News release

May 6^th, 2004

CRTC calls for comments on proposed incentives for
English-language Canadian television drama

OTTAWA-GATINEAU - In a public notice issued today, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) seeks comment on a proposed package of incentives designed to encourage the broadcast of more original, high-quality hours of Canadian English-language drama, as well as to increase viewing to and expenditures on this type of programming. In another public notice to be released shortly, the Commission will propose separate measures designed to ensure the continued presence of high-quality, original French-language Canadian drama in peak time.

In Broadcasting Public Notice CRTC 2004-32; Proposed incentives for English-language Canadian television drama - Call for comments, the Commission proposes regulatory incentives for Canadian drama in the form of extra advertising time through the broadcast of qualifying original Canadian drama and by increasing the viewing to and expenditures on Canadian drama. The additional revenue earned from the proposed incentives would provide a significant contribution towards the production of new Canadian drama and increase its financial viability.

Summary of the proposed incentive package

Incentive to broadcast original hours of Canadian drama

• Broadcasters can earn extra advertising time by broadcasting more original Canadian drama. The amount of additional advertising time would vary, depending on the production budget, the number of Canadian content points earned by the drama and whether the production of the drama had been funded by the Canadian Television Fund.

Incentive to increase viewing to Canadian drama

• Broadcasters can earn additional advertising time by increasing the annual ratio of viewing to all drama compared to the total viewing to Canadian drama by all stations and specialty services within a broadcast group.

Incentives to increase expenditures on Canadian drama

• Broadcasters can earn additional advertising time by increasing annual expenditures on Canadian drama by all conventional television stations within a broadcast group.

Call for comments

The Commission seeks comments on the details of its proposals, as well as on a number of questions.

How to comment

Parties who wish to participate in this proceeding must do so by filing comments to the Secretary General of the Commission on or before June 21st, 2004.

• E-Mail: procedure@crtc.gc.ca
• Mail: CRTC, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0N2.

For additional information, please refer to the public notice.

Background

In May 2003, the CRTC published three reports on the state of Canadian and international drama. The CRTC issued a public notice on September 26th, 2003, requesting comment on how best to support the production and broadcast of original Canadian drama, as well as attract larger audiences. In response to that call for comments, the CRTC received feedback from more than 300 parties. Today's public notice is a continuation of that process designed to support Canadian television drama.

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission is an independent public authority that regulates and supervises broadcasting and telecommunications in Canada.

Reference documents:

Information - Summary of the proposed incentive package

Broadcasting Public Notice CRTC 2004-32 [.htm] [.pdf]; Proposed incentives for English-language Canadian television drama-Call for comments

Broadcasting Public Notice CRTC 2003-54; Support for Canadian Television Drama-Call for comments

Dramatic Choices; A report prepared for the CRTC and Telefilm Canada by Trina McQueen [.htm] [.pdf]

What about tomorrow? A Report on French-language Canadian Drama prepared for the CRTC and Telefilm Canada by Guy Fournier [.htm] [.pdf]

International TV programming and Audience Trends 1996-2001; A report prepared for the CRTC by Barry Kiefl [.htm] [.pdf]

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Media Relations:
   MediaRelations@crtc.gc.ca, Tel: (819) 997-9403, Fax: (819) 997-4245

General Inquiries:
   Tel: (819) 997-0313, TDD: (819) 994-0423, Fax: (819) 994-0218
   Toll-free # 1-877-249-CRTC (2782), eMail: info@crtc.gc.ca
   TDD - Toll-free # 1-877-909-2782

Copies of today's documents are available through our Internet site (http://www.crtc.gc.ca) or by contacting the public examination room of any CRTC office. These documents are available in alternative format upon request.

Date Modified: 2004-05-06

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