News Releases

April 14, 2003

CBC/Radio-Canada Responds to Canadian Television Fund Licensing Decisions Announced Today

Ottawa — Today, the Canadian Television Fund (CTF) made public its License Fee Program (LFP) decisions for the 2003-2004 year. While a number of projects destined for broadcast by CBC/Radio-Canada will receive funding, we are seriously concerned that many will not. CBC/Radio-Canada finds itself with a relatively positive result for our French Television service and a devastating result for our English television service. Decisions on the second round of CTF funding, the Equity Investment Program (EIP) envelope, are still some weeks off, however it is already clear that programs which have become icons of Canadian culture have been rejected and their future put at risk.

The CTF has applied the funds available to it according to the rules under which it operates. The grave consequences for CBC/Radio-Canada's own services is one demonstration that those rules for allocating CTF funds need to be rethought.

The CTF and the independent producers it funds play an important role in sustaining CBC/Radio-Canada's English and French prime time schedules. It also is essential in ensuring the very existence of high quality, distinctively Canadian programming, particularly high impact drama, in the Canadian market place generally. We will be advocating the rethinking of the CTF as a means to sustain distinctive Canadian programming in the future.

CBC/Radio-Canada will need to take account of the Fund's combined allocation (LFP and EIP), as well as other continuing financial realities such as the costs of covering the war in Iraq and its aftermath, and ongoing budgetary pressure on the federal government. It is evident that there will be significantly less funding available for programming in 2003-2004 than in recent years. CBC/Radio-Canada will be adjusting plans accordingly and will make appropriate announcements in due course.

About CBC/Radio-Canada

CBC/Radio-Canada is Canada's national public broadcaster and one of its largest cultural institutions. CBC/Radio-Canada reaches Canadians through eight national radio and television networks, its full-service Web sites, local/regional stations and affiliates, as well as the digital television channel Country Canada and the continuous music network Galaxie. In addition, CBC/Radio-Canada has forged partnerships with other broadcasters and is a partner in the satellite radio service SIRIUS Canada as well as in the specialty television services ARTV and The Documentary Channel. Through this array of activities, CBC/Radio-Canada brings diverse regional and cultural perspectives into the daily lives of Canadians in English, French and eight aboriginal languages. (2006)

For additional information, please contact:

Katherine Heath-Eves
Media Relations
CBC/Radio-Canada (Ottawa)
Tel: (613) 288-6235
heathevk@cbc.ca
www.cbc.radio-canada.ca