OFAH FILE: 833A
Mr. Bradley Shaw
Chief Executive Officer
Shaw Media
121 Bloor Street East, 15th Floor
Toronto, Ontario
M4W 3M5
Dear Mr. Shaw:
We are writing with respect to the sudden decision on the part of Shaw Media/Global Television to cancel Angler & Hunter Television, along with a number of other shows related to the outdoors.
To date, we have not had the courtesy of an explanation as to why this action was taken, and would appreciate some understanding of what led to the decision. As you can imagine, the cancellation of Angler & Hunter Television will not only affect those directly involved in the show and a large devoted fan base, it could cause considerable difficulty for our major sponsors.
You should know that anglers and hunters in Canada contribute almost $10 billion to the national economy each year. Through licence sales for fishing and hunting, they contribute millions to fish and wildlife conservation. In fact, the revenue derived from the over 1 1/2 million licenced anglers and hunters in Ontario pays for two-thirds ($72 million) of all of the fish and wildlife programs delivered by the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources through the Special Purpose Account (SPA). Hunting and fishing are recognized in both federal and provincial legislation as heritage activities. The importance of these activities in Canada was also recently recognized by the Prime Minister at the National Fish and Wildlife Conservation Congress in Ottawa, when he announced the creation of a federal Hunting and Angling Advisory Panel to provide advice to the government on issues affecting the outdoors community.
The Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters (OFAH), the owner of Angler & Hunter Television, was founded in 1928 and is the largest charitable, nonprofit conservation-based organization in the province, with 100,000 members, supporters and subscribers, and 675 member clubs. Our members are invested in science-based conservation of our natural resources, which is why the OFAH is home to the largest invasive species program in Canada, the Trillium award-winning Community Stream Steward Program and the Lake Ontario Atlantic Salmon Restoration Program.
At the 2011 Annual General Meeting and Fish & Wildlife Conference in Mississauga, the OFAH was pleased to present the OFAH Conservation Partner Award to Global TV. At the time, the National Sales Manager of Shaw/Global made the following remarks. “It is such an honor to accept this award on behalf of Shaw Media and Global Television. We are thrilled to have this type of programming on our station. Our Canadian block, we call it the great Canadian outdoor block, consists of approximately 11 half-hour shows. The numbers each week, Saturday and Sunday mornings, we have just over a million viewers tuning in which is phenomenal. So we know that people are watching and we love that… I have small children and my TV is set to Channel 3 Global Toronto at seven in the morning. When the show comes on my son is glued to the TV and my daughter is enthralled by what she’s seeing. The message that anglers and hunters are putting out there about conservation, each day its becoming more and more important… The audience is so vast, it’s not just for your serious anglers and hunters, it captures a very broad audience. As broadcasters that’s very important to us because it’s not just a targeted audience. It can reach a lot of people so we can do a lot with that… we’re going to keep growing and growing that time block.”
In light of these remarks, and the apparent success of Angler & Hunter Television on Shaw/Global, we are profoundly disappointed at the cancellation of the program for reasons unknown to us. Accordingly, we are not only seeking a written explanation, but a meeting with Shaw Media/Global Television to discuss the cancellation of a program that has been a Canadian tradition since 1993.
We look forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience.
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