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TV,eh? What's up in Canadian television
Featured, Industry News

Pick and Pay Decision Impact? Who Knows.

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There’s a lot of press on the CRTC’s pick and pay decision and a lot of different opinions on what it means for consumers and for the broadcast industry. I’m reluctant to throw in my 2 cents but here goes.

Only time will tell.

During the Talk TV public hearing there were a lot of studies submitted on the potential impact of unbundling. Many of them had differing opinions on consumer behaviour because of the variables at play. To what extent would the CRTC require unbundling and if it did, how would the cable and satellite companies price their individual services or packages? How would consumers react to their options? No one could (or should have) concretely said ‘if channels are unbundled, the consumer will do x and the result will be y’.

And we still don’t know.

Here’s what we do know. The cable and satellite companies have until March 2016 to implement a skinny basic at $25 that includes local channels, mandatory carriage channels (e.g. CPAC and APTN), educational channels and provincial legislature channels. It ‘could’ include the big U.S. networks but must be sold at no more than $25 per month. On top of that they must offer either the opportunity to pick and pay for individual channels or small packages that they either build or are themed. By December 2016 cable and satellite companies must offer both individual and small package choices on top of skinny basic.

Here’s what we don’t know:

  • How much will individual services have to cost when sold on their own
  • How much will they cost in build your own or themed packages
  • Will US networks be included in skinny basic or will you have to pay extra for them
  • How will the US specialty services react to pick and pay.  At the public hearing some threatened to cancel contracts due to breach if pick and pay was implemented. The CRTC is hoping that they will be ‘good corporate citizens’ and play along.
  • How many people will opt for skinny basic and a few other channels and will they be cord shavers or cord cutters re-entering the system?
  • How many people will only pick U.S. services on top of skinny basic once they are given that opportunity
  • How many smaller Canadian specialty services will have to shut down because their paying audience is too small

We won’t know what this means for the industry until the cable and satellite companies start to market the new offerings (possibly later this year) and consumers react to it and the dominoes start to fall. Or not.

One thing I do have to note is that it appears that the CRTC has given the Conservatives an election gift. It has provided them with the opportunity to say ‘look, we gave you cheaper cable bills’ before unbundling is implemented and the consumer has a chance to say, as may be the case, ‘no you didn’t’.  That could be completely unintentional but it cannot have been unexpected.

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Featured, X Company

Comments and queries for the week of March 20

The bulk of the comments this week revolved around the CRTC’s latest decision regarding Canadian TV production and whether or not X Company‘s lead character, Alfred, has been captured by the Germans and we’re looking back at what has already happened to the team. Also a hot topic: our contest to snag a pair of passes to the Toronto Screenwriting Conference.

It’s disheartening to see the CRTC choosing which genre the country’s industry will make. Canadian kids TV is very successful internationally—and popular with Canadian viewers too—but every discussion ends up being about primetime, always. Caillou was more successful than Flashpoint, but you’d never know to hear industry folks talk.—Lisa

I like what the CRTC has done here. Contrary to the U.S. tradition of buying “cheap Canadian exports” in the summer, we do have talent and culture up here that I think should be given support. Fittingly, a show that does well in the ratings for summer here and balances being Canadian with being just plain *good* is The Amazing Race Canada. All of its first season and most of its second took place here and it felt positive for Canada without being overdone. And was just plain fun to watch at times. I had no idea we had a desert right in the middle of the Yukon. But it follows the U.S. format so it attracts all those fans right off the bat, and airs after the U.S. one is done for the season. Honestly, if I were a U.S. network, I’d want that on in summer. It’s just like the U.S. one while appreciating Canada.—Dan

 

Another hint [in X Company]: in the previous episode, in the blue “cell,” Alfred tears up and eats a passport photo of Aurora that he had foolishly kept on his person (sort of lying to his boss about having disposed of it) after swiping it from a German intelligence file during a break-in. He would probably only do that if having that photo on him was a liability, i.e. he was captured… —Mark

