Kate Taylor takes a moment to look at the arguments for what should be done with the soon to be 75 year old CBC. She dismisses proposals to privatize the CBC because it is such an inefficient money losing company that it couldn’t possibly survive in the market place. You know the market, that place where consumers not government officials decide what will be a successful product.
According to Ms. Taylor the consumers couldn’t possibly ever want what the CBC is selling and so they need the government to force consumers to pay for it with tax dollars. Her defense of a government owned broadcaster comes down to: we need to keep it because it sucks.
Ms. Taylor points out later that “Becoming Erica” is highly successful on iTunes. This may be so, I don’t really know. The only reason I’ve heard of the show is because I’ve seen posters for it on the side of busses. I have no idea what the show is about and I don’t know of anyone who watches it, but hey I just described about 90% of television.
Still if we are going to hold up one show as a success story I have to point something out. It is only one show and one show does not make a worthwhile network.
Ms. Taylor’s case for why the CBC is sanctified and must be protected is implied in her snide comment about other networks broadcasting American shows. Canadian programming must be protected and only the CBC can do that.
This ignores two truths:
1. The extent that CBC programming is dominated by British and, yes, American shows.
2. The fact that the other networks broadcast many successful Canadian shows, especially CTV.
I am not sure what essential Canadian culture is being protected by broadcasting Arrested Development throughout the day (does the CBC still do that?).
The reality is that the CBC is not inherently special, it is just crummy.