The CBC should offer distinct or niche programming in order to attract that audience, but it's unrealistic to suggest that the CBC should get out of the advertising and ratings game completely and leave the field to the private broadcasters. We do believe there is a place at the CBC for ads and for ratings, but neither should be the primary motivator of programming decisions.
As we mentioned in our submission, we're concerned that the CBC has placed too great an emphasis on event programming because of its overreliance on advertising revenues. It had to do this because of the erosion of government funding over the years. One of the risks of this strategy in an increasingly competitive market is that the CBC can lose event programming, as it did with the Vancouver Olympics, to private broadcasters with deeper pockets. The entire industry was worried about the consequence to the CBC and Canadian television if the CBC didn't secure a renewed agreement with the NHL. While we can now breathe with relief again, we should not relax. The extreme reliance on one private contract makes things inherently unstable.
The CBC should be able to soldier on regardless of which event programs it wins or does not win. This can only happen if ad revenues are the icing on the cake, with the cake being the reliable, stable government funding of the CBC budget.
Sports can and should be one element in an integrated programming schedule. In fact, we believe that Hockey Night in Canada belongs on the CBC at all costs, because it draws audiences to our public broadcaster, it attracts substantial ad revenues, and, quite frankly, it's our national obsession. Professional sports, local and national news, well-promoted drama series, comedies, specials--these all attract audiences to the CBC and drive audiences to other less broad-based areas of the schedule.
Little Mosque On the Prairie is again an example of what the CBC would be able to do on a larger scale if there were more money. Little Mosque was highly promoted on the CBC before it aired, including with ads on Hockey Night In Canada, which guaranteed a large audience for the promotion. CBC also dedicated a substantial amount of its publicity budget to Little Mosque, plastering billboards around major cities and staging a memorable publicity stunt with camels and free falafel in downtown Toronto.
The result was an unprecedented 2.1 million viewers for the first episode. The series held an average audience of 1.2 million viewers through its eight-episode run, which put it on par with U.S. series like Lost and Criminal Minds. Unfortunately, because of budget limitations at CBC, this priority on Little Mosque had another result: lack of promotions for other worthy series.
Yes, we want more drama on the CBC. Should it become the only home of Canadian content? We think not. This idea has been floated in the past and more recently in front of this committee. As far as we're concerned, it's a non-starter. Canadian audiences would not be well served by turning the CBC into the only home of Canadian programming. Already, with consolidation in the private sector, most recently the CTVglobemedia acquisition of CHUM, Canadians are seeing the diversity of voice in broadcasting shrink considerably. If CBC were the only home of Canadian content, then we would drop from having three gatekeepers for our voices to having one. There would be fewer programmers to pitch, a narrower range of ideas would be broadcast, and a much smaller talent pool would develop. This is not in the public interest, and we cannot point to its being a successful model in any country around the globe.
Further, private broadcasters are given their Canadian content obligations at the price of their simulcast privileges, priority carriage, and a host of other protections they receive from the CRTC to shield them from competition with U.S. broadcasters. Private broadcasters have a role to play in a Canadian broadcasting system using simulcast U.S. programs to drive audiences to Canadian programs. Canadians learned about Little Mosque while watching Hockey Night In Canada. They also learned about Corner Gas, Degrassi, and Robson Arms when each of these shows earned the coveted post-American Idol time slot on CTV.
A healthy Canadian broadcasting system needs to have a balance of audience-driven private broadcasters with Canadian content obligations and a well-funded public broadcaster with its Broadcasting Act mandate as its primary focus. Both need intervention and support to allow the Canadian broadcasting system to flourish in the face of the significantly larger and better-funded U.S. market.