TV, eh? | What's up in Canadian television | Page 3079
TV,eh? What's up in Canadian television

In the news: Debbie Travis back with From the Ground Up

Ann Marie McQueen of Sun Media interviews Debbie Travis:

  • Travis to Design new protege
    “The home design guru plans to build on her Canadian Tire products with a line of Debbie Travis branded Condos and Homes. To do that, she needs a truly talented — if not necessarily classically trained — chief designer. So after a cross-country search Travis has landed on 14 eager proteges, who will face a series of design challenges and eliminations over the course of 10 one-hour episodes airing Thursdays beginning next week.”
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In the news: Twitch City, Slings and Arrows

Scott McLemee of Inside Higher Ed writes about Twitch City and Slings and Arrows on DVD (scroll down):

  • Beach Blanket Bingo
    • “Adolescence isn’t just for teenagers any more. “Twitch City,” an absurdist sitcom that premiered on Canadian television in 1998, offers one of the funniest portraits around of someone determined to avoid the demands of adult life.It ran through 13 episodes before the show ended in 2000. The recent DVD release doesn’t provide many features. Still, it’s good to have the whole series available to those of us who weren’t part of its original cult following.”
    • “Another product of Canada worth a look is “Slings and Arrows,” an ensemble comedy/drama that just finished its third and final season on the Sundance Channel. The first two (each consisting of six one-hour episodes) are now available on DVD.”

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CBC exec denies blame for “offensive” CBC pilot

From Inside the CBC, quoting a letter from Richard Stursberg in the National Post:

  • CBC “forced” into airing Catholic sitcom pilot
    “Unfortunately, because the pilot was financed with public funding, including tax credits and Canadian Television Fund (CTF) monies, we were required to put it on air. … Had we decided to turn the pilot into a series, we would have followed the same process we did when developing Little Mosque on the Prairie and worked with a consultant to ensure religious practices were treated sensitively. And the consultant on Little Mosque was hired only after we determined it was a show we were interested in proceeding with.”
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In the news: More critics of CRTC decisions

Patricia Bailey of Playback reports on the CBC and Directors Guild of Canada reaction to the elimination of limits on ad time:

  • Critics slam CRTC policy
    “The NDP’s heritage critic Charlie Angus (Timmins-James Bay) believes the CRTC isn’t acting in the interest of Canadian viewers. ‘We’ve already got enough commercials on television. What’s in it for the Canadian viewer if they aren’t watching Canadian shows,’ he says. ‘Airwaves are public. These broadcasters make money because they are operating in a protected environment. Where’s the corresponding obligation to invest in Canadian television?'”
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Writers Guild reacts to CRTC policy

From a Writers Guild of Canada media release:

How can we watch Canadian TV if we don’t know when it’s on? CRTC TV policy cuts promos for Canadian television programs

It’s going to be a lot harder to find Canadian television programs thanks to the CRTC’s new television policy.

“All the talk has been about the CRTC’s decision to stop limiting the numbers of commercials on television – but no one has focused on the two minutes per hour that broadcasters devoted to promoting Canadian programs,” said Maureen Parker, Executive Director of the Writers Guild of Canada (WGC).

Prior to the new television policy, broadcasters were only allowed to air 12 minutes of commercials per hour. But since one-hour American programs have 14 minutes or more automatically built in for commercials, Canadian broadcasters that were simulcasting American shows (and earning revenues from inserting Canadian commercials) often used that extra two minutes to promote other Canadian programming. With the removal of advertising limits that will go by the wayside.

“When CTV promotes Corner Gas during American Idol, it creates excitement about the show, and reminds the one million plus Idol viewers when the next episode of Corner Gas is on. Now CTV can simply run another commercial to bring in more revenue, instead of promoting a Canadian show,” said Parker.

In its new policy, the CRTC acknowledged there has been a huge decline in Canadian television drama with expenditures by conventional English-language broadcasters decreasing from $62 million or 4% of revenues in 2001, to $40 million or 2.3% of revenues in 2006. For years the WGC has asked the CRTC to put regulations in place to require broadcasters to spend a minimum of 7% of revenues on original English-language drama.

“But money is only one part of the equation to produce a hit show. It needs to be promoted, and it needs a regular spot on the television schedule,” said Parker. “This policy has created a vicious circle. How can Canadian shows get good audience numbers when no one knows when they are on?”

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