Colin Hoskins

Valuing the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

Over recent years the Canadian government has struggled to determine how muchmoney should be spent on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), itspublic service broadcaster. At the same time, regulators and CBC managementhave struggled with what types of programming services it should provide.Traditionally, the citizens role in public broadcasting decision making hasbeen limited to an occasional submission at a hearing or a response to apublic opinion survey. However, willingness-to-pay stated preference choiceexperiments could be an effective, low cost means of obtaining more detailedcitizens input. Here, we report findings from a national survey of Canadianhouseholds in which contingent valuation and choice experiment data are usedto estimate use and non-use values of the various programming servicesprovided by the CBC. The results are used to address policy and programmingissues facing the organization.

Film and Television Co-Production: Evidence from Canadian-European Experience

A survey of television and film producers in Canada and Europe was undertaken to examine the ranking of benefits received and drawbacks experienced in co-productions/co-ventures between Canada and Europe. Perceptions of Canadian and European partners are compared. Statistical analysis of the responses indicate that financial pooling is the most important benefit while increased coordination costs are the greatest drawback. In general, the perceptions of Canadian and European partners on the importance of the various benefits and drawbacks of co-productions/ co-ventures are similar. However, some particularly interesting differences are found for English-language television projects between Canada and France.

Evidence on the Performance of Canada/Europe Co-productions in Television and Film

International co-production has become an increasingly important mode for television programs and film. In this paper we report the results of a survey on partner perceptions of performance in Canada/Europe co-productions. In particular we examine whether expectations that the general experience is positive and that Canadian and European partners have similar assessments of the level of performance, are justified. Our survey evidence does support the hypothesis that in total the experience is positive. However, it appears this is only the case because a good creative artistic performance more than outweighs a less than satisfactory total project recoupment. The hypothesis that Canadian and European partners have similar perceptions of performance is not borne out. Generally, Canadian partners seem more satisfied than European, particularly French.

International Marketing Strategies for a Cultural Service

The role of culture in international marketing strategies for a widely traded cultural service, television programming, is examined. The focus is on how non‐US television programme producers can exploit opportunities in the foreign marketplace by adopting a marketing approach that analyses the needs of foreign buyers and audiences in terms of the options available for segmenting the market. One approach is to identify a cross‐national segment where the producer possesses a competitive advantage. Another is to offer customised attributes desired by viewers in a major foreign market. An international coalition helps assure this. Paradoxically we find that this strategy may not always be inconsistent with standardisation.

The Role of the CBC in the Canadian Broadcasting System: Revisited [Canadian and British TV Markets: Why the CBC Should Not Be Like the BBC]

In their paper in this issue, Boardman and Vining agree with the major conclusion of our 1982 paper, namely that the private sector should be deregulated. This conclusion was based on a belief not only that regulation of the private sector of the Canadian broadcasting system has failed to result in a programming performance consistent with the Broadcasting Act of 1968, but that such regulation is doomed to fail in the future, and hence should be discontinued. However, they disagree with our recommendations concerning the role and funding of the CBC. It is to this question that we return in this paper. Boardman and Vining appear to have performed what McQueen describes as the onelegged professional trolls dance:

Telefilm Canada Investment in Feature Films: Empirical Foundations for Public Policy

The most important current approach to supporting the feature film industry is through direct investment by Telefilm Canada. In this paper we set out to provide empirical foundations to guide Telefilms investment strategy. To provide context for the empirical analysis, the rationale for government subsidy is analysed to determine the appropriate goals for such a strategy. Our empirical analysis is primarily designed to determine whether, as is commonly supposed, these goals are in conflict and hence policy-makers are inevitably faced with difficult trade-offs. We find that, generally speaking, this is not the case. Our empirical work also sheds light on the advisability of the Federal Governments general policy direction away from tax incentives and toward direct investment and negotiation of international co-production treaties.