OTTAWA – Shaw Communications has taken aim again at the Canadian Television Fund. In a full-page advertisement on the back of the sports section of Saturday’s edition of the Ottawa Citizen, Shaw asks: “What do you call a $250 million boondoggle?” The answer, also in all capital letters, reads the ad: “The Canadian Television Fund.”
The advertisement notes the CTF has lost is way, and has “little to show” for the $2.5 billion it has spent on promoting and developing quality TV programming in Canada.
“Who made the decisions to spend billions of your dollars only to achieve so little? How is this money accounted for and who is responsible for such meager results?” questions the advertisement.
Stating that everyone should be held accountable, Shaw says in the advert, “We support the development of original Canadian programming that reflects this great country of ours. We also believe that the money provided by Canadians should be managed, accounted for and spent wisely. Otherwise, this great opportunity will be wasted.”
The ad (pictured below) calls for a better way to create quality Canadian programming, and says the CTF “is broken and can’t be fixed.”
The advertisement includes the toll free number (1-877-975-0766) and email address (ctf@canadiantelevisonfund.ca) of the CTF, along with the Canadian Heritage minister’s number (1-866-811-055) and email (min_verner@pch.gc.ca) and the CRTC’s number (1-877-249-2782) and email (replies@crtc.gc.ca).
Shaw first showed its displeasure of the CTF by withdrawing its monthly contributions to the fund in January 2007 and it has been an issue off and on all through the year (search CTF on Cartt.ca for a fuller background). Quebec cableco Videotron followed suit, sparking a controversy around the fund that has yet to be resolved. The CRTC will hold public hearings on the CTF beginning February 4th, 2008.
