Latest news with #CanCon
CBC
17 hours ago
- Business
- CBC
Is your favourite show CanCon enough? Here's why the definition of Canadian content may get a reboot
What's your favourite bit of CanCon? Maybe Schitt's Creek, which aired on CBC but also streamed on Netflix, comes to mind. Perhaps some iteration of Anne of Green Gables. Or maybe a classic David Cronenberg flick like Dead Ringers? These are all considered to be CanCon — shorthand for Canadian content, it refers to film and television productions made in Canada by Canadians. But maybe you have a favourite show like CBS's Tracker, which airs on Global TV in Canada. It's one of the most watched shows on broadcast and streaming according to the Nielsen ratings, a U.S.-based audience measurement system. It's filmed in British Columbia and employs Canadians, but it's not considered CanCon. That matters because broadcasters in this country have obligations to ensure that a minimum percentage of the content they distribute to viewers meets government CanCon requirements to ensure Canadian stories are available on Canadian TV screens or streaming devices. On-demand streaming changed the game, with global companies like Netflix, Amazon Prime and Disney+ dominating the market. But they haven't been held to the same CanCon standards as traditional Canadian broadcasters, and the streaming companies say it's not realistic to expect them to do so. That's not necessarily something that's on the minds of viewers when they settle into the couch and reach for the remote or the laptop. So here's what you need to know about CanCon and the challenge of getting Canadian eyes on it. I just want to watch my shows. What do I care? Canada's broadcasting regulator, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), is at a bit of a fork in the road when it comes to CanCon. The reason there are CanCon requirements is to ensure that Canadian stories and points of view don't get drowned out by the flood of content flowing in from the U.S. "We are a small market in a big world and we sit next to a very experienced, prolific producer of content," said Dave Forget, executive director of the Directors Guild of Canada. "There should be some shelf space for the Canadian stories so that Canadians can also see themselves in their own experience." In 2023, Canada's Online Streaming Act came into effect, updating broadcasting laws to include content streaming services. It meant that foreign streaming companies would not only have to promote or recommend Canadian programming on their platforms, but streamers making $25 million or more in Canada will have to start paying five per cent of their domestic revenue to support the production of Canadian media content. The CRTC estimates that the levy would raise around $200 million a year and said the funding would be used to boost local and Indigenous broadcasting. But now the CRTC is also looking into updating what it considers to be Canadian content. "Our goal is clear: to modernize the definition of Canadian content to reflect today's reality," said Vicky Eatrides, the CRTC's CEO and chairperson, during the start of public consultations last month aimed at reviewing what exactly constitutes CanCon, and to determine whether foreign streamers should be held to the same standards as traditional broadcasters in Canada. The public hearings in Gatineau, Que., spanned two weeks and wrapped up on May 27. WATCH | Breaking down the existing definition of CanCon and how it might change: Why the definition of CanCon might get a reboot 3 days ago Duration 3:57 So, how Canadian do series and movies have to be? While many south-of-the-border movies and shows may have been filmed in Canada, with Canadian crews and talent, it's not enough to be considered CanCon in the eyes of the CRTC. First, the film or show's producer has to be Canadian. Then, there's a 10-point system for key creative roles, and six out of 10 points are needed to meet the bar to be considered CanCon. For example, if the director or writer is Canadian, that gets you two points. But, between the director and the writer, at least one must be Canadian. That also goes for the top performers; one of the two leads must be Canadian. That counts for one point each. Other crew roles such as production designer, director of photography, editor and music composer count for one point each. Other rules apply for animated productions. On top of the point system, Cancon rules state that 75 per cent of production and post-production expenses have to go to Canadians or Canadian companies. The requirements