A country as large as Canada NEEDs a well funded CBC!!

[ue]

The sad thing is, this will be tough to reverse too. I like the CBC, I really do; their news is the best in the country, their radio is also quite good, and they even have had a few good shows over the years. Their commitment to Canada and Canadian content is unparalleled in national media. Who are we supposed to rely on for Canadian content on TV? Global?

[eternallyme]

Other than sports, ratings for CBC programs are laughable.

[SignalHillHiker]

They still get very high ratings here. Here & Now (CBC's evening news program) is the second-highest rated television show in the province (behind Newfoundland Television's Evening News). Republic of Doyle, for example, has more than 1 million viewers per episode. St. John's also shuts down for Coronation Street.

I was reading up on the history of CBC in Newfoundland. Fascinating stuff. They really went all out here:

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation followed by opening outlets in Corner Brook (CBYT) in 1959 and St. John's (CBNT) in 1964. The stations provided local news and information and programs from outside the province. They also tapped into the surrounding community to televise drama, comedy, music, documentaries, quiz shows, talk shows, and children's programs; everything from talent competitions to teenage dance parties.

The first drama filmed for Newfoundland television was an adaptation of Ted Russell's The Holdin' Ground, broadcast by CJON in 1959. The station also recorded occasional specials and documentaries, including a performance by Bob Hope at Argentia.

The first local entertainment series to make a significant breakthrough with audiences was the CBC's All Around The Circle, which ran from 1967 to 1979 and helped make singers like John White and Joan Morrissey household names in the province. Produced in St. John's, the show focused almost exclusively on Newfoundland music and performers, reflecting a mandate that would guide local CBC programming for decades to come.

In the 1970s and 1980s CBC production expanded rapidly to include many specials and series featuring local music and comedy.

Several of Newfoundland's most popular television and film personalities began their careers during this era. Greg Malone and Mary Walsh wrote and performed in a six-part show called The Root Seller (1978). Malone and Tommy Sexton were regulars on Wonderful Grand Band (also starring top musicians like Sandy Morris and Ron Hynes), which created over 40 half- hour episodes between 1980 and 1983.

Several episodes of Wonderful Grand Band aired nationally on CBC television, as did Ryan's Fancy, a series that began in 1972 featuring the popular traditional band of the same name.

Memorable dramatic productions done by the CBC included As Loved Our Fathers (1976), a play by Tom Cahill, Cornerstone Of Empire (1983), an award winning drama about Sir Humphrey Gilbert's voyage to the island, and Pigeon Inlet Chronicles, a series adapted from the folk tales of Ted Russell.

(As Loved Our Fathers is a line from our former national anthem)

Beginning in 1964, Land & Sea travelled all over Newfoundland and Labrador to find stories about natural resources and the people who make their living from them. New episodes were still being produced in 2000, making the Land & Sea archive an invaluable history of the social, cultural and economic life of the province. Another long-running series was current affairs program On Camera. The CBC also produced many single-episode documentaries and short run series. Some, such as the historical series Where Once They Stood, aired nationally.

(Where Once They Stood is also a line from our former national anthem ; Also, not sure when it came back, but Land & Sea is still in production.)

The year 1986 marked a turning point for Newfoundland television as CODCO made its debut.

After two years on regional television the show was added to the national CBC schedule, where it spent five seasons.

CODCO won numerous awards, set new standards for television comedy, helped redefine Canadian perceptions of Newfoundland and won new respect for performers in the province.

With the exception of Tommy Sexton, who died in 1994, the members of CODCO remain prominent in Canadian film and television. Walsh and Cathy Jones teamed up with another pair of Newfoundlanders, Rick Mercer and Greg Thomey, to create This Hour Has 22 Minutes, a newsmagazine satire that is currently among Canada's most popular television series. Jones and Malone have both acted and directed.

Staff and budget cutbacks have slowed the pace of local CBC production since the late 1980s.

With fewer internal resources, CBC Newfoundland began turning to outside producers and directors more frequently.

And from there it gets rather depressing...

http://www.heritage.nf.ca/arts/television.html

[ue]

Originally Posted by eternallyme

Other than sports, ratings for CBC programs are laughable.

Ratings aren't everything. Plenty of acclaimed shows don't get a wide audience.

[waterloowarrior]

Originally Posted by eternallyme

Other than sports, ratings for CBC programs are laughable.

TV yes, but CBC Radio 1 is the #1 station in many markets

[Doug]

Originally Posted by bikegypsy

I said it before and I'll say again: Harper hates Canada, or the concept of Canada as we've know it until recently. He's gradually erasing our symbols.

Yes Harper invented the Internet. The global media industry is going through readjustment. CBC happens to be a weak player and the cost to keep it on life support would be astronomical.

[ozonemania]

Originally Posted by Doug

Yes Harper invented the Internet. The global media industry is going through readjustment. CBC happens to be a weak player and the cost to keep it on life support would be astronomical.

I've always thought that the role of CBC is that it should be an incubator for Canadian culture. It certainly used to be that way, but through multiple budget cuts over the years, its ability to do so has been severely diminished. I find that a real shame. Not everything that comes from an incubator will be successful -- it's the environment that is fostered by the process is what ultimately creates great things.

By successive budget cuts, it creates a vicious circle. Less money > less incubation > less successful projects > justification for more cutbacks. It really plays well for those policymakers that wish to see something die a slow and painful death.

I don't like that CBC is measured so singularly on commoditization of its benefits. I don't think the CBC should be given an open chequebook, but factors such as cultural output, public service and social benefit are left out of the equation, not to mention cultural 'investment'.

I get it, there are plenty that think government should have no place in 'imposing' by using taxpayer money for what they think should be determined by the free market. I just disagree. Completely.

