Mr. Speaker, thank you for giving me the floor during the adjournment debate so that I can follow up on a question that I asked a very long time ago. On June 2, 2009, I asked the parliamentary secretary a question because he had said that Télé Québec was going to be excluded from the media fund. I asked him to clarify the situation.
However, the situation was never really clarified, and now the media fund is really a serious problem. This is an issue that needs to be dealt with right now. Some people think that it is over with and will not come up again until next spring when it is time for the next round of decision-making, but this is a hot topic right now, and people are very worried about the future of the media fund.
This morning in La Presse, there was an article by Nathaëlle Morissette. It is so well-written that I would like to read it to the parliamentary secretary, who is listening right now, so that he understands the problem as Quebeckers see it.
This is what Nathaëlle Morissette wrote, and it will take about two minutes to read:
Original network television programming is being threatened. [Those are not my words. That is really what it said in the paper.] At least that was the message sent yesterday by the Association des producteurs de film et de télévision du Québec (APFTQ) president, André Provencher, who is very concerned about the uncertainty surrounding the Canada Media Fund.
Next fall, original programs such as Aveux and Yamaska might give way to foreign concepts that have been adapted for a Quebec audience, such as Tout le monde en parle or Le banquier, the Quebec version of Deal or No Deal, which are considered sure bets and ratings generators.
If the new media fund (which will replace the Canadian Television Fund in April) puts the emphasis on audience ratings—as many producers fear—the 2010-11 season will suffer, says André Provencher.
Mr. Provencher, also the president of La Presse télé, shared his concerns in a speech delivered yesterday to the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television. “The BBM report for the week of September 28 to October 4, 2009, showed that close to half the Quebec shows in the top 10 were in fact shows based on foreign ideas and formats”, he said.
“Making the allocation of these funds subject to ratings and reinforcing that specific criterion will prompt broadcasters to turn to blue chip productions,” he added at the end of his remarks. “Formats previously tested on other markets present less risk. There will be a narrower creative space.”
It will be March before producers are told based on what criteria programs will be subsidized under the new media fund. Such uncertainty will likely compromise several projects scheduled for the fall, and next September's programming schedule may well include much fewer new shows than this year's, indicated Mr. Provencher.
“Programs to be put on the air by next September require a production cycle slightly longer than four and a half months,” pointed out APFTQ director general Claire Samson. “This year, we will have to cope with a two-month delay over the usual timeframe.”
Mr. Provencher agreed, saying “Getting new products funded by the media fund and finding a spot for them in the fall programming schedule will cause many problems and challenges to the networks, in my opinion.”