Posted at 1:11 am. Updated at 05:00
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PHOTO HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT, ARCHIVE LA PRESSE
Aerial view of the new house and the old Radio Canada tower
At Radio-Canada, “they’re behaving like a private company competing with other private companies, but with a huge pie that comes directly from public funds,” says Pierre Trudel, a professor at the University of Montreal’s law school, who is very pleased is interested in the media. In doing so, they don’t bother to do what a public service should do, which is to innovate, work in emerging creative sectors and invest in research.”
Pierre Trudel’s analysis echoes comments made by Denis Dubois, Vice President of Original Content at Quebecor, to my colleague Marc-André Lemieux, and repeated at the Association québécoise des Productions (AQPM) congress this spring. Excursions that have revived the debate about the mandate of a public broadcaster like Radio-Canada, particularly its television.
If we want to protect private broadcasters trying to fight the tidal wave of foreign digital platforms, public broadcasters should forego their advertising revenues and deal with higher public funds, said Denis Dubois in essence. This has nothing to do with the position of Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, who has bluntly threatened to cut the CBC’s budgets if elected.
Denis Dubois, whose term expires in a few weeks, agrees that Radio-Canada should stop bowing to the ratings game and focus its energies on more “niche” content. “A public broadcaster should never compete with the private sector. It should support […] Véronique Cloutier has TVA DNA. It should be at TVA. »
PHOTO HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT, ARCHIVE LA PRESSE
Denis Dubois, Vice President of Original Content at Quebecor
Quebecor President and CEO Pierre Karl Péladeau is pleased that such pronouncements are attracting attention, he who has been hammering out these ideas for several years. “I’m an activist for simply giving up advertising revenue on TV, like radio,” he told me at a meeting in his office on Rue Saint-Jacques.
We must also ask ourselves whether this is a public or private mission. Are they there to increase ratings or to serve niches that commercial television does not serve?
Pierre Karl Péladeau, President and CEO of Quebecor
Pierre Karl Péladeau is not the only one who supports this idea. In the ambitious Yale report (The Future of Communications in Canada: Time to Act) published in 2020, one of the recommendations proposes a model that is less dependent on advertising (which Justin Trudeau actually hinted at during the 2021 campaign, when he promised an increase in funds). . The report even suggests removing ads from newscasts.
” She [les dirigeants de Radio-Canada] They have a very defensive stance because they fear that some government will eventually cut their budgets,” Pierre Trudel, one of the Yale report committee members, also told me. In fact, that threat has resurfaced with threats (which experts said were unlikely to come true) to swipe Pierre Poilievre of $1 billion in public funds from the CBC (but not Radio-Canada).
For 2020-2021, CBC/Radio-Canada had $1.391 billion in public funding and $504 million in revenue, including $254 million in advertising and $124 million in subscription revenue. Ad revenue included $199 million from television advertising and $55 million from advertising from digital services.
In the period 2021-2022, public funds were revised slightly downwards, to 1.209 billion.
Sylvain Lafrance, professor at HEC Montreal and former vice president of Radio-Canada, wonders if we shouldn’t seriously consider this topic.
When I see advertisements for online games [à Radio-Canada]I tell myself that there is a social problem. Perhaps the civil service should have guidelines on this.
Sylvain Lafrance, Professor at HEC Montréal and former Vice President of Radio-Canada
In the UK, the BBC has very strict rules on advertising (few channels and digital platforms can broadcast them). We find the same with the public service broadcasters in France. Some critics even question whether public radio stations should broadcast only messages of general interest and steer clear of branded advertising.
Catherine Tait had less than 20 minutes to answer my questions. She wanted to reply by email. Apparently, the President of Crown Corporation would prefer to sidestep the ad revenue issue.
“Virtually all public broadcasters in the world have a business model that combines commercial and public funding, and they receive much more public funding than CBC/Radio-Canada. So it’s not a unique situation in Canada,” someone wrote to me, specifying that CBC/Radio-Canada has one of the lowest per capita public service broadcasters’ costs at “US$33 per capita per year”. be worldwide.
I ask you the question: would you be willing to pay more to stop showing ads?
The famous ratings
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, ARCHIVE LA PRESSE
One of Radio-Canada’s new control rooms
In all transparency, I state that I worked at Radio-Canada-Radio from 1992 to 2004 and that I am sometimes invited to various programs as a columnist for La Presse. I couldn’t do without the public broadcaster, but that doesn’t stop me from questioning it critically.
For this reason, I, like many others, consider the issue of Radio-Canada’s television advertising revenue, which is regularly raised in the public debate, to be essential. It is part of a spiral from which public service broadcasting can no longer free itself. In order to attract advertisers, a station must have good ratings. And in order to have an audience, he must create programs that appeal to a wide audience.
Catherine Tait recognizes that Radio-Canada is trying to mislead the general public.
PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, LA PRESS ARCHIVE
Catherine Tait, President and CEO of CBC/Radio-Canada
Although radio and television ratings are among our indicators, they are only one indicator or means among others for assessing our success.
Catherine Tait, President and CEO of CBC/Radio-Canada
“To be clear, we want viewers to love their national channel. To be a true public broadcaster, the audience must be present. To quote a former French television chief: “There is no public service without an audience.” »
Sylvain Lafrance believes that public services have the right to aim to make an impact on the public. “Doing a quality program with a large audience is not a mistake. The problem is that this metric is becoming the dominant metric. »
As we approach Radio-Canada’s brief, one question looms large: are there too many hyped programs on public television? I’m old enough to have watched Radio-Canada television in the 1960’s and 1970’s and I can tell you there were plenty of teasers. Can I mention assembly line work or to the second?
