CALGARY – Saying he wants an accounting of exactly how the Canadian Television Fund money is spent and where the value is, Shaw Communications CEO Jim Shaw says until he gets that and is satisfied, his company will no longer pay into the CTF.
That’s potentially a huge blow for the fund, since Shaw – also the owner of DTH company Star Choice – is the largest BDU contributor, paying approximately $60 million into the fund last year. (However, the CRTC’s BDU regulations say all TV distributors must pay a percentage of revenues into the fund, which is doled out to broadcasters and producers to make Canadian content. So unless policy changes, Shaw will be forced to pay at some point.)
"We have had for quite a while, questions about the accountability of the fund," Shaw told Cartt.ca in an interview. "We are the largest payer and it’s funny that as CEO I never have talked to anyone there… I’m saying the thing’s broken. How many Canadian shows are in the top 10? Any?"
Alex Park, Shaw’s representative on the CTF board, has since resigned his seat.
Shaw has paid about $350 million into the CTF during its decade of existence, says the CEO, about 16% of the $2.2 billion it has given to producers in that time and, says Shaw, there’s little to show for it. "Show me what we have," he said. "If we have nothing, it’s a bad idea and maybe then it shouldn’t be… The system is broken."
When shows named Corner Gas, Degrassi and Trailer Park Boys were pointed out, Shaw said in a decade, there should be far more than that. "Really high-end programming there. I’m not saying I don’t watch it, but how much can Trailer Park Boys cost to make?"
"I want to know what’s the name of the shows that make the most money… If we’ve spent a billion dollars and that’s all we have, something is very wrong."
Shaw also objects to "40% of the money" going to the CBC, which Canadians already pay for through their tax bill, he added. "We don’t know why, it just goes there. Who watches their shows? What is the audience?"
Shaw said that if Canadian producers are going to be given "$5 million a month" of Shaw customers’ money, he has a right to know if it was well-spent or not. "I’m not saying we won’t pay, just show us, what has the money done?"
And if it isn’t being well-spent? "We question the accountability and are saying, why not give the money back to Canadians?"
CTF president Valerie Creighton said the money, in her estimation, has been well spent, pointing to the 23,141 hours of programming produced so far, 4,470 projects supported and that the CTF triggered $7.4 billion in total production over the last decade.
"There have been a number of (programming) success stories," she added, pointing to the recent U.S. syndication deal for Da Vinci’s Inquest.
For this fiscal year, productions are not in danger, said Creighton. The CTF will tap its reserves as well as some of last year’s money which wasn’t spent, giving the organization "some time now to talk to Shaw and work out the concerns that they have."
Creighton said the CTF plans on providing regular reports to all contributing BDUs and that the topic will be front and centre during an upcoming planning retreat. "How we work with our really important financial partners is one thing that will be under discussion," she explained.
"We do have a plan in place… We have been talking with (Shaw), both myself and Doug Barrett, the chair of the board. We’re hopeful to have an actual meeting before too much longer."
