CTV (And Most Other Canadian Networks) Prime-Time: You'd Think They Were American Networks

[Joseph_Gallant]

CTV (And Most Other Canadian Networks) Prime-Time: You'd Think They Were American Networks

Looking on the program schedule of CTV flagship CFTO-9 Toronto on the network's website for this week (October 30th-Novemebr 5th), I found that there are only two hours of Canadian-produced programming in prime-time out of a 23-hour prime-time schedule (assuming the definition of "prime time" is 8-11 P.M. weeknights and 7-11 P.M. weekends).

One hour is the Monday-evening combination of "Corner Gas" and "Delgrassi: The Next Generation", which are supposed to be the two of the most popular Canadian-produced television entertainment series. The other hour is the newsmagazine series "W-Five", which airs on Saturdays at 7 P.M. (ET) and probably gets buried in the Canadian TV ratings by "Hockey Night In Canada".

While CTV (and the other private TV networks/systems in Canada) have long filled most of their prime-time schedules with U.S. imports, I can't remember CTV having as little as two hours of Canadian-produced primetime programming in a single week. I thought that in recent years, CTV would average three or four hours of Canadian-produced shows in prime-time a week.

But then again, except for "Corner Gas", "Delgrassi", "HNIC" and "Canadian Idol", the most popular primetime shows on Canadian TV are (and have long been) U.S. imports.

 

[rugrats1]

Re: CTV (And Most Other Canadian Networks) Prime-Time: You'd Think They Were American Networks

> While CTV (and the other private TV networks/systems in
> Canada) have long filled most of their prime-time schedules
> with U.S. imports, I can't remember CTV having as little as
> two hours of Canadian-produced primetime programming in a
> single week. I thought that in recent years, CTV would
> average three or four hours of Canadian-produced shows in
> prime-time a week.
>
Wait until the CRTC starts complaining again. It seems that CTV and Global only up their Canadian content when the CRTC and Heritage Canada complain, only to reduce it when the heat is off their backs.

 

[mjlarochelle]

Re: CTV (And Most Other Canadian Networks) Prime-Time: You'd Think They Were American Networks

> Wait until the CRTC starts complaining again. It seems that
> CTV and Global only up their Canadian content when the CRTC
> and Heritage Canada complain, only to reduce it when the
> heat is off their backs.
---------
Then it is time for license renewals to be every 500 days.

Then again, the market wants American programming, not CanCon.<P ID="signature">______________
From WNBC-TV New York this is Liiiiive at Fiiiiive!</P>

 

[ED1]

Re: CTV (And Most Other Canadian Networks) Prime-Time: You'd Think They Were American Networks

> > Wait until the CRTC starts complaining again. It seems
> that
> > CTV and Global only up their Canadian content when the
> CRTC
> > and Heritage Canada complain, only to reduce it when the
> > heat is off their backs.
> ---------
> Then it is time for license renewals to be every 500 days.
>
> Then again, the market wants American programming, not
> CanCon.
>

So then what's the problem if people want American shows? You can't just cram Canadian programming down people's throats and expect them to watch.

I think what CTV and Global are doing in terms of producing Canadian programming is right... they're slowly building up the amount of QUALITY Canadian programming, instead of just creating an endless QUANTITY of Cancon that is merely just filler.

 

[rugrats1]

Re: CTV (And Most Other Canadian Networks) Prime-Time: You'd Think They Were American Networks

> I think what CTV and Global are doing in terms of producing
> Canadian programming is right... they're slowly building up
> the amount of QUALITY Canadian programming, instead of just
> creating an endless QUANTITY of Cancon that is merely just
> filler.
>
In my opinion, at the very least, the Canadian government should repeal the sim-sub rule -- as explained in another thread, it was created to actually foster Canadian programming, only to become a long money train for Canada's big media companies and their advertisers, by "railroading" viewers from American signals to the Canadian one.

 

[mjlarochelle]

Re: CTV (And Most Other Canadian Networks) Prime-Time: You'd Think They Were American Networks

> In my opinion, at the very least, the Canadian government
> should repeal the sim-sub rule -- as explained in another
> thread, it was created to actually foster Canadian
> programming, only to become a long money train for Canada's
> big media companies and their advertisers, by "railroading"
> viewers from American signals to the Canadian one.
---------
That will only happen if we all unite and dump our cable and satellite services and point our antennas towards Buffalo, like in the 50s. Because it was the style of the time, like tying onions to our belts in the 20s...<P ID="signature">______________
From WNBC-TV New York this is Liiiiive at Fiiiiive!</P>