s Emmys is how streaming services are threatening to become dominant in the same way cable started talking over broadcast series years ago. Netflix earned 34 nominations, including for Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Orange is the New Black, Bloodlines, House of Cards, Grace and Frankie, and Derek. Amazon snagged 12, mostly for Transparent, and even Yahoo was nominated for Community, the show they saved from an NBC cancellation.
In fact I feel unprepared to get excited about who was snubbed or what the surprises are in the nominations because after cutting the cable, the Netflix shows and The Good Wife are among the only non-Canadian shows I’m current with in my viewing. I’d love to see Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt win for comedy but I haven’t seen the current seasons of its competitors yet. Same with Orange is the New Black in the drama category. I was disappointed enough in this season of The Good Wife not to think it was snubbed, I think House of Cards is cheese wrapped in a prestigious package, but I haven’t seen the nominated seasons of the other series, even those that are must-watch shows for me. I’m waiting for them to appear on Netflix or I likely won’t bother.
Which makes a nice segue to a topic that’s been on my mind lately: the Canadian industry might want to figure out what to do about streaming services sooner rather than later. It’s possible broadband-delivered content isn’t just a fad.
He Said:Â
As Diane has already said, a hearty “Woohoo!” to all of the Canadian nominees. Despite what some might think about the Canadian Screen Awards, it warms my heart to know we handed out hardware to Orphan Black and Tatiana Maslany before the U.S. has acknowledged the show’s greatness.
And a special shout-out to Jonathan and Drew Scott, who I left off my initial post announcing the Canadian Emmy nominees last week. They nabbed a nod in Outstanding Structured Reality Program for their long-running Property Brothers series.
As Diane has already pointed out, streaming services being nominated in the major categories has quickly gone from outrageous to commonplace, a reflection of how quickly everyone has adjusted to online broadcasters and the fact fantastic stuff comes out of those outlets.
I’m still on cable, so can attest that Mad Men and Better Call Saul deserve kudos for Outstanding Drama Series, though I felt Downton Abbey and Homeland have been on the downslope for the last couple of years. I’d have liked to have seen Justified added to the category because FX’s U.S. marshal series has gotten better with every passing year, including its final one. Likewise, I’m happy Louie and Modern Family received nominations for Outstanding Comedy Series. The Big Bang Theory was left off the list, opening the door for Silicon Valley, Parks and Recreation and the excellent Transparent to get some serious consideration.
I’m a big fan of veteran series and talent being rotated out of categories so that newer projects and people get the chance to shine, and there is a nice mix in the 2015 nominees. Take a look at the full list of nominees, put your Emmy pool together and prepare to cheer for the Canadians when the Primetime Emmy Awards air Sunday, Sept. 20, at 8 p.m. ET on CTV.
When new Bell Media head Mary Ann Turcke told a telecom conference that Canadians accessing US Netflix through VPNs were “stealing,†she added to the cacophony of Canadian broadcast voices trying to solve the problem of Netflix.
But what is the problem, exactly?
First of all, it’s debatable that VPN use to circumvent geoblocking is “stealing.†And beyond that, it’s debatable that the problem is Netflix as opposed to a broadcasting model that’s evolving faster than the regulations governing it.
Until a test case is brought to court, he thinks its legality will remain an open question unless new legislation is passed to specifically address circumventing geoblocking, similar to the section added to make illegal circumventing digital locks on CDs and DVDs, for example.
“It might be possible to use the argument that using a VPN is technological protection measure avoidance [same as digital locks], so the argument might be that it’s caught by that section of the Copyright Act, but I don’t think that’s likely. I think where we’re at right now, it’s not against any of the Copyright Act to use a VPN,†said Brechtel.
“Frankly I’d love to see someone try to argue that it’s against that section of the Copyright Act, but I think ultimately they’d end up losing.â€
It’s unlikely even Turke is interested in criminalizing the audience, circa the 2003 music recording industry. Her remarks seemed intended to educate the public, many of whom aren’t aware — or don’t care — that circumventing geoblocking is an issue at all.
Some of that money goes to the broadcaster, some to the cable carries, some to producers and creative rights holders. “If you use a VPN to access US Netflix, what happens is that money is not going back to the Canadian rights holders and you’re reducing the revenues that used to flow into the system.”
How do you sustain a Canadian broadcasting system when Canadians aren’t getting the money from shows Canadians watch? So far Canadian networks don’t seem to be looking at homegrown shows as the solution.
Hennessy is no advocate of a widely discussed “Netflix tax” to bring funds into the industry from the unregulated streaming service, but he believes there is a need for a robust discussion on whether and how to regulate “over the top” services like Netflix in the Canadian broadcast world.
