CRTC's Report on the Canadian Television Fund

The CRTC submitted a report on the Canadian Television Fund (CTF) to the Minister of Canadian Heritage which has recommendations relating to the CTF's mandate and governance structure.

The CRTC recommends:

• "The CTF's funding be split into private- and public-sector streams. The private-sector stream would support the production of commercially successful programming and be accessed by private commercial broadcasters. The public-sector stream would be set aside for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, educational broadcasters and other not-for-profit broadcasters.
   
• Two separate Boards of Directors be established, with one having oversight of the private-sector funding stream and the other being responsible for the public-sector funding stream. However, both streams should share the day-to-day administrative services of the CTF to reduce operating costs.
   
• Increased emphasis be placed on audience success as a criterion for access to the new private-sector funding stream.
  The CTF maintain its current practice of funding productions that score 10 out of 10 points on the scale developed by the Canadian Audio-Visual Certification Office (the CAVCO scale).
   
• The proposals by two companies that distribute broadcasting services to opt out of their contributions to the CTF, as required by the Broadcasting Distribution Regulations, be rejected.
   
• The CTF establish a new funding stream to support the production of Canadian programs for broadcast on new media platforms."

While a lot of the CRTC's recommendations require action by the CTF Board and other government entities, the Commission will amend:

• "its policy to allow tangible benefits stemming from ownership transactions in the broadcasting industry to be directed to the CTF, and
   
• the Broadcasting Distribution Regulations to make mandatory the monthly contributions of companies that distribute broadcasting services, once the Department of Canadian Heritage has resolved the major issues."

(CRTC, 06/05/2008)

The CRTC also said that Shaw Communications and Quebecor Media should not be able to opt out of paying into the Canadian Television Fund.  The Broadcasting Distribution Regulations will be changed to make mandatory the monthly contributions of companies that distribute broadcasting services.  These are payments which Shaw and Videotron stopped in late 2006, arguing that regulations only say that payments must be made, not that need to be made every month (Cartt, 06/05/2008).