FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Vancouver – CBC will air more foreign programs than ever before on prime time English TV next autumn, defying CRTC licence expectations and confirming that CBC has lost touch with its public broadcasting purpose, says the watchdog group FRIENDS of Canadian Broadcasting.
CBC will regularly broadcast 7 hours of foreign, mostly US, programs during prime time. This is a substantial increase, eclipsing the highest level of foreign content ever tracked since FRIENDS first began monitoring CBC's English television schedule in 1990. CBC has logged a steady increase since the current head of CBC English operations took charge of television in the summer of 2004.
This plan will place CBC in defiance of the CRTC's broadcast licence expectation of 80% Canadian content during prime time and runs counter to the recommendation of Commons Heritage Committee in its recent report on CBC's mandate "that prime-time hours, from 7:00 pm to 11:00 pm Monday to Friday, on the CBC/Radio-Canada's television networks, should be reserved for Canadian productions".
"CBC is supposed to be about presenting Canada to its citizens, not American game shows and Hollywood movies," said FRIENDS spokesperson Ian Morrison.
These television programming decisions follow the CBC's decision to cut by 70% the time devoted to classical music on Radio Two, and kill the Vancouver CBC Radio Orchestra, moves that are at odds with the Broadcasting Act and which are alienating its audience of 1 million+ listeners.
"The current management of English CBC doesn't have a clue what it means to be a public broadcaster," said FRIENDS spokesperson Ian Morrison. "Not only does the head of English operations completely lack experience in radio or television production, scheduling and marketing, his misleading statements to the CRTC can only serve to undermine CBC's credibility," Morrison said.
On April 8th, Mr. Stursberg testified at a CRTC hearing that CBC does not simulcast American shows – "the fact of the matter is we don't do that" -- which is precisely what CBC is doing in the case of Jeopardy!. Mr. Stursberg also testified that CBC does not broadcast more than the occasional US movie during prime time – "We might have a movie on a Sunday or something, but we don't do that".
As for foreign movies, CBC has aired almost 200 during the past eight months, many of them in prime time, about four times the number of Canadian movies presented during this period.
"This is further evidence of CBC's drift. There is no doubt CBC is facing a substantial budget problem. However, aping the private networks is a recipe for irrelevance, not financial stability," said Professor Noreen Golfman, chair of FRIENDS Steering Committee.
FRIENDS' Steering Committee is meeting in Vancouver this week, the seat of vigorous protests concerning CBC's decisions to terminate the CBC Vancouver Radio orchestra cut classical music programs on Radio 2 from 120 to 35 hours per week scheduled when the fewest number of listeners are tuning in.
FRIENDS of Canadian Broadcasting is a watchdog organization dedicated to the preservation and promotion of Canadian culture and identity on radio and television. FRIENDS is not affiliated with any broadcaster or political party.
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For information: Jim Thompson 613-447-9592
