The CBC鈥檚 latest plans to shave costs by cutting staff and programming is raising pointed questions about what lies ahead for the beleaguered public agency.
Amid a projected shortfall and expected belt-tightening, current and former CBC stars say the public broadcaster should prioritize shows that take risks and reflect the diverse fabric of the nation.
And if money is tight, multiple stars urged executives to forgo bonuses.
鈥淚f it鈥檚 taxpayers鈥 money, I don鈥檛 think anybody should be getting a bonus, really, for anything, unless they completely saved the day,鈥 鈥淪on of a Critch鈥 star Mark Critch told The Canadian Press in late December.
鈥淚f somebody came up with a cure for COVID, give that person a bonus.鈥
Executive bonuses were a sore point for the CBC star, who stood by his comments when reached again in mid-February after CEO Catherine Tait wouldn鈥檛 rule out accepting a bonus this year. Tait told a federal heritage committee in late January that it was up to the CBC鈥檚 board of directors to determine who gets bonuses.
CBC said in December it will cut 800 jobs and $40 million from its production budget because of a $125-million projected shortfall in the coming fiscal year, which begins April 1.
However, Canadian Heritage released documents on Thursday that show CBC will get a $1.4-billion budget in 2024-25 鈥 an increase of $96.1 million, which the department says is primarily tied to salary increases.
CBC spokesman Leon Mar has said the funding announcement will 鈥渓essen, but not eliminate鈥 the shortfall and that 鈥渟ignificant financial pressures鈥 remained, including rising production costs, declining television advertising revenue and competition from digital rivals.
Toronto-based actor Emmanuel Kabongo, whose credits include the CBC shows 鈥21 Thunder鈥 and 鈥淔rankie Drake Mysteries,鈥 said executives should not get bonuses if they don鈥檛 deserve them.
鈥淚鈥檓 not a believer of greed because I grew up with very little,鈥 he said earlier this month.
鈥淏ut I鈥檓 a believer of hard work, and hard work pays off. You deserve to celebrate the fruits of your labour.鈥
The broadcaster has said budget constraints would also lead to fewer renewals and acquisitions, new television series, episodes of existing shows and digital original series.
If dollars are scarce, observers pressed CBC to focus on shows that reflect the country鈥檚 diverse population and take risks private networks wouldn鈥檛 normally take.
鈥淭he CBC should not be as beholden to advertisers, because they don鈥檛 have to pursue ratings in the same way that the private networks do. They can take risks, and they should be doing something that鈥檚 a little bit different,鈥 said Gregory Taylor, a media and film professor at the University of Calgary.
He pointed to shows like 鈥淔amily Feud Canada,鈥 a Canadian iteration of the U.S. game show, as an example of the broadcaster 鈥減laying it safe.鈥
Ideally, said Taylor, the CBC should be making more 鈥渋nventive鈥 shows like 鈥淪ort Of,鈥 its recently concluded dramedy about a gender-fluid Pakistani Canadian millennial balancing various identities.
New shows this year include the CBC Kids dramedy 鈥淕angnam Project,鈥 which follows a Korean Canadian teen who takes a job as an English tutor abroad and finds herself immersed in the world of K-pop. The series, which premieres March 6 on CBC Gem, is based partly on the experiences of creator Sarah Haasz, a first-generation Korean immigrant living in Canada.
Joseph Kay, creator of CTV鈥檚 hit procedural 鈥淭ransplant鈥 and showrunner of CBC鈥檚 2015 drama 鈥淭his Life,鈥 worried about what the broadcaster鈥檚 cuts will mean for the future of original programming in Canada.
鈥淵ou look at a show like 鈥楽ort Of.鈥 Would a great show like that be bought by any other network in Canada? I鈥檓 not sure.鈥欌 he said of the series, starring Bilal Baig, who CBC touted as the first queer South Asian and Muslim actor to lead a Canadian prime time television series.
CBC鈥檚 winter slate includes six new original Canadian series, including the comedy 鈥淥ne More Time鈥 from deaf comic DJ Demers and competition series 鈥淭he Great Canadian Pottery Throw Down,鈥 hosted by Jennifer Robertson. During a promotional event in December, Demers and Robertson expressed uncertainty over the future of their shows.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 know what that will mean for our show, but we know that this season will get out there and people will get to watch it,鈥 said Robertson, formerly of CBC鈥檚 鈥淪chitt鈥檚 Creek.鈥
鈥淥bviously it makes your heart heavy to hear about people losing jobs and times are already tight enough.鈥
鈥淎llegiance,鈥 a new CBC police procedural starring 鈥淪ort Of鈥 star Supinder Wraich, centres on a Punjabi Canadian cop who struggles with a flawed justice system while serving her diverse hometown of Surrey, B.C.
Before its premiere earlier this month, showrunner Mark Ellis said they were 鈥渟ad to see cuts at the CBC.鈥
鈥淭here is a deep need for Canadian stories to be reflected on Canadian screens. I worry that without an institution like the CBC, we just won鈥檛 see ourselves and these kinds of stories reflected on our screens,鈥 said Ellis.
Wraich praised the CBC for giving 鈥淪ort Of鈥 a platform and said 鈥淎llegiance鈥 could have a similar impact.
鈥淲hat I loved about 鈥楽ort Of鈥 was that it was originated by somebody like Bilal and the authenticity of the show is palpable,鈥 said Wraich, who appeared on 鈥淪ort Of鈥 as Sabi鈥檚 sister Aqsa.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 a beautiful thing when you give those creators opportunities to tell their stories. I also think that a show like 鈥楢llegiance鈥 is reflective of a community that we haven鈥檛 seen before.鈥
Wraich said she鈥檚 eager to see how an unconfirmed season 2 of 鈥淎llegiance鈥 would play out.
Late last year, Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge said the federal government will put together a committee to begin searching for a new head of CBC in early 2024. Tait鈥檚 mandate is set to expire in January 2025.
Critch said the ideal replacement would make the CBC 鈥渁 network that Canadians feel is theirs, is in their voice and feels like their home.鈥
He said the new head should make sure the broadcaster represents the country鈥檚 diverse regions and doesn鈥檛 just make shows they think will get purchased by U.S. networks.
鈥淚 know of execs in the past who鈥檝e really wanted to get a hit in the States and they鈥檇 be always talking about it in passing. 鈥榃e鈥檙e doing the show because we think it might catch on in the States.鈥 That鈥檚 not your frickin鈥 job. Your job has nothing to do with America.
鈥淵our job is to make important and good TV for Canadians, comfort them when they need comfort and inform them when they need to be informed,鈥 said Critch.
鈥淎nd don鈥檛 take the bonus.鈥
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鈥 With files from Mickey Djuric in Ottawa.
Alex Nino Gheciu, The Canadian Press
