FILMCO seeks urgent meeting with new board of CNMGWednesday 11th July, 2018
Dear Ms Agard
We are requesting a meeting with you as soon as possible, to introduce you to FILMCO, and to share with you our ideas and a formal proposal for filling the dire programming needs of CNMG/TTT with local and regional content.
FILMCO is a non-profit organisation comprised of filmmakers and television producers, dedicated to creating a sustainable ecosystem for local content in Trinidad & Tobago.
To provide you with some background: on Friday 25th August 2017, Minister the Honourable Maxie Cuffie announced the intended closure of CNMG and a return of Trinidad and Tobago Television (TTT). In the ensuing 10 months, there had been no further announcements or communication by the Government on how and crucially, when, this would be achieved, until the announcement of your appointment on June 26th 2018. We have been dismayed to observe the deterioration in broadcast standards on CNMG which is misrepresenting to the public the idea of what a local public broadcaster could be. In addition, we are deeply concerned that there seems to be no progress on reorganising the national station around a public broadcaster model – which we believe has the potential to foster a healthy and thriving independent production sector which would employ hundreds, if not thousands of contractors from a variety of fields here in Trinidad and Tobago.
While we fully endorse the decision to introduce a public service broadcaster with a mandate to show local content, we are concerned that there needs to be more clarity around how this is to be executed in terms of the following:
1. The structure and management of the companyFollowing the Minister’s announcement, discussions about who would make up the board and management of the new public broadcaster had been raging in the media. Our assertion is that the new Board and Management needs a much clearer understanding of the local and international production and distribution milieu and a progressive view of the business of public broadcasting in the 21st Century. It needs to be a truly independent body comprised, in part, of broadcast, creative and production professionals, constitutionally protected from political interference, as in the case of the BBC. These are imperative for the new entity to succeed where its predecessors have failed.
2. The need for a more sustainable broadcast modelThe existing broadcast model adopted by CNMG needs to be examined and organized in a way that reflects our current economic reality and is cognizant of the increased competition from mobile and other devices that stream audio-visual content directly to the consumer.
3. The subvention that will be disbursed to the public broadcasterIn the press conference on Friday 25th August 2017, Minister Cuffie mentioned that local content will be far cheaper than foreign content. While the licensing of existing programming is, for the most part, cheaper than purchasing first run foreign content, the idea that the new public broadcaster will require less Government subvention for programming than CNMG is inaccurate. However, licensing local content provides greater opportunity of attaining self-sustainability over the long term. In addition, any expenditure on this entity for local content will circulate within our economy to the benefit of the local population.
4. The need to immediately start commissioning contentFor the new public broadcaster to have a strong launch and to build on any existing brand loyalty, commissioning new, flagship programmes/ series, will be essential. TTT will be starting its programming schedule with a blank slate that will need to be filled with a variety of content types to educate, inform and entertain. The schedule must not be comprised of only re-broadcasts of old TTT content, or re-hashing TTT standards such as Twelve and Under etc. This needs to be a 21st Century channel with fresh new content that can stand up in a world in which people have 24-hour access to foreign content at their fingertips. The aim is to make people want to watch the channel, because this is the only place they will see themselves reflected in a compelling and varied way.
5. The need to mandate a licensing model over the existing pay to play modelFor the value chain we described in our initial proposal to Minister Cuffie to work, it is crucial that the mandate of the new Board be to license and commission content, and that the existing model of independent producers paying for airtime be scrapped altogether (except in the case of typical “paid-for” content such as infomercials, political advertising, religious programming etc). The pay for play model is unsustainable for the entire industry.
6. The need for strong sales and distribution teamsThe model we have proposed will require dynamic sales, distribution and marketing staff to fully capitalise on any investments the public broadcaster makes in commissioning and creating content in the following ways:
- Engage our substantial diaspora audiences through subscription (paid for) video on demand streaming services.
- Attend international markets with a primary view to selling original content (rather than buying foreign content)
- Foster growth in advertising revenues through development of our unique schedule and programme packaging
- Allow support local to become an ethos which unifies all aspects of the station.
7. A consistent and effective branding of the national public service broadcaster It is imperative that the strong brand memory of TTT (should this name be used) be maximised by creating a broadcast policy that places the people of Trinidad and Tobago at the centre of the channel and its programming. Ongoing government interference in state media has demonstrably damaged audience trust in the brands and driven viewers away, in addition to drastically diminishing advertising revenues. Audiences must trust that their national public broadcaster will show unbiased and well-curated content that speaks to all sectors of the society and has the national interest at heart.
8. The need for the public broadcaster mandate to be non-competitiveThe new entity, as a public service broadcaster, should not be expected to compete commercially with other stations: its mandate should have the national good as its primary focus. The drive to compete has weakened both TTT’s and CNMG’s programming in the past, as competition became aligned with foreign programming. Our contention is that given the preponderance of free, easily accessible foreign content, the only way that the new public broadcaster will be able to stand out among the crowd is by offering something new and entirely different: quality local content of all varieties.
9. The need for clear guidelines on local and regional content percentagesThe new entity must have a bias towards local content. The November 2015 public consultations yielded a 70-30% weighting in favour of local over foreign content and we strongly urge that this ratio is enacted as policy going forward. There is historical precedent for the need: when CNMG began operations in 2005 there was a local content mandate which was all but discarded within the first year of operation.
10. The need for the public broadcaster to evolve to online and other platforms.True sustainability in the modern era demands that stations deliver online streaming of audio-visual content. This can only be achieved if the station secures the rights to do so. Reliance on foreign content will preclude local stations from ever capitalising on this global audience. The new entity must have this as a primary focus.
We hope you favorably consider our recommendations and we look forward to contributing to the development of the new entity and ensuring a sustainable environment for content creators and the citizens of Trinidad and Tobago.
We look forward to being able to meet with you at your earliest convenience so that we can make our full presentation to you and the board. Do let us know, when this can take place.
We look forward to starting a long and fruitful relationship with the new Board.
Source:
https://mailchi.mp/15ee3edc37cb/filmco- ... cnmg-board