Sylvain Lafrance agrees.
We often have idyllic memories of what public radio and television was like in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. We always talk about Le monde de Marcel Dubé and Les beaux dimanches. But we also watched Marcus Welby, Beloved Witch and The Forest Cadets.
Sylvain Lafrance, Professor at HEC Montréal and former Vice President of Radio-Canada
The spread of platforms
Far be it from me to bring back the “it used to be so much better” catchphrase, but I realize that the dissolution of channels and platforms within the public broadcaster has helped shatter the balance that has long existed on the channel ruled. generalist .
We now have to drink from RDI, ARTV or Explora to be entitled to so-called “serious” programs (interviews, debates, documentaries, theater, dance, music, cinema, etc.).
“Yes, that split probably helped,” said Pierre Karl Péladeau. A new special canal economy has emerged […]. And there we are experiencing a new break with the globalization of television, which has arisen from a new technology, i.e. online transmission platforms such as Netflix, Amazon or Disney+.
Radio-Canada television suffers from this fragmentation, while radio (perhaps because it no longer airs commercials) has managed to maintain a balance between seriousness and entertainment. Its flagship, ICI Première, continues to offer quality content with the support of its sister companies (ICI Musique, ICI Musique Classique, OHdio). That doesn’t mean executives turn a blind eye to ratings.
The mandate of CBC/Radio-Canada
According to the Broadcasting Act 1991, “The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, as the national public broadcaster, should provide radio and television services comprising a wide range of programs designed to inform, educate and entertain”.
“Enterprise programming should do both:
- be primarily and exclusively Canadian;
- reflect Canada’s global nature and reflect the country’s regional diversity at both national and regional levels, while serving the specific needs of regions;
- actively contribute to cultural expression and the exchange of its various forms;
- are offered in French and in English in a way that takes into account the specific situation and needs of the two official language communities, including the minorities of both languages;
- Try to have the same quality in French and English;
- contribute to the sharing of a national consciousness and identity;
- Provided throughout Canada in the most reasonable and efficient manner as resources become available;
- reflect the multicultural and multiethnic character of Canada. »
Source: Radio Canada
The same debate elsewhere
PHOTO HENRY NICHOLLS, Portal ARCHIVE
BBC Headquarters, London
One should not think that Radio-Canada is the only public broadcaster in question. In conversations with other public media executives, Catherine Tait notes that everyone faces daunting challenges. “When I speak to my counterparts in France, Great Britain, Australia or Japan, we all experience the same threats to our shared values, particularly impartiality, independence and journalistic accuracy.”
Pierre-Jean Benghozi, researcher at the CNRS and professor at the École polytechnique in Paris, confirmed to me that the debate on the relevance and nature of public service broadcasters is present throughout Europe. “It goes both ways. »
When public service broadcasters are doing well, one wonders why they are being funded. And if things don’t go well, we also ask ourselves why we are financing it.
Pierre-Jean Benghozi, CNRS researcher and professor at the École Polytechnique de Paris
It sounds a lot like what we hear at home! Why should we fund Radio Canada programs, they are very popular? Why should we fund CBC shows if they don’t get seen?
Pierre-Jean Benghozi told me about the case of a special channel produced by a public broadcaster and offered by subscription. Consumers wonder why they would pay multiple times to access content. This is also similar to what is said about Tou.tv.
Three years ago, Switzerland openly presented the question of financing its public broadcaster in a referendum to the population. Supporters of the public service managed to protect him, which even today does not prevent criticism.
Fix the “injustice”.
Quebecor executives have often tried to convince the government, or agencies like the CRTC, of the importance of righting the “injustice” the private media sector has suffered against the state-owned media sector. Pierre Karl Péladeau senses that there is a blockage.
PHOTO PATRICK SANFAÇON, LA PRESSE ARCHIVE
Pierre Karl Péladeau, President and CEO of Quebecor
I feel like Radio Canada has become a state within a state. It’s like she has no responsibility. No one dares touch this for fear of being accused of a conflict of interest.
Pierre Karl Péladeau, President and CEO of Quebecor
“It’s sad to say but there is a political upsurge in terms of the action being taken in relation to public television. »
Quebecor’s big boss, who has high hopes for Bill C-18 (which would force digital giants to pay Canadian media compensation for using content from their newsrooms), is sounding the alarm and discussing the future of LCN. “Without doing foresight, when there are such powerful phenomena, there is no one to fight against them. When there are fewer subscribers, there are fewer royalties and therefore less revenue to fund our newsrooms. »
While acknowledging that Radio-Canada is doing a remarkable job in terms of international coverage, Pierre Karl Péladeau would like Radio-Canada’s television mandate to be reviewed so that it “complements other private broadcasters such as Radio ICI Première with 98.5”. “The current situation protects Radio-Canada while commercial broadcasters are exposed to the economic situation we live in,” Quebecor’s CEO said.
For Sylvain Lafrance, Radio-Canada television is already a complement to private broadcasters. “I am convinced that the mixed system is still the one that benefits the country most, especially in terms of information in the age of fake news and especially for underserved audiences, I’m thinking of francophones outside of Quebec.”
When Radio-Canada was formed in 1936, Graham Spry, who had been a strong supporter of its formation, declared: “Now you will spend your life fighting for the survival of the public service broadcaster.” This gentleman was right.
“It’s okay to question our television, but let’s celebrate its strength first,” concludes Sylvain Lafrance. We don’t say often enough that Quebec’s television system is a huge success. Quebecers are hooked on their TV, it’s amazing! How many people watch their own TV by their own creators with their own artists every night? It’s not nothing. Nowhere else in the world can you see so much. »