Reality Bites

"Canadians are world leaders in online engagement. Look at the numbers, not your assumptions and act accordingly."

-Wayne MacPhail, "Canadian Internet usage quiz -- surprise answers inside!"

Wayne MacPhail has some very interesting statistics for your online reading enlightenment on Rabble.ca. He writes:

"Canadians are the most engaged online audience on the planet. And, more Canadians, by percentage of population, are online than any other country. The Internet has the highest penetration in Canada of any G7 country. Seventy two per cent of all of us use it on a monthly basis."

"So, we are the most highly penetrated country, view the most content and spend the most time."

"That's a trend that's been growing, not just among young folks, but right across the age spectrum. According to 2007 NADBank data, time spent by Canadians on the Internet (as a percentage of time spent with all media types) has at least doubled in every age group, including 55+ since 2001. The one bright indicator for television? About 46 per cent of Canadians browse the Web and watch TV at the same time at least once a day. That said, at about 8 p.m., the Web's reach exceeds prime time television's in Canadian households." -

Taken from an e-mail I received from Kirstine Layfield, Executive Director Network Programming CBC Television on March 28th. 2008 regarding jPods' cancellation and basically dismissing the value of Online Viewership. The folks over at Save jPod called her out on it. Those of us who wrote received the same copy and paste info back.

Dear ______,

Thank you for your email of March 28 regarding our decision not to renew jPod for another season. I appreciate the time you have taken to write.

It is clear that you strongly support this program. And I agree with you. It was an excellent program, well scripted and well acted. All of us had great hopes that the program would find the audience it deserved on CBC Television.

Unfortunately, not enough television viewers shared our opinion. Throughout its season, jPod attracted a devoted, but very small following. And while it is true that, for a public broadcaster, audience size is not everything, you also cannot be a public broadcaster without a public. If too few Canadians are watching, we are irrelevant. And, if we are irrelevant, Canadians are right to ask why they are investing the money they do in CBC Television. In addition,"the Internet is not a medium that pays for the kind of production values people expect on TV. Until the reality catches up with what people watch on line, you can't justify it." -

Reality catches up. In his article, Mr. MacPhail ends with "Canadians are world leaders in online engagement. Look at the numbers, not your assumptions and act accordingly."

In February 2008, the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage (a committee comprised of various MPs) produced a report entitled CBC/Radio-Canada: Defining distinctiveness in the changing media landscape. The purpose of the report was to study the future role of public broadcasting, and to present the Committee’s findings and recommendations. All of the below statements, taken directly from the report, play straight into jPod’s strengths. From the Committee’s report:

“[CBC] must constantly keep up with new technologies and reach out to audiences where they are, including young people who seek content on the Internet.” (p.5)

“We are asking CBC/Radio-Canada to be original, of high quality and innovative” (p.9)

“Mandate of the CBC/Radio-Canada as stipulated In the Broadcasting Act (1991, c. 11, B-9.01, [Assented to February 1, 1991)(i) be predominantly and distinctively Canadian […]” (p 18)

“Dwindling audience share is not unique to public broadcasting, and audience measurement will need to adapt alongside the transition to digital media. Internet broadcasting, downloading and streaming content, PVRs and on-demand and pay services mean that the same film, television episode or news broadcast will be seen by many more viewers than those who tune in for ”appointment television”.” (p55)

“CBC/Radio-Canada’s online presence will be fundamental to its relevance to Canadian audiences in the future.” (p57)

"The Hour" Host, George Stroumboulopolous:

"Online is rapidly becoming king, not traditional TV platforms."

....so they're not going to come to television - they're going to watch it however they want."

"Ten years from now, the cable channel isn't going to be nearly as important as the domain name. CBC.ca, that's the television channel of the future. We don't worry about where people are watching us, as long as they're watching us." -

I may not be a Fan of George, but he gets the point across. Maybe he should have a chat with Kirstine Layfield.

The 'Corp(se)

I did a lot of venting on here regarding the CBC, but after my concerns just got continually passed around between the CBC, their Ombudsman, and the CRTC I had to step back for a bit. The Mothercorpse I have realized, must answer to no one. They have Carte Blanche and Canadians will like it, damnit. We have no recourse, we can complain and complain but it is all for naught. King Richard and Princess Layfield will do whatever the hell they want - and get away with it. So you might as well leave the muzzle on, because while we can speak our minds, no one who truly has the power to change anything will sincerely listen and take the appropriate action.

