BANFF – The issue of media concentration made another appearance at the 2007 Banff TV festival when Jean Prewitt, CEO of the Independent Film & Television Alliance, spoke at the Canadian Film and Television Production Association lunch Wednesday.
Her remarks come on the heels of the CRTC’s decision to require CTVglobemedia to divest five Citytv stations acquired as part of its takeover of Chum Ltd. With Rogers Communications as the new owner, program distributors merely substitute Rogers for Chum in seeking content buyers.
Prewitt, whose organization represents independent producers – 40% located outside America – says a key IFTA activity is helping members find sales marketplaces in a world where corporate concentration is, for the most part, concentrating.
“Since bigger players are beginning to ask for all rights, on a global basis, for no additional money,” she said, producers are at an ever-greater disadvantage. Networks can buy rights as a network, but then cross-license to affiliates or from network to cable or the ‘net, and so on.
Some of this “common ownership” activity is “a rip-off”, she observed, with no one being able to calculate how much more money – given the extra rights under discussion – is at issue.
“Washington doesn’t understand,” she said. “Washington thinks there are 500 cable channels (to sell to) but, in reality…there are only four.”
Ownership concentration also tends to negate the ability of local market stations to serve local communities as effectively as in the past, she added
