Speeches and Interviews

April 21, 1999

Public Television in Canada: An Essential Cultural Force

Metropolitan Montreal Chamber of Commerce - Guylaine Saucier

(Check against delivery)

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am honoured to be invited to speak to the members of the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal. I wish to thank the Board of Trade for giving me this opportunity at a time when the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation is reviewing its mission and strategy for serving Canadians.

In a few weeks, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation will appear before the CRTC to seek renewal of the licences for its English and French radio and television networks, Newsworld, RDI and most of its regional television stations. In an unprecedented move, all these licences will be reviewed at the same time. This provides a very unique opportunity to reexamine the very justification for the CBC, its role and the strategy to be implemented to carry out its mission.

As part of this exercise, the Board of Directors and management of the CBC have therefore conducted joint deliberations on the focus the Corporation should adopt.

The outcome of this exercise is a strategic plan that was made public a few weeks ago. It suggests priorities and a strategy for the CBC based on its basic mission.

Today, I would like to engage in this same exercise with you. We will first review the CBC's mission, to assess its currency and relevance, and then develop an outline of our strategy for growth. Finally, I will discuss with you some of the conditions required for this strategy to succeed.

The mission: the CBC is still just as vital as it ever was

The CBC's mission has the simplicity of things that stand the test of time. Since 1936, it has use the same three words: inform, enlighten, entertain. Our mission is just as simple, whether on radio, television or the Internet. Just as demanding, and just as vital.

The CBC in fact is at least as vital today as when it was created 62 years ago. At that time, the government wanted to create a place where Canadians from all regions and all walks of life could tell their stories to each other; a place where all Canadians could also discover the world. In a word, a mirror of who and what we are, and a window on the world.

The CBC has successfully accommodated a wide diversity of voices and formats. We have watched and listened to Les Plouffe, Lorne Greene, Albert Millaire; Bobino and The Friendly Giant; Louis Quilicot or Anne Murray; Gordie Howe or Maurice Richard; we have followed every major conflict since the Second World War; we have witnessed and analysed the Quiet Revolution, the October Crisis in 1970, the rivalry between Pierre Trudeau and René Lévesque, two of the most charismatic leaders this country has ever known; we have learned about the concerns of fishermen in Newfoundland and on Quebec's North Shore, while Albertans strived to understand the aspirations of Quebecers.

In recent years, the CBC has thrilled all Canadians with the exploits of our athletes in Nagano and served as a rampart—often the only one—against the isolation of families struggling to survive last year's ice storm.

Indeed, ever since we were born, or immigrated to Canada, the CBC has helped shape who we are—collectively, or even individually: Canadians, Quebecers, Montrealers, from the Plateau, the Lower St.Lawrence or Northern Ontario.

Had the CBC not existed, none of us would be quite who we are today.

Of course, the world has changed since 1936—in fact the CBC was often the first to tell us! Of course, the CBC no longer is the only Canadian TV producer and broadcaster —although it still is the only one to serve all the regions of Canada in both English and French.

Technology has fostered a proliferation of channels, opening tremendous prospects for Canadians. In every field, listeners and viewers now enjoy unprecedented choice. British, French or Belgian current events programs and gardening or cooking specialty channels now share the dial with conventional networks, whose market share is shrinking. And all this allows viewers to select programs from an incredibly varied menu.

In turn, producers of Canadian content now have access to a global market, and the entire creative sector is capitalizing on this. The Americans are filming in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal, while Alliance and Coscient are producing programs tailored to the demands of international markets: quality products that are culturally neutral.

All well and good. But we still need—in fact, now more than ever—a place where Canadians can speak to each other, where they can share what makes them the same and what sets them apart from others, where they can tell each other about their differences. We need an institution solid enough to take risks, to transcend the obsession with ratings, to consider factors other than profitability, and to provide a place for new voices and the next generation.

In a word, we need—as much if not more now than in 1936—an institution to nurture, produce and disseminate Canadian culture, in the broadest sense of the term.