Yes, this all seems quite defeatist, but I just got so tired of not being taken seriously. I don't have any fancy titles in front of my name, I'm just a Stay-at-Home Mommy who foolishly thought my opinion counted for something in this country. My foray into trying to make a difference ended up in a big heaping pile of disappointment.

Maybe that's where I went wrong. I expected that as a Canadian, a Canadian Taxpayer, that my voice counted for something. That my suggestions or ideas counted for something. Don't get me wrong, I didn't ever think that I was going to change the world or anything, but I did trust, and wrongly so, that I would at least be heard.

But the Mothercorpse doesn't do that. Oh no. The Mothercorpse does whatever it pleases. The CBC doesn't care what Canadians think or want or deserve. As long as the big wigs are gettin' paid, pullin' in those big checks that we're all paying for, the Exec's at The Ceeb will continue to do whatever they please. It's very sad. This is our National Broadcaster but you might as well rename it "Television and Radio Corpse That You'll Pay 1 Billion Dollars a Year For No Matter What."

"Why does this bother you so much?" you may ask. After all, it's "just" TV and Radio. What I can answer is this. I was born in 1973 and became aware, very early on, of the Media around me. I grew up in a time that saw the explosion of Television for the masses. Pretty much everyone now had a "Tee Vee Set". While Canada was still over-exposed to American content, there wasn't so much that Canadian content got lost in the abyss of it.

I paid attention to home grown programming, my Parents made sure it was made readily available to me, and for that I will always be thankful for. One of my earliest memories was watching Cookie from the Original Kids of Degrassi Street go to the hospital for an operation, and when I went in for an emergency appendectomy at the age of 10 it was what I learned in that episode that chased away my terror. I loved watching the King of Kensington and feeling that connection of "Home" because Kensington was only a short drive away. It was familiar and comforting. It was Canadian.

Without even realizing it, the CBC fell off my radar. The extent of what I watched dwindled down to one, yes one, show, and that was Hockey Night in Canada. I was a Teenager in the 80's and early 90's and when I look back that's when I stopped watching. It seems that The CBC likes to forget there is a whole generation of viewers that exist between the ages of 12 and 40.

I became aware of this when a couple of years back I was surprised to find myself in love with a cheeky comedy called "The Tournament". It was funny and witty, well acted and had that once familiar feeling of "Home." It then dawned on me that "The Tournament" was the first Canadian produced programme I had watched on the CBC in years. Probably since The Edison Twins. I was surprised that The CBC was behind this production, and then even more shocked when The CBC canceled it.

For the first time in my life I wrote to the CBC. I let them know that I really enjoyed The Tournament and was disappointed at their decision to cancel it. Nothing ever came of it though, and I moved on... spilled milk and all....

When I caught a promo for jPod during a HNiC , I made a point to watch it when it premiered because it seemed right up my ally and hey, it was Coupland. People who know me will tell you it takes quite a bit for me to "get into" a show. I'm picky and not one to watch what is usually considered "Fluff". I'm not saying I don't escape into the odd show that would make some lift an eyebrow, but that is attributed to the "Train Wreck" factor. You know it's cringe-worthy but you just can't seem to look away.

Maybe it's because my parents exposed me to what I consider wonderfully produced shows when I was growing up. The Beachcombers, Read All About It, SCTV, W5, Bizarre, Hill Street Blues, St Elsewhere, 60 Minutes, Archie Bunker, Barney Miller, 20/20.... I'm glad they took an interest in what I viewed, and doubly glad that they always tried to first and foremost, "Keep it Canadian".

But what in the world am I to do with my own children? Yes, it can be said that the CBC has quality children's programming, but that falls right in line with the same Canadian offerings found on TVO and Treehouse. My two oldest though are almost 12 and almost 18. What in the world is there for them on The CBC? Sophie? Being Erica? Wild Roses? Please, they're teenage boys, not 50 year old women.

The CBC has canceled "Street Cents" on them, and The Teenager realized himself that other than HNiC, jPod was the only other CBC programme he actually made a point of sitting down and watching with us every week. They'll be no more Marketplace for him either if he was so inclined, it's been moved to the "Friday Night Death Slot", and we all know our younger counterparts are usually not home on a Friday Night watching TV.

