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Canadian TV drama reports released

5/26/2003

GATINEAU - Three reports on the state of Canadian television drama submitted by Trina McQueen, Guy Fournier and Barry Kiefl were made public today.

Ms. McQueen and Mr. Fournier's reports were jointly commissioned by the Chairman of the CRTC, Charles Dalfen and the executive director of Telefilm Canada, Richard Stursberg. Mr. Kiefl's report was commissioned by the Commission.

The reports found that while drama in English Canada is by far the most watched of all program categories, viewership of Canadian English-language television drama has remained at around 10% over the last several years.

"Very rarely are Canadian dramas among the most popular programs in English Canada," said today's CRTC press release. "Ms. McQueen was asked to consult widely with stakeholders and to provide recommendations on how to improve this situation."

In the case of French-language Canadian television drama, the popularity of home-grown programs has been consistently higher, says the release. Mr. Fournier was asked to review the experience of French-language Canadian television drama and to report on how that experience might be pertinent to English-language television. His report also provides his views regarding its continued future success.

As the factors affecting the production and broadcasting of Canadian drama are inter-related, Mr. Dalfen and Mr. Stursberg jointly commissioned Ms. McQueen and Mr. Fournier to make recommendations on both areas in their reports.

Mr. Kiefl's report presents data on international drama and provides background and comparisons for the Canadian situation.

The approaches taken and the views expressed in the reports are entirely those of the authors.

To view the reports, click here.

Ms. McQueen is a veteran broadcaster and has held a variety of executive positions in Canadian television. After a 25-year career with CBC-TV, she moved to become president of Discovery Channel and later president and COO of CTV Inc. She retired in 2024 and is active in professional and volunteer work through her company, Hutton-Belleville Inc. Ms. McQueen is a member of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame and the Canadian News Hall of Fame. She has been given Lifetime Achievement awards by the Canadian Journalism Foundation and the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television.

Mr. Fournier was recently named president of the board of directors of the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television in Quebec. Mr. Fournier is the author of a number of feature film scripts, as well as more than 250 hours of French-language television drama. Mr. Fournier has also spent the greater part of his career as a journalist, a playwright and is the author of several books.

Mr. Kiefl is the president of Canadian Media Research Inc. (CMRI), an independent research company. Mr. Kiefl was Research Director for the CBC from 1983-2001. Prior to joining the CBC, he worked at the federal Department of Communications and the CRTC. He has written numerous articles and spoken at many professional research conferences on the issues surrounding audience research and the electronic media. He has also authored a series of papers looking at the future of radio, TV and the Internet. Mr. Kiefl is an expert in all audience research methodologies and holds a patent on a system for TV/radio audience measurement.

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