We are not alone. Countries such as France, Germany, Australia and New Zealand share with us this need to ensure that they have a place for their own unique expression. And all are turning to public television. Even Margaret Thatcher, who privatized many public services, including television distribution, maintained the public character of the BBC as a producer. Yet none of these countries share their airwaves with the United States. If they feel a need for a public broadcaster, I believe we are even more justified in feeling the same need.

Given this, there is no denying that private broadcasters have improved the quality of their programming, and this trend is continuing. Many people will readily admit that some programs broadcast on the private networks are "just as good" as those on the CBC. Yet this very statement reflects the fact that the CBC remains the benchmark for quality.

On this point, a very recent study by McKinsey and Company, conducted in 20 television markets on four continents, found that in a multi-channel world, a strong public broadcaster raises viewer expectations and thus creates a virtuous circle that results in rising standards of quality throughout the market.

Beyond this, there are programs the private sector would never even consider, because their financial viability is too risky or too distant in the future, or both. For example, the history series now being prepared, "Canada, a People's History", could not be produced by our private sector colleagues. This project, produced in English and French, is too cumbersome and too risky for them. Similarly, the private sector would never produce quality programming for children, without commercials, nor would it provide French-language radio service to every region of Canada.

As countless new channels become available, the CBC's mission and role remain unique—and, I repeat, vital.

A strategy adapted to current realities

While our mission may remain the same, articulation of that mission must adapt to modern realities. This is the purpose of the plan we recently submitted to the CRTC. I will spare you the details, but I do insist on outlining its key points. All focus on what is distinctive about us.

There are five in all.

First priority: Maintain and even strengthen our regional presence.

This focus for growth is based on one of our most characteristic traits: we bring Canada and the world to every region of the country, but in particular, we give every region of Canada the chance to be heard by the others. There are many Canadas, and our public television must reflect that reality.

Despite budget cuts, we have not closed a single regional station. Instead, we have sought to rationalize programming and strengthen services. Last September, we opened a new radio station in Victoria, the only provincial capital still without its own local service. We have opened offices in Sherbrooke and Trois-Rivières, as well as Bathurst, New Brunswick, Cambridge Bay, and London, Ontario.

Today, more than 50% of our programming is produced in the regions or covers topics that reflect regional realities. For example, television series set and taped in the regions, such as Bouscotte in Trois-Pistoles, or Da Vinci's Inquest in Vancouver, are proving very successful.

The CBC remains the ideal tool for forging links between Canadians. With Newsworld and RDI, we place more emphasis on national broadcasts of regional news. English television will make more prime time available to the regions and will inject funding into the production of regional programming; French television will increase its regional presence in news programming and contribute to development of independent producers in the regions.

French-language television and radio in particular provide vital services for promoting the French language and culture in Canada. French-language programs have proved remarkably successful in attracting audiences. In today's global market, dominated by English-language cultural products and plagued by a shortage of funding, the CBC will continue to preserve the distinct nature of the French language and culture by broadcasting programs notable for their quality and audience drawing power. In 1998-1999, four of the five most-watched French-language programs in Canada were CBC programs. There will be other successes in the tradition of Les Filles de Caleb and Omertà.

On the Internet as well, the CBC produces quality French-language content in a market heavily dominated by the English language.

Second priority: Revitalize English television

You don't have to be a rocket scientist to realize that CBC's English Television is more subject than its French counterpart to competitive pressures from the South. The CBC's mission is precisely not to compete in the crowded segment of U.S. conventional television. We must offer Canadians something different—something they can identify with. The Canadianization of our program schedule was started several years ago. Foreign programs now represent only 10% of our prime time schedule, compared with 24% in 1985. During the 1998-1999 season, nine of the 10 most popular English Canadian series were broadcast by the CBC.

We are convinced that we will maintain and expand our reach, and thus achieve our mission, by being distinctive. Not by being me-too's.

Third priority: Continue to ensure that our news and information programming sets the standard for Canadian journalism.

The CBC is a leader in journalism, and the largest news organization in Canada. We have 800 people posted across Canada and throughout the world. We are the only news organization with a presence throughout the country, in English and French. Only we have the ability to organize, as we have in the past two days, bilingual public meetings of Canadians from every region, to discuss Canada's position on the Kosovo issue.