Needless to say, after the CBC made the decision to cancel jPod, dumped the CBC Orchestra and made big changes to Radio programming, the whole Hockey Theme debacle, and my questioning the state of todays CanCon (or lack thereof) I became deflated. I had tried my best, but in the end I got absolutely nowhere. Passed off from one person to another. "We're sorry, we can't help you, but these people can." And then when you talk to those people, they say "Oh no, we don't handle that" and then you're shuffled off to some other agency or department. My mind was left spinning and I realized that I could raise any concerns I wanted but it was falling on deaf ears.

I've asked the question before: If the CBC is our Nations Broadcaster, why is it that us regular citizens are not consulted about what content we would actually like to see and hear on the CBC? I'm not saying they have to send out a questionnaire to every household across the country, but wouldn't it be a natural thing to comprise a group of us regular Canucks that could contribute valuable suggestions and ideas to The Mothercorpse? (And that's not a typo, I say "corpse" because it might as well not even exist for me, as in dead.)

So here I am, just about a year after I woke up to all of this, and this is where things stand for me. Over the summer I watched the repeat of jPod, and then was subsequently disappointed when I bought the DVD for the season and found out that every disc produced was defective and had to be returned. I bought the "A Bear Named Winnie" DVD by CBC Home Video for my two youngest, only to discover on the back cover that they were 100 years off in their description of when the story began.

I have watched Hockey Night in Canada twice, and just the beginning. Once to see the Leafs raise Dougie's jersey, and once to see them hoist Wendel's. I caught the CBC's new hockey song after wondering why they first opened with that "Saturday!" one, and immediately thought I was watching a rerun of Dallas when I heard the "Contest Winner". I get my hockey fix on TSN , Leafs TV and The Score.

I now catch Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune on ABC West. I watched Stroumbo once to catch Joshua Jackson, and shook my head because really, The Hour is just a terribly hosted show. George may try, but in my opinion he just doesn't pull it off. I actually felt embarrassment when over and over everything he spouted just fell flat. I'm done with the 'Corpse, and no longer wish to have anything to do with it. I feel it does not represent me as a Canadian, I'm taking it very personal.

I'm sure I'll always think of this, it will always be one of those things that just saddens me. It might not be something that is on every Canadians' mind, but its on mine. I'll probably dive in here and there, but for the most part I'm stepping away from it all, and hope that one day the CBC returns to that familiar feeling of "Home" for me.

Until then, I take solace in the fact that Sophie is dying a horrible death (BBM Canada Nielsen Media Research Ratings 268,000 viewers Feb. 10/09) - just as I predicted would happen when the WGA strike was over - and in hearing Dolores Claman's Hockey Theme on TSN every week. How awesome it will sound during the 2010 Winter Olympics. Duh Duh Duh Dah Dah Daaaah!

Ignoring the Interweb

I finally got an e-mail back from the CBC regarding jPods' cancellation. Further proof that Kirstine Layfield is a Tool. It's Generic, others are receiving the exact same letter. She even quotes herself from the Globe Article.

Thankfully, the folks over at Save jPod call her on it. Her arguement basically dismissing the value of Online Viewership has me wondering how she got the job as Director of Programming at The CBC in the first place.

Dear _____,

Thank you for your email of March 28 regarding our decision not to renew jPod for another season. I appreciate the time you have taken to write.

It is clear that you strongly support this program. And I agree with you. It was an excellent program, well scripted and well acted. All of us had great hopes that the program would find the audience it deserved on CBC Television.

Unfortunately, not enough television viewers shared our opinion. Throughout its season, jPod attracted a devoted, but very small following. And while it is true that, for a public broadcaster, audience size is not everything, you also cannot be a public broadcaster without a public. If too few Canadians are watching, we are irrelevant. And, if we are irrelevant, Canadians are right to ask why they are investing the money they do in CBC Television. In addition, the Internet is not a medium that pays for the kind of production values people expect on TV. Until the reality catches up with what people watch on line, it's difficult to justify.

More importantly, we believe we should and can produce on a regular basis quality Canadian programming that people watch in significant numbers. Audience size has an impact on CBC Television's commercial revenue in two directions: when we lose ground in viewership, we lose the means to produce or obtain excellent programs. In those situations we are forced to cut back our activity, and sometimes even cancel shows. If, however, we are able to build our audience numbers, the extra revenue goes right back onto the screen as more great Canadian programming.

I can appreciate your disappointment at losing this program. It was a difficult decision, and one made only after a great deal of consideration. Looking forward, we have what I believe are some very exciting new programs coming up on CBC Television in the next few months. I hope you will tell me what you think of them.

