The battle over local TV hits a critical point in about 4 days when the submission deadline for CRTC consultation 2009-614 closes.
Holding the opinion of the battle that I have, and only having voiced it in blogs, tweets and to friends up to now, I have submitted comments to the commission and encourage you to do the same (and please, form your own opinion without drinking the kool aid of either the broadcasters or the cable companies).
I include my comments below.
Please accept the following comments in response to Notice of Consultation 2009-614.
Local Television is meant to be where ideas and information relevant to the local identity are disseminated. This basic principle has been in decline of late, all in the pursuit of profit.
Given the recent economic turmoil, and to a certain extent even beforehand, the traditional revenue stream of many broadcasters has been in decline. One such company, Canwest, has had to file for bankruptcy protection for the holding company of Global Television, one of the major proponents of the “Local TV Matters” campaign that has hit the web, the airwaves, the street and even the editorial pages of Canwest-operated newspapers.
This “Local TV Matters” campaign very strongly implies that the conventional broadcasters know what’s best for local television. With the level of American programming displayed on these networks, in comparison with the grossly disproportionate amount of local programming, in some cases only one or two local newscasts a day, the campaign is lent no credibility whatsoever.
As a former volunteer with Rogers TV in the province of New Brunswick, I can confidently say that the level of local programming distributed by these broadcasters leaves a great deal to be desired, and now they say they’re going to close stations if they don’t get their way. This is unacceptable.
It is not the fault of the cable systems that these broadcasters are experiencing a drop in their revenue that now has one of their own in bankruptcy protection, owing several million dollars to American programming distributors. In this case, the broadcasters have nobody to blame but themselves.
The model is fundamentally broken, but it is not necessarily just the distribution networks that need to change.
I would encourage the commission to set standards for local programming and to move swiftly to ensure that no more local stations face the axe because these broadcasters failed to develop a sustainable revenue generation strategy.