have been loosened before. The CRTC reduced the minimum number of points needed from eight to six in 2016, something the commission said would allow more films to become eligible for certain funding programs. At last month's hearings, there was talk of actually increasing the number of points needed to 15, as well as whether a requirement to reflect Canadian cultural elements should be introduced. WATCH | Why Canadian films struggle at the box office despite international acclaim: Canadian films win awards but struggle at the box office 1 year ago Duration 2:03 So, what do Netflix, Disney+ and other streamers want? Canadian broadcasters, producers — and even artists — want the foreign streaming services, primarily the big U.S. ones many Canadians use, to meet minimum CanCon requirements like they do in order to maintain broadcasting licences and qualify for subsidies. Anthony Shim, a director whose credits include the critically-acclaimed 2022 independent film Riceboy Sleeps, admits it's a challenge to balance the freedom of creativity with the need to protect Canadian artists and storytelling — a goal he says should always be top of mind. Toronto-born writer, producer and director Anthony Q. Farrell, who has worked on series including The Office, the British series The Secret Life of Boys and CTV's Shelved, says the definition of CanCon is more important than ever. "Especially in a time where we're really focusing in on buying Canadian and taking care of our national voice, I think it's important that we … use our Canadian creatives to tell our stories," said Farrell, who provided recommendations at the CRTC consultations on behalf of the Writers Guild of Canada. He agrees that streaming companies "making money off Canadians" should be putting some of their profits back into distinctly Canadian film and television production. The streaming companies, however, don't see it quite the same way. They were collectively represented at the consultations by the Motion Picture Association of Canada, which argued that they're already an integral part of Canada's film and television production sector but that they shouldn't be held to the same content requirements as traditional broadcasters. Wendy Noss, the association's president, appeared at the hearings on May 16 and said the CRTC should make changes to its CanCon policies, including reassessing the number of points required in the 41-year-old CanCon points system, as well as re-evaluating which roles qualify for points. She said that before the CRTC imposes Canadian content requirements on foreign streamers, they need to "introduce meaningful flexibility in modernizing the definition of Canadian programs." "Broadcasting policies should be straightforward, sustainable and flexible to enable global producers to do what they do best: creating entertainment for audiences at home and worldwide," said Noss. The CRTC will hold further CanCon consultation hearings at a later date. But the big streaming companies are also set to battle the CRTC in court over the implementation of the Online Streaming Act. They filed an appeal last year, after the commission ordered global online streaming services to fork over five per cent of their domestic revenues to support the production of Canadian content. WATCH | Why some Canadian content creators are upset about the Online Streaming Act:
Hamilton Spectator
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Hamilton Spectator
Corus touts new stars, returning hits to Global, while calling for loosened CanCon rules
TORONTO - Corus Entertainment touted new stars and returning hits set to roll out across Global and its specialty networks on Monday, while making the case for loosened CanCon spending rules that would let it lean further into unscripted content. The broadcaster's 2025/26 slate includes the first full season of programming for newly branded cooking channel Flavour and design and renovation channel Home. Both launched in December after Corus lost rights to carry Food Network Canada and HGTV Canada, now with Rogers. Among the previously announced shows on the Home lineup are 'Building Baeumler,' starring renovation stars Bryan and Sarah Baeumler, and 'Life is Messy,' a series from Scott Brothers Entertainment about overwhelmed homeowners. Over on Flavour, reality culinary contest 'Top Chef Canada' returns for a 12th season, a long-running success that Corus co-CEO Troy Reeb suggested can be as 'culturally relevant' as CRTC-mandated scripted fare. 