Cancon regulations have already severely crippled artistic aspirations of representing Canada on any platform outside the country, let alone to the average Canadian (if such a creature exists). The Canadian television viewer, to the degree that he or she may fit into an ad demographic, either has an affinity for small town antics or middle-school melodrama. That is, if you believe the people that program home grown viewing between 7 and 8 PM weeknights at the Canadian Television Network.
Now, I have an excuse to watch: it just happens to be the only channel the little TV in my kitchen catches. I mention Corner Gas and Degrassi here because they are, by CTV standards, home grown hits. Factor in the number of people stranded watching this stuff while chopping onions, like me. Who is your audience, really? And I should point out – I turn it off when Corner Gas comes on. Other than that, teenagers talking about sex is going to get ratings pretty much anywhere. No big secret why Degrassi gets to be syndicated in the U.S.. After 9 PM, we're watching American fare - the advertising dollar gets interesting here.
Michael Geist posits that a shift from regulation and cheap U.S. imports toward free global competition “should dramatically alter Canadian content production from one mandated by government regulation to one mandated by market survival.” I’d like to believe this, but whether we deregulate or not, the problem from a creative standpoint remains the same. There is certainly a wealth of Canadian talent and know-how ready to compete. There are uniquely Canadian stories to tell - 36 million or so, at a guess. Should a writer, director or producer feel compelled to tell them if they aren’t interesting to a wider audience? If Canada can’t be made interesting with a gun to its head, how is it going to compete for entertainment dollars anywhere?
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