Tag Archives: CRTC

Industry News

Subscriptions to cable, IPTV and satellite declined but revenues remained steady

From a media release:

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission today released statistical and financial information on Canadian cable, Internet Protocol television (IPTV) and satellite companies for the year ending on August 31, 2015.

In 2015, Canadian cable, IPTV and satellite companies reported a slight decline in revenues of $11.8 million (0.1%) to $8.9 billion, while expenses increased by 1.3% to $7.2 billion.  As a result, the operating margin decreased to its lowest level in five years, but remained healthy at 19%. These companies employed 27,244 in 2015, down 6.3% from 2014.

The overall number of subscribers decreased from 11.4 million in 2014 to 11.2 million in 2015, continuing a two-year trend.  However, the average total revenue per subscriber increased from $65.25 in 2014 to $66.08 per month in 2015. IPTV companies continued to grow reporting double-digit increases in subscribers for 2015.

Spending by television service providers on the creation and production of Canadian-made content decreased by $38.1 million in 2015 to $436.9 million.  Of this amount, $219.6 million was directed to the Canada Media Fund, $64.7 million to independent funds and $152.6 million to community channels and other sources of local content.

Quick facts

  • In 2015, cable and IPTV companies reported revenues of $6.6 billion from programming services. This total represents an increase of 1.7 % from $6.5 billion in 2014.
  • Satellite companies’ revenues decreased by 5.2% from $2.4 billion in 2014 to $2.3 billion in 2015.
  • The number of Canadian households that subscribed to a cable or IPTV company increased from 0.3% to 8.9 million.
  • The number of Canadian households that subscribed to a satellite company’s television service decreased by 7.2% from 2.6 million to 2.4 million.
  • The operating margin for cable and IPTV companies increased from 15.8% in 2014 to 16.1% in 2015.  The operating margin for the satellite companies decreased from 32% in 2014 to 27.7% in 2015.
  • Operating expenses for the cable, IPTV and satellite companies increased by 1.3% from $7.1 billion to $7.2 billion.
  • In 2015, cable and IPTV companies spent over $2.6 billion on affiliation payments for the pay and specialty services they carry. This total represents a 5.7% increase compared to the $2.5 billion spent in 2014.
  • Satellite companies’ affiliation payments decreased by 2.9% from $809 million in 2014 to $786 million in 2015.
  • The CRTC produces a series of reports annually that provide information on the broadcasting and telecommunications sectors.
  • The CRTC recently published the financial results for specialty, pay, pay-per-view and video-on-demand services, conventional television stations and AM and FM radio stations.
  • The CRTC’s annual reports help interested parties to stay informed about the state of the Canadian communication industry and participate in the CRTC’s public consultations.

The CRTC’s report on cable, IPTV and satellite companies does not include information on Internet access, telephone services and other non-programming items. The CRTC will publish information on these services in the upcoming edition of the Communications Monitoring Report, in fall 2016.  

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail
Industry News

Specialty services increase investment in Canadian programming

From a media release:

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) today released statistical and financial information on Canadian specialty, pay, pay-per-view, video-on-demand television services for the broadcast year ending August 31, 2015.

In 2015, the pace of growth for these services slowed as their total revenues increased by 0.5%, or $19 million, to $4.3 billion. Revenue growth was hampered by a $19 million decline in advertising revenue, which was offset by a $30.6 million increase in subscription revenues. Expenditures continued to increase, rising from $3.1 billion in 2014 to $3.3 billion in 2015. As a result, profits before interest and taxes (PBIT) dropped from $1 billion to approximately $884.9 million. Nevertheless, the PBIT margin remained healthy at 20.8%.

Specialty services invested $1.5 billion in the creation of new television programs produced by Canadians, reflecting an increase of 7.8% compared to the $1.4 billion invested in the previous year. Of the $1.5 billion invested in Canadian-made programming, $409.9 million went to independent Canadian producers, up 9.1% (or $34.1 million) from 2014.

Each year, the CRTC compiles financial data on the Canadian broadcasting and telecommunications sectors to produce a series of reports. To increase Canadians’ access to relevant information related to the Canadian broadcasting system, this year’s publication on specialty, pay, pay-per-view and video-on-demand television services includes the amount they spent on animation and children’s programming.

