Presentation to the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage on the State of the Canadian Broadcastin

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Presentation to the StandingCommittee on
Canadian Heritageon the State of the
CanadianBroadcasting System by

• Carole Taylor, O.C.Chair of the Board of
  DirectorsRobert RabinovitchPresident and
  CEOMarch 14, 2002

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CBC Panel

• Carole Taylor, Chair of the Board of Directors
• Robert Rabinovitch, President and CEO
• Michel Tremblay, Vice-president, Strategy and
  Business Development

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Canadas Most Important Cultural Institution

• The importance of public broadcasting to
  Canadians
• CBC committed to producing innovative and
  uniquely Canadian programming
• Setting the standard for news and public affairs

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CBCs Journalistic Presence
Newfoundland and LabradorCorner
BrookGanderGoose BayLabrador CitySt.
JohnsPrince Edward IslandCharlottetownSummersi
de
Nova Scotia Baie St.MarieHalifax SydneyYarmouth
New BrunswickBathurstCampbelltown CaraquetCarle
tonFrederictonGrand FallsMonctonSaint
JohnQuébec Baie ComeauChicoutimiGaspéIles de
la Madeleine
KuujjuaqMataneMontréalQuébecRimouskiRouyn-Nor
andaSept-IlesSherbrookeTrois-RivièresOntario H
awkesburyHearstKingstonKitchenerLondonOttawa
SudburyThunder BayTimminsTorontoWellandWindso
r
ManitobaBrandon Thompson Winnepeg Saskatchewan La
RongePrince Albert Regina SaskatoonYorktonAlbe
rtaCalgary Edmonton LethbridgeBritish
ColumbiaKelownaNelsonPrince GeorgePrince
RupertVancouver and SurreyVictoriaNunavutCambr
idge Bay IqaluitNorthwest TerritoriesForth
SmithInuvikRankin InletYellowknifeYukonYellow
knife
TV RadioRadioTV
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What CBC Means to Canadians

• Connecting Canadians
• Telling our stories
• Reflecting the regions to a national audience
• Providing a life-line service to many
• Giving Canadians a unique Canadian perspective on
  domestic and world events
• Being an incubator for Canadian talent
• Taking programming risks

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CBC More Important than Ever in a
Media-Cluttered World

• Dedicated to providing Canadians with a concrete
  sense of their roots and identity through our
  distinctive programming
• The CBC remains a cornerstone of Canadian culture
  and of the broadcasting system
• Public policy must recognize and reflect this
  reality

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• The only thing that matters in
• broadcasting is programming content.
• Source..

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Meeting the Needs of Canadians

• Our objective is to deliver programming to
  Canadians in the form and at the time they choose
  on all available platforms
• Radio and television networks and stations
• Wireless news
• Youth internet services
• Pay audio service

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Significant Challenges Remain

• The availability of television programming has
  more than doubled over the last 10 years
• More than 1 billion in CTF funding and millions
  in tax credits
• yet the viewing to Canadian programming has not
  increased in either the English or French
  markets, especially in prime-time

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Viewing to Canadian Programs A 10 year
comparison
Viewing to Canadian and Foreign Programs on
English TV and French TV 7pm-11pm 1992-93 and
2000-01
English TV
French TV
Foreign
31
38
Foreign
73
74
69
Canadian
62
Canadian
27
26
1992-93
2000-01
1992-93
2000-01
(NMR - September to August data)
Source
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Why Canadians Arent Watching More Canadian Shows

• Market fragmentation
• With the explosion in availability of new
  specialty services, viewing options have been
  spread over more services
• No corresponding rise in viewing to Canadian
  programming
• Give Canadians opportunities and they will watch!
• A Peoples History 16 million Canadians
  reached
• Random Passage 1.2 million Anglophone
  viewers
• Music Hall 1.6 million
  Francophone viewers

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Viewing to Canadian Programs in Prime-time per
Program Source
7pm-11pm 2000-01
French TV
English TV
Radio-Canada
34
34
CBC TV
Newsworld
RDI
3
3
9
CTV
Global/Canwest
4
TVA
9
35
Other Non-Pay
11
TQS
41
Pay/Specialty
Other Non-Pay
3
Pay/Specialty
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Base 62
Base 26
excludes CBC TV/Radio-Canada affiliates in
their own time includes Canadian educational
broadcasters and U.S. conventional Includes
Télé-Québec, TFO Radio-Canada affiliates in
their own time
(NMR - September to August data)
Source
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Programming Economics A Major Factor

• Quality Canadian programming is costly yet can
  not recover its costs in the market
• Da Vincis Inquest costs 1 million per episode
  yet generates less than 100,000 in advertising
• This reality applies to all players in the system
  and has a fundamental impact on prime time,
  especially in the English market

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Prime-time The Most Important Viewing Period
Hourly Viewing Curve of All Television
StationsMonday to Sunday, All Persons 2January
to December 2000
Viewing Level ()
(NMR)
Source
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Basic Block Schedule Templates
Canadian
Foreign
Winter 2002
Only titles and country of origin of programs
which most frequently occupy time periods are
shown.
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• A strong and vibrant national public
  broadcaster is the most effective way of ensuring
  for Canadians a high quality and distinctive
  Canadian voice.

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Canadian
Foreign Simulcast
Foreign
Simulcast Schedule Templates
Winter 2002
Only titles and country of origin of programs
which most frequently occupy time periods are
shown.
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How do we Strengthen the CBC?

• 1. Reconfirm the pivotal role of CBC in the
  system and provide it with the necessary
  flexibility to serve Canadians
• 2. Re-balance policy and funding instruments to
  provide support to those that are committed to
  distinctive Canadian programming
• 3. Introduce multi-year funding for CBC to
  facilitate program planning and increase
  operating flexibility

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Preserving a Distinctive Voice for Canadians

• With your help we will have the tools to
  ensure wekeep setting the standard for what
  Canadian broadcasting can be and to preserve a
  truly distinctive voice for Canadians.