I come to you as both a representative of the CFTPA and an independent producer. I'm president and founder of a local company called Screen Siren Pictures. This is our tenth year in business. I have produced drama, feature films, documentary, and performing arts programming with the CBC in my 10 years in business. So I want to talk from both those perspectives.
For me, the greatest importance of a public broadcaster is its contribution to our sense of a shared national identity. In the last presentation, Carl cited the BBC, and I wanted to use the BBC as an example of what I consider to be a very successful public broadcaster. They've created a brand that works and is recognized within the U.K. and also internationally. It has three basic pillars: one is news; the second is nature programming or what they would call natural history; and the third is drama.
For me, the CBC, if I can use an analogy, is sort of like someone you're in a relationship with, who you love a lot, but who is not quite living up to their potential. When I think of my relationship with the CBC and how I have seen the CBC in my career, it's something I love and very much want to work. I think it's very important in Canadian culture, as is CBC radio, but I always feel that it could be more effective. I think there has been some progress made recently. I think the CBC has done a lot to live up to its mandate, but it could be doing more. I think it's an essential component of the Canadian broadcasting system, and it's really an integral partner--if you look at companies like Brian's--to independent producers.
As you know, television is facing a lot of challenges. There's fragmentation. The industry is changing. There's a lot of new media directionality. We don't know where television itself is really headed. Anyone who professes to know exactly how it's going to shake down, I would say, doesn't know what they're talking about at all. It's theoretical at this stage.
Really, we think that in order for the CBC to do its job and fulfill its mandate, it does need adequate long-term funding. I think it's always a challenge when everything comes up for renewal, and there's always the new discussion about the viability and what CBC should be doing. It does need stable long-term funding.
Secondly, the CBC is important because it reflects the need for a national public broadcaster that showcases 100% Canadian content. That's what I personally believe, and that's what the CFTPA believes. Really the role of the CBC is to be a reflection of Canada for Canadians, and that means Canadian content. That doesn't mean American content, and it doesn't mean other kinds. We can do co-productions, but it should be primarily a reflection of Canadians first.
Contrary to what people like Jim Shaw say, Canadian audiences actually do want to watch Canadian television. You can see that with public and private broadcasters. CTV has done, for example, a number of TV movies that have garnered over two million viewers. They have a television series that garners more than two million viewers, and CBC has had its share of successes--for example, Little Mosque on the Prairie recently. They promoted a show, and they got the viewers they were looking for. To me that just proves it's a global trend. And it's not just in Canada. It seems to be a product of globalization that as the world becomes more globalized, people want to see a reflection of their own culture. This is true in Canada just as it is true in Germany.
Brian.