Quick facts

  • In 2015, there were 228 specialty, pay, pay-per-view and video-on-demand television services operating in Canada.
  • Specialty, pay, PPV and VOD services employed a total of 5,899 people in 2015.
  • Bilingual and English-language services generated $3.4 billion in revenues, a decrease of 1.1% (or $36.7 million) in 2015.
  • French-language services produced revenues of $755.6 million, an increase of $57.8 million in 2015.
  • Revenues for 38 third-language services decreased by –$2.1 million to $78.5 million.
  • The 10 highest grossing services out of the 228 operating in Canada accounted for 37.7% of the total revenues generated in 2015.
  • For the first time, Sportsnet One and TVA Sports were among the top-10 highest grossing channels, following their acquisition of exclusive NHL programming rights.
  • Pay, pay-per-view and video-on-demand services continued to struggle, with their revenues decreasing by 6.3%, or $49.7 million, between 2014 and 2015.
  • Spending on foreign programming by specialty services increased from $389.2 million in 2014 to $434.2 million in 2015.
  • The CRTC recently published the financial results for conventional television stations and AM and FM radio stations.
  • The CRTC will publish results for cable and satellite entities. Following the publication of these reports, the CRTC will issue its annual Communications Monitoring Report in the fall.
  • The CRTC’s annual reports help interested parties to stay informed about the state of the Canadian communications industry, and participate in the CRTC’s public consultations.

Related Links

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail
Industry News

CRTC improves support for local news

From a media release:

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) today took measures to ensure Canadians continue to have access to local programming that reflects their needs and interests.

Local News
New minimum thresholds for local news will be imposed on all local private television broadcasters. Also, through a rebalancing of resources, the large private broadcasters will now have the necessary flexibility to keep local stations open and fund the production of local news programming. This represents up to $67 million that could be available for local news.

In addition, the CRTC is creating the Independent Local News Fund to give independent stations access to approximately $23 million dollars in resources to produce high-quality local news programming.

The Independent Local News Fund will support independent operators in the following localities: Victoria, Prince George, Kamloops, Medicine Hat, Lloydminster, Thunder Bay, Hamilton, Rouyn-Noranda, Val d’Or, Gatineau, Montreal, Trois-Rivières, Sherbrooke, Québec, Saguenay, Rivière-du-Loup, Carleton and St-John’s.

Canadians value local news and they watch it on a regular basis. Local news and information is also a key part of a democratic society. However, new technologies are making it harder to monetize viewership on traditional platforms.

Community television
The thorough public record shows that, overall, the framework for community television continues to be valid and relevant, ensuring that citizens have access to content production across Canada.

Cable companies will continue to have the stewardship of the community channel on behalf of their subscribers as they have for decades. The CRTC was not persuaded that this successful model should be changed.

Nevertheless, the CRTC is taking steps to ensure that this programming continues to reflect local citizens and events, and that more of the overall funding is directed to on-screen results rather than overhead.

Quick Facts

  • The CRTC has issued its new regulatory framework for local and community programming, following a process that began in September 2015.
  • During this process, Canadians reiterated that they place great importance on local news to stay informed.
  • Average weekly viewing hours for Canadian news and actualities broadcast by Canadian television services is over 23% of total hours viewed in the English market and over 28% in the French market.
  • The emergence of new technologies allowed Canadians to easily have access to local and international news. However, new digital media do not yet have adequate funding and the expertise necessary to replace traditional local news.
  • There are currently sufficient sources of funding within the system to fund the creation of locally produced, locally reflective programming.
  • Canada’s television system provides a strong foundation on which to build for the future. It employs nearly 60,000 people and invests more than $4 billion in public funds alone each year in the creation of content made by Canadians.
  • The allocation of some of the funding sources has been reviewed to ensure that local programming continues to be of high quality and receive adequate funding.
  • The CRTC expects broadcasters to fulfill their social responsibility to produce programming that informs and reflects local communities.
  • English-language stations will be required to broadcast at least seven hours of locally relevant programming (especially news) per week in non-metropolitan markets, and 14 hours per week in metropolitan markets (namely Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Edmonton and Calgary).
  • French-language stations will be assessed on a case-by-case basis, using a benchmark of five hours of local programming per week.
  • Canadians still value community television programming, especially in smaller communities.
  • In the digital era, it is increasingly easy to create and share content online at lower cost. Community channels are encouraged to make content available on multiple platforms to all Canadians.
  • The CRTC today also published a notice of consultation that launched the renewal process for television licences owned by large ownership groups.
  • The public hearing to review the applications from the French-language ownership groups, namely Bell, Corus, Québecor and Groupe V, will begin on November 22, 2016, in Laval, Quebec.
  • The public hearing to review the applications from the English-language ownership groups, namely Bell, Corus and Rogers, will begin on November 28, 2016, at our headquarters in the National Capital Region.
Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail
Industry News

Link: Pick-and-pay will be a shocker to some

1 Comment

From Jim Slotek of Postmedia Network:

Pick-and-pay will be a shocker to some
But the real shock to the Canadian TV industry — and some viewers — will come with the second part of the CRTC’s new regs: The long-awaited “pick-and-pay” cable option that is to be available nationwide by December.

