Monday, May 21, 2007

I wonder if the CRTC have really thought this one through.

You come home from the daily grind and kick back with a glass of something or other in front of the tube.

First up there's that irritating European guy in the weirdly pseudo-modern suit striding purposefully back and forth in front of skyscrapers dispensing vigorous advice about your "stock portfolio". And that lovable pair of SUV owners are still ploughing their pride and joy through remote mountain streams to the admiring glances of the local wildlife. "Some stories we're following..." Some sort of disposable mop. "Always" - now there's a happy thought - and we're back to the irritating European guy again.

The CRTC are increasing the currently allowed 12 minutes of advertising per hour to 14 minutes as of Sept 1, 15 minutes the year after, and finally in the spring of 2008, all advertising time restrictions will be lifted.

Reuters : "The CRTC said that the move from the current 12 minutes- per-hour primetime advertising limit to a completely market-driven model aims to give broadcasters additional revenue to deal with increasing competition from cable channels, new media and other emerging digital platforms."
"The commission considers it essential that broadcasters have the flexibility to maximize advertising revenues to respond to the negative impact of audience fragmentation," the regulator said in a statement."

Click.

(cross-posted at The Galloping Beaver)

7 comments:

Lindsay Stewart said...

call me crazy, but maybe if they put on shows that didn't insult our intelligence, we'd watch. years ago i gave an intervention before a panel of the crtc regarding a new, local fm radio licence. there were a number of applicants for the licence. the one i spoke for had come to town and sourced out the local arts scene. they had a compelling strategy for exceeding existing can-con requirements as well as a program to involve local mesicians in programming decisions and to become active in promoting and playing locally generated music. they were legit heavy hitters in the industry, some of the original founders of chum-fm, later the chum/city group.

at the glad handing session after the panel was finished, i spoke with one of the commissioners, who congratulated our group on the quality and content of our presentation, calling it ground breaking. obviously the licence went to an elevator music station programmed out of dallas.

some years later i went to the new station to do a psa for a charitable concert. i bugged the program director about playing locally generated music. that's when i learned that the audience doesn't want to hear anything that isn't a hit, as ordained by head office, thousands of miles south. when the psa aired, they'd stripped off the audio of one the well known performers that would be playing the event and replaced it with a generic "hit" from an american act that had nothing at all to do with the event.

i called the station and the programming guy was far too busy to talk to me. his assistant did tell me that head office was getting behind the act they used, without our permission. when i told him that amounted to false advertising, as the potential audience might expect to actually see that act at the event, he got quite sniffy with me. i was doing my well behaved "civil" act, no name calling or raised voice. i explained the importance of the charity event and the value of the airplay to the event and the acts involved. i was interrupted, cut-off and that was that. then they just pulled the psa from rotation all together. thanks crtc.

one wonders what sort of creative editing will be done to the majority american programming we see on the tube once ad limits are pulled. we won't need all of that pesky dialogue in our shows. the 48 minute standard hour that the creators still adhere to down in hollywood won't be changing, so something will be getting cut to make way for ads. so much for the integrity of the art. fuckers.

Anonymous said...

I really hate that irritating European guy. He's reason enough never to turn on the TV all by himself.

Jael said...

Yeah, gotta love the thought process on this one.

"We have too much competition. We're losing viewers to cable channels. What can we do to solve this problem? Let's ask the CRTC to let us have more commercials."

West End Bob said...

Not giving us much chance for "quality programming", eh?

Merely means more trips to the local Joe Fortes Library on Denman for enlightenment . . .

Anonymous said...

PSA : The thing is I think people really do watch and listen to decent home-grown product, but what with Harper so damn keen on dismantling the country's infrastructure, I'm afraid the moment for making CBC commercial-free and well-funded has passed.

I read elsewhere - forget where now - that Bob and Doug MacKenzie got their start filling in those spots that formerly more stringent rules against non-stop advertizing made possible.
Ironic they're being feted in the media the very same week that the rules that allowed them to get their start are changed to prevent anyone else getting a similar break in the future.

Nice to see your name up there at TGB, Alison.

Anonymous said...

damned strange of the crtc considering they allowed all the competition in the first place. my, such far sighted planning!

Rev.Paperboy said...

PSA, it isn't even a 48 minute hour anymore if my downloads of Lost, Heros and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip are anything to go by. They have it down to a 42:30 to 44 minute hour.

My other favorite TVO's The Agenda, usually clocks in at over an hour. Hurrah for public broadcasting!

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