Again, thank you for taking the time to make me aware of your opinion.

Sincerely,

Kirstine Layfield
Executive DirectorNetwork ProgrammingCBC Television
Box 500, Station AToronto, ON M5W 1E6
416-205-3121 phone
416-205-6919 fax
layfield@cbc.ca

"the Internet is not a medium that pays for the kind of production values people expect on TV. Until the reality catches up with what people watch on line, you can't justify it."

WTF? What year does she think this is?

Why Kirstine Layfield Can Kiss My Canadian A$$

Yeah, I said it.

Kirstine Layfield, shame on her for ignoring the pleas of Fans to renew jPod!!! Why does the CBC even offer episodes online if those numbers aren't being taken into consideration?

"It's a fan base that is not just a TV fan base; it's a Coupland fan base," said Kirstine Layfield, CBC-TVs executive director of network programming, in an article from the Globe and Mail, noting that she has received lots of mail pointing out the show is particularly popular with online viewers who may not be showing up in the ratings.

Kirstine Layfield is making a HUGE mistake when she states "There still isn't the business case there. Right now the Internet is not a medium that pays for the kind of production values people expect on TV. ... Until the reality catches up with what people watch on line, you can't justify it."

Well, jPod is not just a Coupland Fanbase, it's a younger, more Tech-Savvy Fan Base! It's also being watched online internationally - how many other new Canadian productions can say that?

If the CBC does not take the fact that busy people are watching TV on demand, either online or recording it on their DVRs, they will be left in the dust! The CBC should be proud that they offered a show that brought in a Younger Demographic, not a small feat for a Canadian show. They should be embracing the fact that they garnered a Loyal Following for a show, regardless how people are watching it.

The CBC - Alienating a Whole Generation. We will not forget it!!! 10 years from now you can look back and know it was Kirstine Layfield et al who destroyed any chance of surviving the competition - how's that for "Reality"? Why should the CBC play catch up when they could be the first to acknowledge that online viewing is viable? Fans have already stated that watching commercials during web casts does not bother them, we understand its importance in regards to supporting production! And of course so many were watching jPod online, because it was aired on Friday Nights when probably 95% of jPod's Target Audience is not at home.

Give jPod another chance! Even Seinfeld barely survived its first season. I think what it comes down to is that Kirstine Layfield will NEVER ADMIT that she made a mistake cancelling jPod so hastily. She is not in touch with Real Canadians, she does not speak for me and I am offended that she continues to brush the Save jPod Campaign off as nothing more than a nuisance, clogging up her e-mail inbox.


Fan-Made Save jPod! Video.

I bet our outrage continues to be ignored though, and Hubert Lacroix never even sees any of the thousands of letters and e-mails being sent to the CBC by Fans, or the Comments Section on the CBC's own Website regarding the new shows for next season and what people really think of the future of the CBC!

Oh! The Injustice of it All!

I'm pretty picky about what I watch on television. Face it, we can get emotionally involved with the shows we decide to invest our time in, for that half-hour or hour it's on, we become a part of their world, their stories, their lives. The last couple of years I have been very careful about getting "Hooked" on any new shows. I only have so much time because of the 4 Amigos, so there is only a Chosen Few that are good enough to make it onto my PVR. The biggest reason for this though is I have been stung by cancellations so much now to the point that I often wait out the first season of anything. I figure, if it survives its Freshman Year and I'm still interested, I can always rent the DVD and catch up before Season 2 starts. I've yet to do this though, Sistah still can't get over the fact that I've never watched an episode of Grey's Anatomy or House.

So it was with much trepidation that I decided to give jPod a shot. I had caught a couple of promos for it (Not sure where, during a rerun of Arrested Developement perhaps?), and it peaked my interest enough to make sure I was front row centre for the Premier Episode. I was not disappointed, in fact, I LOVED it! I wanted to shout it from the top of a mountain - "jPod is amazing! Watch it! It's the best new show to come out in forever!", and go figure, it was on the CBC. The Dude, who's television viewing habits primarily consist of HNIC, The Blue Jays and re-runs of Stargate, thought it was great too. We couldn't wait for the next Episode, and roped The Teenager into watching it with us the next Tuesday. That was a feat unto itself considering he barely watches any television and is usually glued to his X-Box. I had a Premonition though. "It's too good" I declared, "and I bet you any money, it gets cancelled." The Dude agreed. This was by the same station that canned "The Tournament", the Suits at The Ceeb had already proved to me they didn't know a good thing when they had it.

