By David Farrell
CBC won’t be abandoning legacy media audiences anytime soon
The CBC will continue to provide Canadians with traditional radio and television broadcasts and will delay its move to digital-only service until adequate high-speed Internet is available to all Canadians.
That’s the message from Catherine Tait, president and CEO of the CBC. The timeline is in response to a report based on an interview she gave to the Globe and Mail newspaper earlier this week. That article said she plans to move CBC to a digital-only format and abandon radio and TV, but the move isn't likely to happen over the next 10 years.
"Let's be clear. We are not abandoning anyone who's watching on traditional television or listening on traditional radio," she said Tuesday.
"We are looking at a two-decade horizon. The BBC president announced a month ago that BBC would be going to digital-only by 2030. That is not the case for CBC. We are a vast country and until we have ubiquity in broadband delivery in this country, we will leave no one behind." – CBC News
What to expect from Canadian TV in C-11 world
In anticipation of the passing of Bill C-11, major entities (Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, Paramount+, Apple TV+) have set up shop in Canada over the past several months, building out local content teams and calling for pitches from Canadian creators (with a relatively low number of commissions to date). – Amber Dowling, The Globe and Mail
Get Chinese ‘authoritarian broadcasters’ off Canadian airwaves, says foreign affairs critic
If Ottawa can get Russian broadcasters removed from Canadian airwaves, it can get China’s taken off as well, says Conservative foreign affairs critic Michael Chong. – Jeremy Nuttall, Toronto Star
Why is the government spending $21-million advertising on social media such as TikTok?
One may feel inclined to dismiss the scuffle with TikTok in the United States – purportedly over national security concerns regarding the Chinese-owned app – in the same way we ignore an irrelevant ad. Or we may rush to follow Washington’s lead in a show of solidarity. But another conversation is pertinent, one that forces us to re-examine our comfort with the government’s heavy spending on these platforms. Not only is the expenditure questionable, the government should not actively enrich platforms that are unaligned with core policy goals. – Vass Bednar, The Globe and Mail
Calgary radio station's switch from classic rock to talk runs into CRTC static
The regulator has advised Corus Entertainment that switching its Calgary classic rock station to a talk format violates regulations. –Bill Kaufmann, Calgary Herald
Who’s really in charge at Rogers, and can CEO Tony Staffieri stay on the job?
… What unites those disparate visions is a sense that, for all his plans, Staffieri will still sink or swim in this job based on the whims of his boss, the family scion who hand-picked him for the job. Edward Rogers has now anointed three CEOs in under a decade. He grew tired of the previous two in less than eight years combined. Staffieri’s challenge then is to pull off something his predecessors never could: to keep his job, keep Edward happy and still somehow lead a lagging giant through a massive merger. – Richard Warnica, Toronto Star
Story, over: Billionaire blows up thriving local news outlet
Victoria’s Capital Daily was profitable, popular and a critical darling. Then the owners of Overstory Media Group fired most of its staff. – Ethan Cox, ricochet
International IP alliance claims piracy is rampant in Canada
The IIPA suggests that the RCMP, Canada’s main federal law enforcement agency, considers intellectual property crime a non-priority area. It’s claimed that RCMP transfers cases to municipal police forces, which often lack the resources “and the strategic mandate” to investigate IP crimes or prepare cases for prosecution. – Andy Maxwell, TorrentFreak
US Radio earned close to $2B in digital revenue in 2022
US radio stations generated $1.8B in digital sales, up 21.1% over 2021, according to a newly released report from the RAB and Borrell and Associates, The report was a result of data from 3,753 radio stations, 851 local radio buyers and 169 radio managers. – Radio Ink
Notable
– Stingray Reports Third Quarter Results for Fiscal 2023 with strong revenue and subscription growth
– More than half of Canadian TV streamers watch ad-supported TV, according to a new study commissioned by Roku.