[shreddog]

Here's a good visual that showcases how the funding of the CBC has been impacted over the past 25 years.



While Harpo is getting the bad press on destroying the CBC, the truth is he has a long way to go to reach the cuts done by the Libbies of over $400M (Harpo has only cut $200M).

For those that think Harpo and the Conbots hate Canada and are destroying it by cutting the CBC's funding by $200M, you must then think that the Libbies really hate everything that the CBC/Canada stands for with their very heart and soul.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by Doug

Yes Harper invented the Internet. The global media industry is going through readjustment. CBC happens to be a weak player and the cost to keep it on life support would be astronomical.

The cost of a whole bunch of things we fund is astronomical, including shiny new fighter jets.

It's not something you hear often these days but Canada has plenty of money - certainly enough to have a decent public broadcaster.

What it boils down to really is the choices we want to make.

[ozonemania]

Originally Posted by shreddog

For those that think Harpo and the Conbots hate Canada and are destroying it by cutting the CBC's funding by $200M, you must then think that the Libbies really hate everything that the CBC/Canada stands for with their very heart and soul.

I don't think Harper and his government hates Canada, but it hates the CBC, at least from a news coverage point of view.

I think you should also consider that the last $200M has alot more impact than a $400M cut earlier. The effect of the cuts is not linear. A bloated organization that is forced to cut can make it to be more accountable and efficient. But an organization that is already running at minimum operating budget would just debilitate it.

It's like extracting a pound of flesh from a fat man -- he'll probably live and be better for it. But extracting a pound of flesh from a starving man -- he'll probably just die.

[kw5150]

Fuck, pretty soon the only channels we will have are a bunch of americans channels with 7 minutes of commercials every 3 minutes.

[Doug]

Originally Posted by kw5150

Fuck, pretty soon the only channels we will have are a bunch of americans channels with 7 minutes of commercials every 3 minutes.

The only channels you will have will be streaming services.

[Doug]

Originally Posted by Acajack

The cost of a whole bunch of things we fund is astronomical, including shiny new fighter jets.

It's not something you hear often these days but Canada has plenty of money - certainly enough to have a decent public broadcaster.

What it boils down to really is the choices we want to make.

Defying gravity is expensive and also impossible. CBC is going down and billions could not keep it afloat.

Why hasn't CBC been able to sell its programming internationally? BBC does well on that front.

Is "Canadian" even a market segment? That is the fundamental flaw.

[bikegypsy]

Originally Posted by Doug

Defying gravity is expensive and also impossible. CBC is going down and billions could not keep it afloat.

Why hasn't CBC been able to sell its programming internationally? BBC does well on that front.

Is "Canadian" even a market segment? That is the fundamental flaw.

Do you live abroad? I do... I've seen CBC content being used regularly in foreign channels for the past decade. This round of cuts is designed to suffocate the CBC.

[Doug]

Originally Posted by bikegypsy

Do you live abroad? I do... I've seen CBC content being used regularly in foreign channels for the past decade. This round of cuts is designed to suffocate the CBC.

I've lived abroad since 2001 and never seen CBC anywhere. I also haven't owned a TV since 2001. I've never seen CBC content marketed. BBC has had considerable content published to physical media, for example.

Loosing HNIC was the final nail in the coffin as live sports is the content most immune to competition from streaming.

The CRTC is overdue for some budget cuts as it is now powerless to control much other than spectrum allocation.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by Doug

Defying gravity is expensive and also impossible. CBC is going down and billions could not keep it afloat.

Why hasn't CBC been able to sell its programming internationally? BBC does well on that front.

Is "Canadian" even a market segment? That is the fundamental flaw.

So just because the English-language general interest television network of our national public broadcaster has admittedly been very badly managed (for quite some time), this means that Canada should not have a public broadcasting corporation at all? (And join just about only the US as the only country with its profile without one?)

[Aylmer]

Originally Posted by Doug

Defying gravity is expensive and also impossible. CBC is going down and billions could not keep it afloat.

As is garbage collection, healthcare, education and sewers. Like the CBC, these require public investment, but we don't keep it 'afloat' for the heck of it - we receive a genuine public service and a well-funded public broadcaster is also an important element in attracting and retaining talent and stimulating an entire industry.

This isn't a charity. We're getting a service which is not only a valuable and well-loved public good which stimulates industries and culture, but good public journalism and the creation and distribution of culture is essential to our democracy and our nation, fostering regional identity and understanding.

[Acajack]

Since we often hear on here from people who are fed up with paying for ''you guys'', I would like to share a concern I have as a French-speaking Canadian taxpayer.

I have read that the loss of NHL hockey will mean that the English CBC will lose half its advertising revenues. I wonder what the impact of this will be on the French network given that its advertising revenues are proportionately a lot higher and that they haven't had NHL hockey (also a big money-maker for them) since 2004 or so.

So basically I would not want the French TV network, which is doing pretty well for itself, to be brought down because it shares a ledger sheet with the English CBC TV which is going to have a lot less money coming in.

[kwoldtimer]

If it were up to me, I'd merge CBC and Radio Canada TV into a single, national, bilingual channel. Among other things, they need to get out of regional/local news in favour of national/international coverage. There are far too many vested interests for it to happen (and I imagine Quebec would have a stroke), but it's what I'd like to see (i.e. the Canadian channel that shows Canada to Canadians and looks at the world through Canadian eyes).

[jmt18325]

CBC really doesn't represent much about Canada anymore. I listen and watch all the time, because they're the best at news, but, there isn't much that, for example, a rural western Canadian would find familiar on the channel. Grants for Canadian culture given to he private networks would probably be a better use of government funding.