On Screen Manitoba Presentation to the CRTC Thursday September 13, - - PDF document

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On Screen Manitoba Presentation to the CRTC – Thursday September 13, 2012 Broadcasting Notice of Consultation CRTC 2012-370 regarding the acquisition of Astral Media Inc by BCE Inc. Palais des congrès de Montréal, Room 518 ABC - 1001 place Jean-Paul-Riopelle, Montréal, Qué. Monsieur le président, membres du Conseil, et membres du personnel. Je m’appelle Nicole Matiation. Je suis la directrice générale de On Screen Manitoba et j’ai avec moi Monsieur Louis Paquin, producteur indépendant au Manitoba et membre du C.A. de On Screen Manitoba. Je vous remercie de nous accorder l’opportunité de présenter nos commentaires sur l’acquisition d’Astral média (Astral par BCE Inc (Bell). Comme vous le savez, On Screen Manitoba est l’association professionnelle de l’ensemble de l’industrie de production des médias de l’écran dans notre province. Nos membres comprennent des scénaristes, des réalisateurs, des producteurs, des guildes,

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des syndicats, des fournisseurs de services, des festivals de films et autres organismes et individus ayant un intérêt dans ce secteur au Manitoba. Parmi nos membres se trouvent des individus des milieux anglophone, francophone et autochtone. On Screen Manitoba is concerned by the level of concentration of ownership this transaction represents and it urges the Commission to consider appropriate conditions

• f licence (COLs) to mitigate this should the transaction be approved. We believe that

the COLs concerning this transaction should uphold the Canadian Broadcasting Act – COLs that ensure diversity of voice in terms of both market share and content, and that ensure production employment opportunities for Canadians in all regions of Canada in both official languages. OSM croit que les producteurs indépendants en région, anglophones comme francophones, jouent un rôle clé dans la production d’émissions de qualité et qu’ils contribuent de façon significative à la diversité de la programmation en onde. While On Screen Manitoba is concerned by the level of concentration of ownership that the Bell purchase of Astral represents, we are pleased to note that Bell has increased its benefits package by $41 million bringing the total tangible benefits amount to $241.3

• Million. We note also that Bell has suggested a 7-year licence term, which represents an

improvement over the ten-year term originally proposed. On Screen Manitoba recognizes that in its proposal regarding the acquisition of Astral, Bell seeks to demonstrate a commitment to support Canadian creators. On Screen Manitoba also notes that both Bell and Astral have entered into the Terms of Trade Agreement and welcomes Bell’s commitment to uphold the Terms of Trade Agreement and the Program of National Interest (PNI) levels established for each group during the recent group licence renewals.

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Our particular concern in regard to the English-language portion of this transaction is the loss of an independent buyer of Canadian content. One that is highly valued for its commitment to independent Canadian programming in all genres and in particular in terms of feature film and children’s formats. We are encouraged by Bell’s stated commitment to maintain the Harold Greenberg Fund and its programs; and we note that Bell has a strong track record in supporting Independent Canadian production through the Bell Fund. The Canadian broadcast system has seen the periodic influx of funding as a result of tangible benefits packages in the past and in its initial submission, Bell cited the need to manage these highs and low of available funding by extending the period for the licence renewal (originally ten years now suggested to be 7). It is our belief that a more efficient means of addressing the highs and lows of funding for original content in the Canadian Broadcast system would be through the investment of tangible benefits in independent, third party managed production funds with proven track records such as the Independent Production Fund. We believe that enhancing a third party managed fund would result in a higher level of diverse original Canadian content as these funds support independent production in both English and French in all regions of Canada. We also wish to emphasize that all tangible benefits disbursements should be incremental throughout the licence agreement period. On Screen Manitoba urges the Commission to impose an annual, transparent reporting requirement on Bell as a condition of licence (COL). Through this reporting process Bell should be expected to demonstrate its commitment to becoming a truly national broadcaster that supports independent Canadian production by clearly demonstrating that benefits flowing from both the recent CTV transaction and the current Astral transaction, are resulting in the acquisition and commissioning of incremental independently-produced Canadian programming in all regions and in both official languages.

