Public service broadcasting in Canada and Germany

2.5.2 Public service broadcasting in Canada and Germany

In order to consider other approaches to PSB, this section will very briefly look at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) and the structure of the German PSB system as it was constituted in the 1980s.

Canadian broadcasting – a warning for Europe?

In the 1980s, Canadian public service broadcasting and its battle for survival against American competition was seen as a model for the future of

European PSB 15 . With the benefit of hindsight, we can see that for much of Europe, and particularly the UK, the model did not apply. However, with the arrival of digital television distribution, many of the same issues are being debated again – for example, what is the role of a public service broadcaster in a multichannel environment. The similarities in language and culture between the USA and Canada are probably the most important factors here; it could be argued that many Canadian viewers were not primarily concerned with the source of programming. This could explain why many European PSB systems, who were distinguishable by culture and language, did not encounter all of the problems of Canadian PSB.

Let us consider the history of Canadian broadcasting up until the 1980s. The public service broadcaster is the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), similar to the BBC, and the focus of national goals for PSB. The CBC was established in 1936, somewhat later than the BBC (1926).

The history of PSB in Canada

Canada was formed in 1867. From the foundation of the Canadian nation, national identity was a priority; the government identified the need for a coast-to-coast communication network to achieve this. (Canada is world’s second largest nation state, in area terms, with a population of about 23 million, mainly located in the east.) The physical geography of the country was a key factor in the way that communications were established. As Richard Collins points out in Canada: Nation Building Threatened by the US

Dominated Media? 16 :

The geography of Canada is such that although east–west water communications stretching from the Atlantic to the Rocky Mountains facilitated early exploration and exploitation of a large land area, in much of the country north–south connections are as convenient as

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east–west. Physical communications with the United States are, in Western and Atlantic Canada, as easy, or easier than they are with central Canada.

A series of government acts defined the role of broadcasting – to strengthen the social, cultural, political and economic fabric of Canada.

Key dates

In 1919, the first licence to broadcast was granted to the Marconi company (NB: this was granted to Marconi in the UK in 1922).

By 1923, there were 34 private radio stations in Canada and 556 operating in the USA. This created problems for Canadian broadcasters because American stations were easy to receive in Canada – the majority of Canadians live within 200 miles of the border with the USA. American performers, primarily music, were popular in Canada, and therefore many Canadians could and did tune in to American stations.

In 1932, the First Canadian Broadcasting Act was passed as a result of the report of the Canadian Broadcasting Commission. The Act defined the role for Canadian PSB as a publicly owned service to protect against American cultural product, which would be nationally available (as in the British system) and allowed for government control.

In 1936, the Second Broadcasting Act was passed; this established the CBC.

In 1939, the national network was established. Unlike the BBC, the CBC only operated transmitters in centres of population, because of a lack of financial support from government for a public, national network. They worked with affiliates – private companies who would broadcast CBC product. So from the beginning the CBC was short of money and had to rely on affiliate stations; hence programming had to be popular. (The CBC could not, and cannot, produce minority programming in English.) Lack of funding meant that cheap but popular American product was bought in, thus undermining one of the key principles of the 1932 Broadcasting Act.

During the war, the national radio network was important in giving a Canadian voice rather than an American voice; this was seen as a confirmation of the need for a Canadian Broadcasting Service. News became vital programming in creating the CBC identity. (Again, one could draw parallels with the function of the BBC during the Second World War.)

Managing in the Media

In 1952, CBC TV was established. Television had similar problems to radio in competing with American stations. By the time it arrived, Canadians already had 150 000 sets picking up American stations. Cable TV was already established for picking up American programmes, so it was easy to receive, whereas off-air reception was a problem.

In 1959, the Board of Broadcasting Governors imposed a quota for Canadian product on both private and public channels. In 1962, the quota was set at 55 per cent minimum of Canadian programming.

In the early 1980s, satellite became available and thus there was more American competition (e.g. in 1992 in Toronto, 59 channels were available on satellite). This fragmented the audience, reducing further the advertising revenue available for CBC.

In the early 1990s, Canadian PSB consisted of two CBC radio stations (one in English and one in French), and two television stations (again one in English and one in French). CBC was under threat from a wide variety of other channels, a high percentage of Canadian homes are cabled or own satellite receivers, and therefore receive a variety of American stations.

National goals for broadcasting – the 1968 Broadcasting Act

This was an important statement of broadcasting policy for Canada, but it was more of an ideal than a reality. The Act had the following goals:

1 To strengthen unity and common destiny. This is difficult to achieve; it is claimed there isn’t unity in Canadian society, so why should it be the case in broadcasting? Canada is often seen as two nations, English and French speaking, particularly in Quebec. This is reinforced by Quebec’s frequent (and narrowly lost) referenda to secede from Canada. Post-war Canada has encouraged immigration, creating a multicultural state and encourag- ing multiculturalism.

2 To exalt the independence of Canada, politically, socially and economic- ally. This is problematic because, as we have seen, Canadians have always consumed American product; 50 per cent of CBC programming is from American producers. Also, post-Second World War, Canada became much more economically dependent on the USA (75 per cent of its export trade is with the USA). In 1987 the Free Trade Agreement removed barriers to US, Canadian and Mexican trade, in a similar way to EU agreements. Thus, even if Canada could achieve cultural independ- ence, which seems unlikely, it is fundamentally tied to the USA in economic terms.

British public service broadcasting

3 To reinforce a single broadcasting system in Canada. Canada’s system is

pluralistic; a mix of Canadian and American programming mirrors trade in other areas. Therefore, the current broadcasting system is in direct contradiction to this aim. The Canadian Government is dedicated to protecting industry and the consumer; this is not served by a single broadcasting system.

Canadian programming

There are high ratings for Canadian news and sports, particularly ice hockey. It is often argued that this represents Canadian culture on television, and that the source of TV drama is irrelevant to most Canadian viewers. For example, a very successful Canadian drama serial (both in Canada and the USA), Conspiracy of Silence (CBC, 1991), conforms to American television drama conventions of narrative, genre, camera and editing styles. More recently, Due South (Alliance) was based on taking its Canadian hero south of the border to Chicago in order both to emphasise the stereotypes of Canadian identity and to produce a distinctly American-style detective series.

The Canadian model has been used for analysis of the future of European broadcasting. However, European nation states have stronger national identities than Canada. One view is that Canadian broadcasting problems are largely self-inflicted; there is not a strong desire from the audience for a Canadian public service broadcasting system. This is exacerbated by insufficient government funding. However, the advent of digital broadcasting has led to a revisiting of some of these predictions for the future of PSB in Europe. Again, there are fears of American dominance in schedules and the gradual decline of terrestrial, PSB stations.