Missing the Boat

"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."

-Kirstine Layfield, from the generic stock letter sent out to jPod Fans.

It’s interesting that in the same week Kirstine Layfield claims there “still isn’t the business case” for online broadcasting (Globe and Mail Apr 14 2008), we hear that NBC’s online video service Hulu has just sold out their entire ad inventory (Wired Apr 9 2008). Everything is made available for free because of the embedded sponsored advertisements. Why wouldn’t that work for jPod and the CBC's Web Casts? After all, jPod’s online viewers are a distinctively young, highly desirable demographic! Add this together with jPods' Traditional television viewers and it's a win-win situation.

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)

“[…]CBC should make large increases to arts and cultural programming, for example, by producing more contemporary Canadian dramas, historical documentaries, and TV movies.” (p.34)

“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 CBC must shift their thinking away from how many viewers they can capture – the commercial model of audience maximization – to how well they can build a relationship with a smaller but attentive audience. Program quality will have to be evaluated by the strength of the relationship with viewers, and by the depth of loyalty.

By ignoring this newer Tech-Savvy Generation, The CBC will never survive. For it is they who are the future and are sure not to forget Kirstine Layfields' and the CBC's brush off and staunch refusal to give jPod the proper Time to develop it's audience by cancelling it so hastily. Especially in light of the fact that it was aired on Fridays Nights when jPods' largest Target Audience is usually not at home watching television, thus leading them to watch it online.

The Report said it best: "CBC/Radio-Canada’s online presence will be fundamental to its relevance to Canadian audiences in the future.”


Just a little taste of why I love the show...

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!

Are You Kidding Me?

I just read these are what's being slated for next year on the CBC instead of jPod. How sad.

I think the CBC can hear the Fat Lady singing now....

Outside the CBC Building in Toronto. - Pics courtesy of Monica Pacheco

The Blame Game

publicbroadcasting.ca: Did the Leafs Kill jPod, Can Kam Fong save it?

Maybe the Leafs we're behind the death of The CBC Orchestra too....

http://www.insidethecbc.com/orch_protes

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.