BBC takes top prize in Canada

We don't often talk about British media's impact north of the U.S. border on London Calling, but maybe we should. Canada continues to be an important market for UK media products. And the British product is highly regarded up there too - as was shown once again at the annual Banff World Television Festival - Canada's top international media event, currently underway in Banff, Alberta (click here for the festival site). According to the Canadian Press (published in the Globe & Mail), the BBC has just taken the top prize at the festival's awards ceremony; and, among the international awards, British shows bagged no less than nine trophies compared to just three each for the U.S., Japan, and Canada. The BBC alone captured six awards. The CP article calls it a "British invasion."

The BBC's series "Blackpool" (described as "A stylish British miniseries synthesizing music, gambling and drama" - though I haven't seen it) picked up the C$50,000 Global television grand prize.

The CBC notes that "more than 100 programmers and decision-makers are in Banff for the 26th annual event to represent broadcasters from around the world, including the CBC, the BBC, National Geographic Television, the Disney Channel, the Comedy Network, Germany's ZDF and Japan's NHK."

Of course, the BBC and other UK TV producers have a long history of involvement in Canada. In spite of Canada's strict domestic programming quotas and stiff competition from the United States, British producers have continued to export their products to Canada - not only on the public CBC, but also on commercial networks and now on BBC Canada - a "a general entertainment channel available on cable and satellite TV" and "a joint venture between BBC Worldwide and Canadian broadcaster, Alliance Atlantis." BBC Canada, in other words, is similar in function to BBC America in the U.S., except that because of "Canada's broadcasting regulations, BBC Canada must carry a quota of Canadian programming."