Good afternoon, members of the heritage committee.
My name is Maureen Parker, and I'm the executive director of the Writers Guild of Canada. Also with me today is my colleague Kelly Lynne Ashton, WGC director of policy. Thank you for inviting us.
The Writers Guild of Canada is a national association representing more than 2,000 professional screenwriters working in English-language film, television, radio, and digital production in Canada. We are here to talk about the changing infrastructure of the Canadian broadcasting system and its impact on the creation of Canadian content.
The Canadian broadcasting system is rapidly changing. Broadcast mergers in the last few years have resulted in significant media concentration, and acquisitions have led to vertical integration as cable and satellite operators such as Shaw and Bell have purchased broadcasters. Most recently, we have seen the introduction of over-the-top services such as Netflix and Apple TV. Although they are directly competitive with elements of the Canadian broadcasting system, these services are outside the jurisdiction of the CRTC, because they are non-Canadian and because the legal definition of the Canadian broadcasting system is too narrow to include them.
The regulated players too—like Rogers, Shaw, and Bell—are playing in the unregulated space. Cable and satellite operators have set up their own online broadcasting services offering film and television programming free to subscribers. Moreover, most broadcasters such as CTV and Shaw Media have catalogues of their programming available for viewing online. However, because all of these services are unregulated, there is no obligation for them to carry or promote Canadian content, even though they are owned by regulated businesses.
Why are we concerned? It is because Canadians, through their viewing behaviour, have expanded their traditional concept of the Canadian broadcasting system to include these newer platforms. Canadians have not left the broadcasting television world, but they are increasingly choosing the convenience and portability of online viewing to supplement their broadcast television. According to the CRTC's latest “Communications Monitoring Report”, Canadians watch an average of 26 hours of television per week, and this figure is fairly stable. Anglophone Canadians are spending an average of 14.5 hours per week online, two hours of which are spent watching TV online. This is any where, any time television viewing. However, the regulatory framework created by the Broadcasting Act has not kept up with consumer behaviour.
The CRTC created expenditure and exhibition requirements to ensure that Canadian broadcasters support Canadian programming. Without the CRTC's regulatory framework, Canadian audiences would not have had the opportunity to enjoy Canadian successes such as Flashpoint, Murdoch Mysteries, and Heartland. We need a similar regulatory framework for the digital platforms, which are now part of our broadcasting system.
The CRTC is representing the public interest to the extent of its reach. At the group licence renewal in April 2011, a new TV policy will be implemented for the three private broadcasters with specific programming expenditure requirements for drama and documentaries, among other things. We are optimistic that a return to an expenditure requirement will mean more Canadian drama on broadcast television. However, there is no guarantee that this additional programming will also be available or easily accessible online.
Kelly Lynne.