'That show has helped to create celebrity chefs in almost every province and territory. It has featured celebrity chefs and the cuisine of this country in a way no other program has, and it's created not just an entertaining show but an entire ecosystem around it,' he said. Reeb appeared before a CRTC committee last month to call for reforms to spending requirements on so-called 'programs of national interest' — or PNI — which include scripted dramas and comedies. Last year, the CRTC granted Corus its request to reduce the amount the media giant spends on PNI, freeing up about $35 million it said would go towards news, lifestyle and reality fare. 'We want to have the flexibility to commission and air the kind of Canadian content that works best for our platforms and our audiences. What we're really talking about is getting rid of some of the most prescriptive regulations around PNI programming and allowing us to lean into our lifestyle and our factual reality slate,' Reeb said in an interview Monday. '(We want) to ensure that it is our programmers and our audiences who are in charge of what gets seen on our airwaves, and not bureaucrats in Ottawa.' Still, Reeb stressed that Corus isn't abandoning scripted content, noting that Global announced a second season of Canadian-made 'Murder in a Small Town' and 'Private Eyes West Coast,' a Vancouver-based spinoff of the drama 'Private Eyes' starring Jason Priestley. The fall schedule on Home includes two budget-friendly offerings from Canadians — Natalie Chong with 'Rentovation' and self-taught DIYer Kristen Coutts with 'Beer Budget Reno.' Flavour Network's Canadian shows include 'Halloween Bakeshop' and 'Holiday Bakeshop,' hosted by Canadian actress and comedian Lauren Ash. The Corus plans come as Rogers' detailed programming for HGTV Canada and Food Network Canada that it described as 'bigger and more impactful' than what came before. Last June, Rogers announced it had scored 'milestone' multi-year deals with Warner Bros. Discovery to secure rights to several lifestyle brands from Corus Entertainment and Bell Media, including HGTV, Food Network and Discovery. 'We're not really concerned with what our competition wants to do,' said Reeb, noting Corus' channels boast recognizable stars like the Baeumlers. 'We're going to do what we've always done, and that's win. And beat them.' In December, Corus launched Flavour Network and Home Network to replace the channel positions for Food Network Canada and HGTV Canada, which debuted under the Rogers banner in January. Corus said other returning Flavour shows include 'Morimoto's Sushi Master,' 'Adam Richman Eats Britain,' 'Kitchen Nightmares' and 'Wild Game Kitchen.' Over on Showcase, Corus' deal with NBCUniversal will bring the Greg Daniels mockumentary 'The Paper,' starring Domhnall Gleeson; the espionage thriller 'The Copenhagen Test' with Simu Liu; and the spy thriller 'PONIES' with Emilia Clarke and Haley Lu Richardson. High-profile U.S. imports are also headed to Global, including CBS' new hour-long crime drama 'CIA,' from executive producer Dick Wolf and starring Tom Ellis as a 'loose cannon CIA case officer. Also new is the ensemble comedy 'DMV' with Tim Meadows, the singing competition 'The Road,' in which country star Keith Urban tries to discover the next big artist and 'Sheriff Country,' starring Morena Baccarin in an expansion of CBS' 'Fire Country' universe. Reeb said that Corus was trying to 'lean into our Canadian identity' while also acknowledging that audiences still crave international fare. 'We know the kind of mood Canadian audiences are in: the elbows up movement is at an all-time high. At the same time, we know that Canadian audiences want the best of the world. They don't just want Canadian content,' he said. 'You can have an all-Canadian network that has nothing but Canadian on it and you would have to give it $1.3 billion because that's what we do to the CBC.' W Network highlights include the Peacock mystery 'All Her Fault,' with Sarah Snook as a mother whose son goes missing while on his first playdate, and the dark comedy, 'The 'Burbs' starring Keke Palmer, in which a young couple reluctantly move to the husband's childhood home. Celebrities anchor several new shows including the History Channel's 'WWII with Tom Hanks,' 'History's Deadliest with Ving Rhames,' and 'Hazardous History with Henry Winkler,' while Ryan Reynolds narrates the National Geographic animal series 'Underdogs,' and Slice adds the six-part docuseries 'Tiffany Haddish Goes Off,' which follows the star and her three girlfriends on a trip to Africa. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 2, 2025.