The CRTC’s recent Talk TV hearing wasn’t that robust discussion — and in fact Netflix and Google testimony was stricken from the record when they refused to provide the CRTC with requested information. If that’s the stick the CRTC has to work with — saying “LALALA CAN’T HEAR YOU” — there may need to be a whole lot of carrots to bring streaming services to the table of those discussions.
Right now, the carrot seems to be coming from outside the regulated system. Netflix is a relatively new player in commissioning original content; House of Cards debuted in 2013. They’ve started putting money into Canadian productions such as Trailer Park Boys, Degrassi and Between, with more waiting in the wings. Is regulation necessary if they end up willingly having more original Canadian content at any one time than, say, Global does?
Right now it’s Netflix causing so much “sky is falling” rhetoric from various players in the Canadian TV industry, but it’s really the shift in content delivery that has some of us seeing a future where Canadian broadcasters are the dinosaurs and streaming video the comet. If the Canadian industry were nimble and innovative they might not have waited years after Netflix’s arrival to bring out their own streaming services — services that weren’t even launched in a way that was competitive with the US behemoth. Even now, some industry players shortsightedly dismiss YouTube as cat videos and Amazon as a minor player.
Regardless, Hennessy points out that the dividing line between streaming services and broadcast is getting thinner and thinner as the means of providing content moves further towards broadband — including mobile, streaming and IPTV — versus cable. “Does that mean where we see all growth and evolution of the broadcasting system we aren’t going to regulate at all, but we will continue to have taxes and regulation in the bricks and mortar world?” Hennessy asks.
And as the difference between streaming and broadcast becomes more technical than practical, have we already, without real debate or thought, decided that foreign ownership of our industry is OK with us? Another question Hennessy has is: “If we’re willing to allow the largest future broadcasters to enter Canada on an unregulated basis, why do we have foreign ownership rules placed on Canadian broadcasters?”
If something is to be done to force a service like Netflix into the regulated system, lawyer Brechtel says the CRTC is limited by its mandate, but the federal government could introduce laws to make circumventing geoblocking illegal, for example, or go to the extreme of trying to block sites like Netflix if they don’t cooperate with Canadian broadcasting regulations.
Brechtel thinks that step is likely premature. “VPN, geoblocking, and Netflix are new technologies that probably aren’t ripe for some hammer of a legislative intervention to come in. It’s probably worth letting the industry mature a bit before anyone decides what should or shouldn’t be done.”
He doesn’t buy the argument that restrictions on access to sites such as US Netflix would put Canada in the same league as countries like China who block access to sites for ideological reasons, pointing out that Canadians’ freedom of speech has restrictions too, but that isn’t equivalent to blocking tanks in Tiananmen Square. “It’s all a matter of degrees.”
“We get people calling all the time who’ve been the victims of all sorts of online bullying or violence and all sorts of things. Unfettered internet use can be just as harmful as over-control. So it raises a lot of difficult questions. As we go through it, it’s good to tread lightly until we understand the effects of what we’re doing.”
“The legislative balance chosen for the TV broadcasting era might not be the right balance for the internet era,” said Brechtel. “If we really want to keep a focus on Canadian content we’re going to have to find a new mechanism to do it.”
“It’s a new area and it’s very grey. All the more fun for people like me.”
Spun Out, CTV – “My Brother’s Speaker”
When Nelson’s (Al Mukadam) DJ-ing brother Ray (Red, White, and Brown) stops by, Nelson plans a big industry showcase for him. Ray shows up hours late, and Nelson learns his brother’s true passion may not be music at all. Beckett is over the moon when Dave wants to spend time with him outside of work, but there’s more to Dave’s motives than meets the eye. Stephanie and Abby (Holly Deveaux) plan a poker night with Gordon (Darcy Michael) and Bryce (J.P. Manoux), but when the guys end up winning, the girls think they’ve been hustled.
Jeff Biederman is an award winning television comedy writer and producer. Most recently, Jeff was a show runner for two seasons of the CTV sitcom Spun Out. Season Two was pulled before airing from CTV’s schedule due to cast conflict back in January.
He was a writer and producer for 70 episodes of the teen comedy series Life With Derek and show runner on three seasons of the tween comedy series Overruled!, a series he co-created.
He has story edited over 200 episodes of television and has written for: My Babysitter’s A Vampire, The Latest Buzz, Radio Free Roscoe and too many more to mention.
And right after we talked about the unknown future for Spun Out, we found out late breaking news that CTV is going to show Season 2 this summer starting July 14th. But… as you’ll find out… we didn’t know this while recording, which makes for a unique contextual conversation.
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