Our activities in this field above all must display a respect for the standards of balance, credibility, quality and accessibility, on radio, television and in the new media.

For that reason, the independence of our news and information service is crucial, as guaranteed by the Broadcasting Act. The CBC's ability to report on current events and major issues without fear of interference makes a vital contribution to Canadian democracy, even though the dictates of journalistic freedom occasionally may generate tension with the government over broadcast of certain reports by the CBC.

Our news strategy is based on four premises:

• First, provide Canadians with a balanced range of informations about their region, their country and the world;
• Second, present reports and analysis on major issues affecting Canada and Canadians—whether these topics are profitable or not;
• Third, inform citizens in the various regions of Canada about the concerns and opinions of other regions, to foster better mutual understanding of differing views;
• And finally, strive for relevance at all times, to draw a large enough audience, without which we will fail in our mission to inform and enlighten Canadians.

Fourth priority: Provide pan-Canadian programming.

In terms of production and distribution, the CBC is the only broadcaster capable of operating across the country, broadcasting in English, French and eight Aboriginal languages. No other broadcaster has built the bridges required for Canada's development. No other broadcaster has devoted so many resources to show Canadians to themselves and the rest of the world.

Accessible public service television is essential to provide the critical mass required for effective dissemination of Canadian culture. Sports and comedy, drama and news, public affairs and cultural programs are all entitled to their place. They reach for their own audiences and strive to develop loyalty.

The CBC's conventional services must continue to provide radio and television programming to reach as many Canadians as possible while providing coverage of and distribution to the entire country. But the way we carry out our mission of reaching all Canadians must change in response to fragmentation of the audiovisual environment. We must use the tools at our disposal to reach Canadians missed by our conventional broadcasting activities. With this in mind, we have asked the CRTC to approve new speciality channels in French, as well as a third radio network, targeted at young people.

Fifth priority, but not the least: Continue updating our corporate culture to foster greater openness.

In the new, highly competitive environment, the CBC must become a truly flexible and receptive organization firmly focused on the future.

In this area, we are not newcomers. In just three years, our budget has been cut by 30%, our staff by 25%. We have streamlined our administrative structure, and we are now integrating our information management system.

And in the end, we are now providing more services than before. I believe that all the talented people at the CBC can take pride in this accomplishment.

We have already implemented practices to foster a management structure that promotes efficiency, openness and communication. The CBC will continue to be attentive to the needs of Canadians by establishing a series of accountability mechanisms. In the area of production and distribution, the Corporation will focus more on forging partnerships and increasing cooperation with independent producers.

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation embraces the future with the confidence to meet the challenges posed by the trends now affecting our organizations, just as we have overcome the challenges of the recent period of financial austerity.

Today, as the year 2000 fast approaches, we continue to provide a full range of services that make us a unique and vital institution. I will echo the McKinsey study and list four key factors for our future success as a public broadcaster.

First, we must maintain varied, quality programming that reaches all Canadians, both mass audiences and specialized target groups. We are already doing this and our desire to add new channels is designed to meet this condition for success in the digital age now dawning.

Second factor for success: remain relevant, as measured by a meaningful market share—relative to target audiences, types of programs and broadcast outlets. All this is spelled out in our strategic plan.

Third, we must continue to make the most of our resources, to be efficient, and I would even say, frugal. The progress made in this area in recent years is nothing short of remarkable, I am proud to say. We have every intention of remaining vigilant and creative.

McKinsey's fourth success factor pertains to funding: a successful public broadcaster needs substantial and dependable funding, so it can pursue its distinctive mission unconstrained by the purely business logic that drives our private competitors, and to protect it from discretionary government intervention. I am certainly not implying that the CBC shouldn't be accountable. But the rules of accountability must be clear, predictable and based on predetermined objectives.

The CBC will enter the new millennium and the new world of broadcasting with the confidence to remain a relevant, popular and authentically Canadian broadcaster.

Thank you for your attention.