Epoch Times
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Epoch Times
CRTC Hears Debate on Including a ‘Cultural Element' in New Definition of CanCon
The federal broadcast regulator is considering whether it should include a 'cultural element' in its new definition of Canadian content. The Public Interest Advocacy Centre said the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission should instead stick to its current approach, which looks at whether Canadians are employed in key creative positions. The consumers' group pointed to the United Kingdom, noting it has a special institute to review and assess whether proposed cultural references in a production qualify as 'sufficiently British.' 'We view a potential Canadian application of this approach, or any other cultural elements test, where a small group of people would be attempting to objectively define what and who is culturally Canadian, as being highly problematic,' the advocacy centre said in a written copy of its opening statement. It also warned that production companies could exploit Canadian stereotypes to get around any 'cultural element' test. 'An American portrayal of how a Canadian character would speak or behave, for example, cannot be considered Canadian content,' it said. 'It is merely a representation of the American cultural view of Canada.' Related Stories 5/14/2025 5/12/2025 The CRTC has said that while it's leaning away from including a cultural element in its content test, it's open to hearing other viewpoints during the two-week hearing. The broadcast regulator has heard from others during the hearing who are in favour of including culture in the modernized definition of CanCon. The National Film Board, which appeared Friday, has argued that now is the time to include cultural elements in the definition of Canadian content. It said in its prior written submission that not having a cultural element in the definition could result in harmful long-term consequences and risks erasing 'what makes us who we are.' It pointed to cultural tests used in countries such as Australia, France, Italy and the U.K. 'These countries employ cultural elements alongside other criteria, such as nationality of key creative roles and ownership,' the NFB said. It said those cultural elements include social or political relevance, how the way of life is depicted, and recognizable locations or figures, among others. 'Our national screen culture has long operated on a definition of 'CanCon' that has excluded cultural elements. This approach has contributed to Canadians' inability to recognize when a story is of us,' the NFB submission argues.
Epoch Times
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Epoch Times
Don't Count AI-Generated Content as CanCon, CRTC Hears
The CRTC should not classify material generated by artificial intelligence as Canadian content, unions representing actors and writers told the regulator Thursday. The Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists said that 'under no circumstance' should AI-created material be considered CanCon. 'Otherwise, it is a betrayal to our performers, who have already seen their moral rights violated and job opportunities limited by AI,' national president Eleanor Noble said. The actors' union appeared at a two-week hearing held by the federal broadcast regulator to consider how to modernize its definition of Canadian content. The CRTC had asked for input on the impact and role of artificial intelligence as part of that process. Noble said AI is widely used in dubbing and urged the CRTC to 'protect the livelihoods of Canadian performers.' Marie Kelly, the organization's national executive director, said there are appropriate uses of AI, such as employing the technology to make a stunt look more dramatic while keeping the performer safe. Related Stories 5/20/2025 5/14/2025 'But we are opposed to where the AI is generating performances,' she said. Kelly said AI 'should not take over the jobs of the creators in the ecosystem that we're in and we should not treat AI-generated performers as if they are a Canadian actor.' The Writers Guild of Canada, which appeared at the hearing Wednesday, also argued AI-generated content should not be considered Canadian content. The CRTC's definition of Canadian content is based on awarding points when Canadians occupy key creative positions in a production. It's considering keeping that system and expanding it to allow more creative positions to count toward the total points. The writers' union said in its written submission that AI isn't consistent with that approach. 'Machines do not have citizenship. They do not live and reside in Canada, nor any other national jurisdiction, because they do not 'live' or 'reside,'' it said. The group argued the use of AI systems by a Canadian doesn't make the output Canadian either. 'Prompting a generative AI is not the same as creating content. It is fundamentally and overwhelmingly the AI technology that generates the output, not the human being inputting the prompts,' its submission said. Crediting the AI user with the AI's output, the group said, would be like 'crediting the Sistine Chapel ceiling to Pope Julius II, because he commissioned its painting, rather than Michelangelo, who actually envisioned and painted it.'
Toronto Sun
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Toronto Sun
Don't count AI-generated content as CanCon, CRTC hears
Published May 22, 2025 • 1 minute read A person navigates to the online social-media pages of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) on a cell phone in Ottawa on Monday, May 17, 2021. Photo by Sean Kilpatrick / THE CANADIAN PRESS OTTAWA — Unions representing actors and writers are urging the CRTC not to classify artificial intelligence-generated material as Canadian content. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account The Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists says 'under no circumstance' should AI-created material be considered CanCon. The union's national president Eleanor Noble says doing otherwise would be a 'betrayal' of Canadian performers. The actor's union is appearing at a two-week hearing held by the federal broadcast regulator as it considers how to modernize its definition of Canadian content. The CRTC asked for input on the impact and role of artificial intelligence as part of that process. The Writer's Guild of Canada, which appeared at the hearing Wednesday, also argues AI-generated content should not be considered Canadian content. Toronto & GTA Sports Sunshine Girls Basketball Canada