Sure enough, after only about 5 Episodes and a time change to the "Friday Night Death Slot", the CBC lowered The Axe on our Canadian Podsters. "How can they!!!" I whined to The Dude after the headline greeted me on the Interweb. "They can't! It's my New Favourite Show!" It ruined my whole day.

Kirstine Layfield herself talked about how the CBC was taking notice of things. From an article in the Globe and Mail on 30/05/07 and also posted on the CBC Website:

After years of so-called high-impact miniseries that largely left viewers cold, CBC Television has unveiled a slate of fall shows that it says reflects a new belief that audiences like to be given time to really get to know TV characters.Kirstine Layfield, executive director of network programming, promised a “new direction at the CBC” and acknowledged that “the audience had changed.“People like to meet characters. They like to fall in love with them, and stay with them for a while. Our goal is to increase the number of people coming to the CBC,” "Damn it Kirstine Layfield! You betrayed us!" I cursed. We fell in love with the characters from jPod, why wasn't she letting us stay with them for a while?

After somewhat calming down, I immediately jumped onto the CBC Website and shot off a very angry letter letting them know how disappointed I was with them. I called too, taking an "Attract More Flies with Honey" tone, I figured, it wasn't the girls fault at Audience Relations it was dropped from next years schedule. It turns out I wasn't the only one. Within days of the announcement, facebook groups and a website with the soul purpose of saving the show were up and running. Even actors from the show were participating in the fight to save famed Canadian author Douglas Couplands' first foray onto Television. Yes, the Podsters are proving themselves to be a dedicated bunch.

Chris Haddock, producer of Intelligence, another cancelled CBC show, also talks about flaws in the Ratings System in an article at The Canadian Press:
Haddock also pointed out the lunacy of the CBC gauging a show's popularity, especially among young viewers, on the weekly BBM ratings since so many young television fans don't own their own homes and so cannot be counted, and many of them watch TV on the Internet. "The ratings themselves have been questioned very profoundly all over the world about their accuracy and their relevance because you have to be a homeowner," Haddock points out. "So university students don't get counted, a person who is a renter doesn't get counted, a lot of people under 30 don't get counted, so it's absurd on many, many levels. I mean do you have to buy a home to get counted in the ratings?"

I'm probably one of the "older" viewers of jPod, it's main demographic is roughly 17-28 year olds. Where is this Target Audience on a Friday Night? I can pretty much bet ya it's not at home watching the tube. I know if I wasn't married to The Dude and didn't have The 4 Amigos, I certainly would be out and about the town on Friday Nights. Episodes of jPod are also offered on CBC's own website and that's where so many fans are catching it, or through torrents. Obviously these Internet viewers mean nothing to the CBC, but the times they are a changing, and they should be considered. If you combine jPod's numbers from television, and how many are watching it online, it's right up there with the likes of Sophie. (Which, by the way, I'd rather gouge my own eyes out than watch, and I'm right in the demographic for that show. Ditto for MVP, or what I like to call "Desperate Hockey Housewives of Orange County". I'm still trying to figure out how the CBC decided to air that one, I mean, who does the CBC think they are? FOX?)

When the Canadian Broadcasting Corporations' aging demographic has gone on to greener pastures and no longer around to watch re-runs of Air Farce, the 'Google Generation' may very well hurt from the sting of cancellations so deeply that the CBC will not draw ratings, but contempt. The Power of the Internet has made it possible for Fans to rally around their cause in the likes modern society has never seen before, instanly bringing people together to fight for what they believe in, and well, cancelling jPod will not soon be forgotten and may go down as one of the worst decisions in Canadian Television.

Tonight at 10 p.m. I will be shedding a tear as the final credits in jPod's Finale roll... and I can guarantee this: I will never, EVER! watch any new show the CBC debuts. Having jPod hi-jacked away before it even had a chance to establish an audience has lost me as a viewer. The sadness I feel about it is just not worth going through again..... "sigh"..... I haven't felt this bad since FOX cancelled Firefly....

jPod Podsters (counter clock-wise) Steph Song as Bree, David Kopp as Ethan Jarleswski, Emilie Ullerup as Kaitlin, Ben Ayres as Cowboy, Torrance Coombs as John Doe.