Many are predicting that pick-and-pay, every TV watcher’s wish-dream for decades, will usher in an era where it isn’t people’s favourite programs — but their favourite channels — that get cancelled for low ratings. Continue reading.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail
Industry News

CRTC releases 2015 financial results for Canadian conventional television stations

From a media release:

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) today released statistical and financial information on Canadian conventional television stations for the broadcast year ending August 31, 2015.

In 2015, there were 93 private conventional television stations in operation in Canada, which generated total revenues of $1.76 billion. These stations continued to operate in a challenging environment, with total revenues declining 2.6%, or $46.6 million, from 2014.

To meet the objectives of the Broadcasting Act, the CRTC requires most television broadcasters to spend a minimum percentage of their revenues on content made by Canadians. In 2015, private conventional television stations invested $652.8 million in Canadian programing, a 5.4% (or $33.5 million) increase from 2014.

Investments in Canadian programming have grown consistently over the last five years as conventional televisions stations spent 16% more in 2015 than in 2011. These investments accounted for 49.8% of total programming expenses in 2015, up from 43.6% in 2011. Of note, private conventional television stations spent $60.9 million less on foreign programming in 2015 compared to 2014, primarily due to a reduction in spending on drama.

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation/Société Radio-Canada (CBC/SRC) reported total revenues of $1.1 billion in 2015, down 16.6%, or $220.9 million, from the previous year.

As Canada’s public broadcaster, the CBC/SRC continued to invest heavily in Canadian programming. In 2015, these investments totaled $557.2 million, accounting for 96.4% of the CBC/SRC’s total expenditures on programming. In particular, spending on news ($190.9 million) and drama ($144.1 million) accounted for 60.1% of its total expenditures on Canadian programming.

Conventional television stations employed 10,995 people in 2015, with the CBC/SRC employing 5,205 people.

Each year, the CRTC compiles financial data on the Canadian broadcasting and telecommunications sectors to produce a series of reports. To increase Canadians’ access to relevant information related to the Canadian broadcasting system, this year’s publication on conventional television stations includes the amount they spent on animation and children’s programming.

The CRTC recently published the financial results for AM and FM radio stations and will soon publish the results for the specialty, pay, pay-per-view and video-on-demand services, as well as cable and satellite companies. Following the publication of these reports, the CRTC will issue its annual Communications Monitoring Report.

These annual reports help interested parties to stay informed about the state of the Canadian communication industry and to participate in the CRTC’s public consultations.

Quick facts

Private stations

  • Private conventional television stations saw their revenues drop by 2.6%, from $1.80 billion in 2014 to $1.76 billion in 2015.
  • Expenses went from $1.85 billion in 2014 to $1.82 billion in 2015, a decrease of 1.6%.
  • Profits before interest and taxes (PBIT) declined from –$138.7 million to –$140.9 million, and the PBIT margin decreased from -7.7% to -8%.
  • Investments by private conventional television stations in Canadian programming increased from $619.3 million in 2014 to $652.8 million in 2015.
  • Private conventional television stations invested $49.6 million on Canadian drama series, $5.3 million on films, $86.7 million on human interest programs, $369.6 million on news programs, $7.3 million on long-form documentaries, $30 million for other information programs, $17.1 million for music and variety shows, $21.5 million on sports programming, $17.3 million on game shows, $45 million on reality TV shows, $2.7 million on awards shows, $358,000 on animation programming and $343,000 on children’s programming.
  • As part of these investments, conventional television stations paid $142.1 million to Canadian independent producers.
  • Revenues from the sale of local advertising declined from $333.6 million in 2014 to $330.1 million in 2015, a 1.0% decrease. National advertising revenues for private conventional television stations remained virtually unchanged at $1.2 billion in 2015.

CBC/SRC

  • In 2015, the CBC/SRC reported advertising revenues of $220.1 million, which represented a decline of 53.6 % from the $474.6 million generated the previous year.
  • The absence of major sporting events in 2015 coupled with the loss of the NHL television rights contributed to the decline in advertising revenues.
  • The amount of Parliamentary Appropriation allocated to the 27 conventional television stations rose by 4.4% to $757.9 million in 2015.
  • The CBC/SRC’s program expenditures totaled $687.3 million; of that amount, $557.2 million (or 81.1%) were expenses related to Canadian programming expenses.
  • The public broadcaster also spent $9 million on animation programming, and $33.8 million on programming targeting children.
Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail