kevmetric
May 9th, 2002, 09:55 PM
Look at this way.
About 50 years ago, let's say it took 5 billion dollars to pay
for television programming, including actors, actresses, props,
makeup people, carpenters for the sets, script writers, producers,
filming equipment, etc.
Those expenses were paid by TV advertisements.
It was easy to calculate how much to charge for a spot.
For example, if there were 100 million people watching, and
those people only had a choice between ABC, CBS and NBC, it
would mean that 30 million people could perhaps on average
constitute the audience of each channel.
Assuming a company was willing to pay 10 cents per viewer,
to air a commercial, that would mean 3 million dollars revenue
for that small publicity spot. You multiply that revenue
by the number of commercial spots, and it adds up. You can
calculate how much money will be coming in, BY KNOWING
AHEAD OF THE GAME, HOW MANY PEOPLE WILL WATCH, and this
is possible by knowing HOW MANY PEOPLE RESIDE IN CANADA,
HAVE TV, WATCH TV, and as well, HOW MANY TV CHANNELS THERE ARE...
all this, ahead of time.
The reason the CRTC exists, is to guarantee that those numbers
are stable. That the viewing population is clearly stable.
That the number of channels is stable. That the revenue
coming in, for the channels is stable. So that they can
raise the revenue and profits necessary to pay for the
programming contents (actors, producers, as above...).
Now, if the CRTC is abolished, and Direct-TV is allowed
to sell viewing packages in Canada, the number of
viewers becomes unclear, the number of channels unclear,
the amount to charge for a commercial, unclear. Whether
a Canadian company can air a spot, or not, is unclear.
The amount of money the Canadian channels will be able
to recoup and the profits made, unclear. And finally,
whether or not the Canadian TV stations (CTV, CBC, Globe TV, etc.)
are a viable concern and can survive or not, unclear. And also,
whether the programming content gets paid, or not, (actors,
producers, as above) is unclear. The entire entertainment
industry of Canada, dependant on television, could topple
like a house of cards.
Therefore, this is the reason the CRTC exists, as well as
the argument in favor of protectionism, and control, on
who can have a TV station, who can attract viewers, and
so on...in my opinion.
At the same time, I feel that the TV model based on TV spots
and sponsorship is obsolete, and something else must replace it.
This is why I favor the abolishment of the CRTC and the right
of Direct-TV to sell access packages to Canadians on equal
terms to Expressvu or StarChoice. It's called customer driven
programming, not CRTC-driven programming. It's responsive
to viewer needs, which is not clearly the case, at the moment.
Therefore, all the talk about hacking signals, theft of signals
needs to be simplified. Theft is theft, on the one hand, but
on the other, a funding model for Canadian contents, needs
to be re-invented or revised entirely, to make way for the
abolishment of the CRTC, and the entry into Canada, of
Direct-TV and other satellite programming, in Canada, as well.
These are my opinions.
About 50 years ago, let's say it took 5 billion dollars to pay
for television programming, including actors, actresses, props,
makeup people, carpenters for the sets, script writers, producers,
filming equipment, etc.
Those expenses were paid by TV advertisements.
It was easy to calculate how much to charge for a spot.
For example, if there were 100 million people watching, and
those people only had a choice between ABC, CBS and NBC, it
would mean that 30 million people could perhaps on average
constitute the audience of each channel.
Assuming a company was willing to pay 10 cents per viewer,
to air a commercial, that would mean 3 million dollars revenue
for that small publicity spot. You multiply that revenue
by the number of commercial spots, and it adds up. You can
calculate how much money will be coming in, BY KNOWING
AHEAD OF THE GAME, HOW MANY PEOPLE WILL WATCH, and this
is possible by knowing HOW MANY PEOPLE RESIDE IN CANADA,
HAVE TV, WATCH TV, and as well, HOW MANY TV CHANNELS THERE ARE...
all this, ahead of time.
The reason the CRTC exists, is to guarantee that those numbers
are stable. That the viewing population is clearly stable.
That the number of channels is stable. That the revenue
coming in, for the channels is stable. So that they can
raise the revenue and profits necessary to pay for the
programming contents (actors, producers, as above...).
Now, if the CRTC is abolished, and Direct-TV is allowed
to sell viewing packages in Canada, the number of
viewers becomes unclear, the number of channels unclear,
the amount to charge for a commercial, unclear. Whether
a Canadian company can air a spot, or not, is unclear.
The amount of money the Canadian channels will be able
to recoup and the profits made, unclear. And finally,
whether or not the Canadian TV stations (CTV, CBC, Globe TV, etc.)
are a viable concern and can survive or not, unclear. And also,
whether the programming content gets paid, or not, (actors,
producers, as above) is unclear. The entire entertainment
industry of Canada, dependant on television, could topple
like a house of cards.
Therefore, this is the reason the CRTC exists, as well as
the argument in favor of protectionism, and control, on
who can have a TV station, who can attract viewers, and
so on...in my opinion.
At the same time, I feel that the TV model based on TV spots
and sponsorship is obsolete, and something else must replace it.
This is why I favor the abolishment of the CRTC and the right
of Direct-TV to sell access packages to Canadians on equal
terms to Expressvu or StarChoice. It's called customer driven
programming, not CRTC-driven programming. It's responsive
to viewer needs, which is not clearly the case, at the moment.
Therefore, all the talk about hacking signals, theft of signals
needs to be simplified. Theft is theft, on the one hand, but
on the other, a funding model for Canadian contents, needs
to be re-invented or revised entirely, to make way for the
abolishment of the CRTC, and the entry into Canada, of
Direct-TV and other satellite programming, in Canada, as well.
These are my opinions.