 

I have been [to the Toronto Screenwriting Conference] for the past two years, and the sessions have blown me away. People STILL talk about Michael Arndt’s talks from last year! So I’d love to go, because I’ve found my writing has grown SO MUCH since I’ve been going—and I’d like to keep on that trajectory, pretty please.—Diane

Juggling five kids, two jobs, two writing projects and my first option deal. Would love the opportunity to learn from the pros.—Adam

I’m a broke screenwriter hustling to create great, story-driven content for Canadian film and television! In a country where the competition is fierce and money is scarce, attending the TSC would be invaluable for networking opportunities.—Mary

I never considered myself a writer, just a director, but I have so many ideas in my head. Learning more of the craft and structure of screenwriting will help get those ideas on to paper and realized into full films.—Brad

I would love to attend the Canadian Screenwriting Conference because it’s a rare opportunity to hear today’s industry leaders talk about the craft and what strategies have led to their success. If you fancy yourself a scriptwriter, why WOULDN’T you want to go?!—Justin

Got a question or comment about Canadian TV? Let me know below or via @tv_eh.

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Dramas and Comedies, Featured

Jacob Blair’s crash course on The Pinkertons

Jacob Blair is no stranger to Canadian winters. He grew up in Edmonton, but even he found the cold in Winnipeg while filming the syndicated cops and robbers Canadian co-production The Pinkertons to be daunting.

“They’ve been quoting me things like the weather has been colder than the surface of Mars and I’m like, ‘That’s not a selling feature, guys,'” he says from the set with a laugh. “You let people discover that once they’re already here.”

Still, Blair is having a blast. And who can blame him? The chance to play William Pinkerton, son of Allan, the man who founded the legendary law enforcement, detective and security agency in 1850 is just too much fun. Hired by President Abraham Lincoln to be his security detail during the Civil War, the company was based out of Chicago; the series is loosely based on the Pinkerton’s real case files. Blair is joined by Angus Macfadyen (Turn) as Allan, and Martha MacIsaac (1600 Penn) as Kate Warne, the first female detective in the United States.

Blair, who has appeared in episodes of Rookie Blue, Republic of Doyle and Beauty and the Beast, only had two weeks between being cast on The Pinkertons before cameras rolled—he was the last of the principals to sign on—so he crammed for the role. He’d already known from watching shows like Deadwood that the Pinkertons were feared and not a group you wanted to run afoul of, but learned there wasn’t much information regarding William’s personality, just snippets gleaned from Allan’s memoir and in case files.

“I had to create him on my own,” Blair says. “He’s his father’s son, so growing up he would pick up on those traits of being no-nonsense. Because we’re going the family angle, we do need to infuse it with humour. Viewers really love the friction and the dynamic between the characters, so we have William giving it back to Allan and William and Kate getting under each other’s skin, but there’s a mutual admiration there.”

Of course, whenever you place a young man and woman in close quarters and at odds on television, an obvious question must be asked. Will William and Kate end up falling in love like so many small-screen couples have before them? Blair hopes not.

“I just don’t know where it would go,” he says. “I have a hard time picturing that and if they did I’d hope they’d wait a few seasons.” Guess the winters will have to get even colder before the two would ever consider huddling for warmth.

The Pinkertons airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on CHCH.

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Industry News

Link: Cheap politics, cheap TV: CRTC hands Tories a populist election platform

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From Simon Houpt of The Globe and Mail:

Cheap politics, cheap TV: CRTC hands Tories a populist election platform
The thing that apparently caused people to riot in the streets (or at least the modern equivalent: send angry e-mails to the CRTC) was the common industry practice of bundling TV channels. Most people regularly watch only a couple of dozen channels on a regular basis, and they are tired of paying for the hundreds of others available on their cable lineups.

So the Harper government, which is all for free enterprise except when there are votes to be had, decided to do something about it. Too bad they made the CRTC look slavish in the process. Continue reading.

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