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Independent Producers and Networks Reach Impasse in Terms of Trade Talks
Broadcasters refuse to engage in one-on-one negotiations with CFTPA

TORONTO – August 7, 2008 – Terms of Trade negotiations between the Canadian Film and Television Production Association (CFTPA) and the major Canadian broadcast groups have reached an impasse before even formally getting underway, after CTVglobemedia, Canwest Global and Rogers Broadcasting refused to negotiate with the CFTPA on a broadcaster-by-broadcaster basis, insisting instead on a group negotiation with all three broadcast groups at the table.

“I am disappointed and surprised that the broadcasters are advocating an approach that would not and could not lead to serious, substantive and enforceable Terms of Trade agreements,” said the CFTPA’s Principal Advisor on Terms of Trade, Gordon Ritchie.

Terms of Trade are framework agreements aimed at defining and valuing program rights. These framework agreements would apply to individual negotiations between broadcasters and producers, which producers hope will mitigate the severe imbalances in negotiating power that have been created by the broadcaster consolidation of recent years.

Discussions between the two sides over whether negotiations should be undertaken with the broadcasters as a group or on a broadcaster-by-broadcaster basis had been ongoing in the weeks leading up to the first meeting between the parties, held at the end of July. This was followed by another meeting yesterday. The refusal of the broadcast groups to negotiate with the CFTPA one-on-one has precluded substantive negotiations from commencing.

“We have been ready and willing – even eager – to negotiate for some time. But in our view, a group negotiation can only lead to a race to the bottom, with the resulting agreement loaded with high-minded principles, but lacking in specifics and substance,” said CFTPA President and CEO Guy Mayson.

John Barrack, CFTPA Executive Vice-President and Counsel, noted that a collectively negotiated agreement would likely be so vague as to be unenforceable.

“Enforceability is predicated on specificity,” said Barrack. “The more vague the agreement, the less enforceable – and less meaningful – it is. Our members have told us that their sustainability depends on having Terms of Trade that are clear, specific and binding on both sides. We are far more likely to achieve those aims by negotiating with each broadcast group individually.”

A variety of options are being explored by the CFTPA negotiating team to try to break the impasse and commence negotiations, Ritchie said.

“The reality is that all of us are facing significant time pressures to reach an agreement,” said Mayson. “The CRTC expects each broadcast group to have concluded an agreement with the CFTPA in time for the submission of their licence renewal applications, which will likely be due later this year. This means that we need to be engaged in real, substantive bargaining throughout the fall.”

The CFTPA is a non-profit trade organization that works on behalf of almost 400 small and medium-sized businesses engaged in the production and distribution of English-language television programs, feature films, and interactive media products in all regions of Canada. The CFTPA promotes the general interests of members provincially, federally, and internationally; negotiates and manages labour agreements with guilds and unions; administers copyright collectives; trains new industry entrants through several national internship programs; and undertakes a number of other specific initiatives that help increase awareness and enhance communication within the Canadian and international production communities. The independent production sector directly or indirectly employs more than 61,000 people in communities across Canada.

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For more information, please contact:
Susan Smith
Bluesky Strategy Group
Tel: (613) 371-0624