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On Screen Manitoba joins many others in urging the Commission to reject Bell’s proposed use of tangible benefits to make non-incremental, non-broadcast capital

• improvements. Other proposed uses of tangible benefits might fit a social benefits model

and should not be considered as on screen benefits. The Commission’s standard

• bligation is to direct a minimum of 85% of tangible benefits to the commissioning and

acquisition of original independent Canadian content and we see no reason to meet less than the minimum standard in this case. On Screen Manitoba agrees with others that on screen benefits should accrue primarily to independent Canadian feature film production and new Canadian programs for children and youth. These two areas represent the focus of Astral’s programming and the Commission requires that benefits resulting from a transfer of ownership must “yield significant and unequivocal benefits to the communities they serve.” These are also two

• f the programming categories that have seen significant decline according to the

CMPA’s most recent annual state of the industry report Profile 2011. While a number of large ownership transactions have occurred recently, none have resulted in a direct benefit to independent feature film and children and youth production. The purchase of Astral represents a special opportunity to ensure robust support for these two areas of production. On Screen Manitoba understands that there are several approaches to determining a “fair” approach to allocating tangible benefits to Anglophone and Francophone

• production. Telefilm and the CMF propose a 2/3 to 1/3 respectively for English language

and French language programming others propose a 60/40 split. On Screen Manitoba would support tangible benefits split along either of these lines up to a 50/50 split in recognition of Astral’s historic ties to Québec and francophone production but we do not believe that a Montreal-based all news service is a good use of francophone tangible

• benefits. On Screen Manitoba is a fervent defendant of local programming, but only if its

extends to all genres and includes independent producers living in all regions of Canada.

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Speaking frankly, for a moment, as a bilingual viewer/consumer, if you like, living in a “regional centre”, I remain unconvinced of the need and indeed the value of another news service based in a major metropolis. What I find to be in short supply are big picture stories, whether factual or fiction produced from the perspective of my region. On Screen Manitoba firmly believes that the independent producers who choose to live and work outside of major metropolis can produce programs of national interest that will meet every requirement of quality and efficiency; however, our producers face a geographic handicap and lack to regular access to programming executives. Preliminary results of a study we commissioned, and look forward to sharing in full once it is completed, appear to confirm a pattern of chronic under-spending by public funders, which in turn suggests a pattern of fewer and/or smaller budget license agreements with broadcasters (whether public or private). We believe that this pattern could be mitigated through strong action by the CRTC. While in Manitoba and other provinces, we might prefer regionally based commissioning editors, we are most concerned with establishing conditions of licence for both Anglophone and Francophone productions that would require:

• Bell to demonstrate incremental spending on the development and production of

independent Canadian content in all regions of Canada; and,

• The creation of a pre-development fund to be managed by an existing 3rd party

fund such as the Independent Production Fund. In fact, the Bell Fund itself provides a potential model for an effective development fund. "Since the inception of the Development Program in 2001, 210 digital media projects have been awarded grants of over $7.4 M. The Development Program relies on interest generated by the BCE/ CTV Benefits endowment as well as BDU contributions." p. 13 Bell Fund 2011 Annual Report. En ce qui concerne le marché francophone spécifiquement, On Screen Manitoba constate que les producteurs indépendants francophones hors Québec et vivant dans

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un contexte de communauté de langue officielle en situation minoritaire (CLOSM) font face à davantage d’obstacles pour faire entendre leurs voix sur le plan national. Nous demandons vivement à la Commission d’imposer une condition de licence qui exige qu’une portion des bonifications destinées au marché francophone soit dirigée vers le développement et la production de longs métrages indépendants et de nouveaux programmes pour les jeunes (en tous genres) réalisés par des producteurs francophones vivant et travaillant en CLOSM. Rappelons que les conditions de licence imposées lors de l’achat de TVA par Québecor ont établi un précédant efficace pour déterminer un pourcentage raisonnable de bonifications à diriger vers les productions hors Québec.. De plus, suite à notre soumission à la Commission en août et des discussions avec des producteurs francophones dans d’autres régions fans les dernières semaines, On Screen Manitoba a reçu une lettre de la part de l’Alliance des producteurs francophones canadiens (APFC) soutenant notre position vis-à-vis des conditions de licence prenant en compte les producteurs francophones vivant et

• euvrant en francophonie canadienne..

. In its original application to the CRTC Bell proposes to become “a leading national media player in both languages and on multiple digital platforms”. In light of this intention, and in recognition of the basic principles of the Canadian Broadcast system, On Screen Manitoba strongly urges the Commission to direct Bell to invest a minimum

• f 85% of its tangible benefits package towards the development and production of

independent feature film and children’s and youth production in all genres by independent Canadian producers, both Anglophone and Francophone, who live and work in all regions of Canada. Finally this package should reflect COLs that serve to reinforce the key role played by regional producers who reflect the linguistic and cultural diversity of Canada. Finally this package should reflect COL’s that serve to reinforce the key role played by regional producers who reflect the linguistic and cultural diversity of Canada.

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On Screen Manitoba appreciates the opportunity to provide comments to the

• Commission. Merci.

On Screen Manitoba Panel Louis Paquin Producteur independent et member du C. A. Nicole Matiation Directrice générale ** FIN DU DOCUMENT **