Fox News says boycott Canada

[St Leo]

Originally posted by Ben Kenobi Why should we pay all this money for 'niche' programming? Let the private stations do the same job, since that is how most stations build up an audience by appealing to a niche, rather than raising taxes to keep CBC afloat.

If unregulated, that wouldn't work because there's no room for small niche stations when the corporate juggernauts have the money to always be the highest bidder and a vested interest in keeping all television mediocre.

[Ben Kenobi]

because there's no room for small niche stations when the corporate juggernauts have the money to always be the highest bidder and a vested interest in keeping all television mediocre.

They don't make any money without viewership. Most stations work by appealing to a niche audience, and then going from there.

I don't see any reason why something like 22 minutes wouldn't fare well on comedy central.

The rest can fall by the wayside.

[notyoueither]

But you need new productions to get new shows once 22 minutes runs its course, Ben. Also, for you all the rest can go, but other people may like some of the other programs that have been on as a result of CanCon rules. Of course, that has squat to do with American (and British) channels on cable, so...

Maybe the CRTC disallowed Fox News for reasons other than timidity. Maybe they want truth in advertising. Maybe if Fox applied under the banner Fox Comedy they would get approved. j/k, sort of.

[Ben Kenobi]

Also, for you all the rest can go, but other people may like some of the other programs that have been on as a result of CanCon rules.

I'm curious as to the ratings of these particular shows.

CBC ratings, except for a few shows, like 22 minutes, Air Farce and HNIC have been abysmal.

This should give you an idea of the numbers we are talking about.

February 18, 2004

http://www.friends.ca/print/News/Friends_News/archives/articles02180404.asp

The Newsroom in certain ways represents just what CBC Television wants to be known for. Ken Finkleman's satire of the TV news business is risky, sly and wised-up. It has a cult following, especially among people in the media world. And it is one of the few Canadian shows to have earned fans in the U.S.

But it is definitely an acquired taste, and when it comes to attracting a mass audience, well, this show's numbers are never going to rival those of Hockey Night In Canada.

In fact, the evidence suggests that a significant number of viewers have developed so strong an aversion to Finkleman that they reach for their converters the instant he appears.

This has created a problem, because no matter how much it tries to program against the grain, CBC is still forced to play the numbers game. And the public broadcaster was hoping to score a big success on Monday nights with three new shows in a row airing in the 8 to 10 p.m. slots.

Rick Mercer's Monday Report has been kicking the night off reasonably well from 8 to 8: 30, but half Mercer's viewers have been defecting when Newsroom comes on. And the feeble lead-in from Newsroom hurts the chances of This Is Wonderland to score well at 9 p.m.

Last week the CBC conducted a bizarre experiment, suddenly moving Wonderland to 8: 30 p.m. and trying Newsroom at 9: 30 p.m.

Results: Mercer drew 720,000 viewers. That dropped to 449,000 for Wonderland and 238,000 for Newsroom.

The upshot: The National, the flagship newscast, slipped below half a million to 498,000 viewers - which you can bet did not please its producers. Consequently, that schedule change turned out to be a one-week-only phenomenon.

Doesn't all this sound as if it would make a great episode of The Newsroom?

Still, there was some good news for numbers crunchers at the CBC. The Royal Canadian Air Farce (Fridays at 8) climbed back over the magic million mark for the first time in ages.

[notyoueither]

Thanks for proving the point that they have shows that do well.

[Ben Kenobi]

But does the success of these shows have anything to do with CBC?

[notyoueither]

CanCon applies to more then the CBC, but the Ceeb is a larger bastion of it than any other.

And yes, CanCon has a place. For every 3 or 4 Rita McNiels we get a Rick Mercer. If it weren't for CanCon how do you know that there ever would have been a Second City TV? A lot of talented Canadians have gotten a break by Canadian broadcast media being forced to invest in a certain amount of Canadian productions.

[Ben Kenobi]

And why would these people, talented as they are, not have gotten a break in the private sector?

[notyoueither]

It is all too easy to set up a station, ink an agreement with NBC, and run what would essentially be a branch plant with local news. It is the path of least resistance. Easier + less risk = what 99% of investors would opt for.

Now, as things stand we have practically that. Except that they are required to air a certain percentage of Canadian productions. That is where the Joihn Candy's of Canada get their exposure from.

[Ben Kenobi]

Except that they are required to air a certain percentage of Canadian productions. That is where the John Candy's of Canada get their exposure from.

This assumes that Canadians cannot compete on their own against the Americans. I think we can, but only if we abandon this idea of public broadcasting as the only way to maintain 'Canadian content'.

[Zylka]

Re: Fox News says boycott Canada

Originally posted by Tingkai

The Globe, far left?

The globe IS as far left as it gets in N America for mainstream

LOL LOK, IKIKIOL LOL@ guess you don't know what to expect after having spent your previous 9/10s of life next to whatever Hong Kong harbour

****

[General Ludd]

Originally posted by Agathon


Btw, I'm not entirely sure you could characterize someone as a far right-winger, who is a strict vegetarian and a dog lover. You know who I mean.

Are you talking about me?

Because that has ANY bearing on his political beliefs whatsoever?

Vegetarianism does tend to be a very poltical issue, and atleast have political undertones. I don't know what went wrong with... him. He could've made a very enthusiastic feminist or hippie, but he had to throw it all away.

[Agathon]

I'll tell you a funny story about state funding of the arts.

In New Zealand for many years the government has in one way or another funded local filmakers to make sure that New Zealand films get made and that New Zealanders can get experience in filmaking that they otherwise would not get.

The troglodyte right in New Zealand complained for years and years about this, despite the fact that many of the films made were quite good attracted a reasonable audience in NZ and many people who made them went on to have good careers in filmaking overseas. The same troglodytes would whine on how it was a money pit.

But one of the people who gained experience from this was a young New Zealander named Peter Jackson. He went on to make a 300 million dollar film which eventually paid back into the New Zealand economy dozens of times more than the entire shortfall from the years of state funding and equalled the record Oscar haul. It's also provided New Zealand with world class facilities for filmaking and has resulted in many other productions being filmed there.

There's a huge silence from some people now.....

[Zylka]

mainly yourself, seeing as how he wouldn't have *D UP THE TRILOGY SO BADLY IF HIS FAT HAIRY ASS HAD LEARNED HOW TO CREATE THE HARD WAY

holy **** those films could have gone the extra mile without a director background in mediocrity

[notyoueither]

Indeed. The production facilities and trained work force in Vancouver and Toronto were there for the Yanks when they started to want to make films up here. But of course, CanCon is still a dirty word to many people.