OTTAWA – Canada’s public broadcaster is not immune to the impacts of new viewing habits and Internet-based platforms, but rather than trying to turn back the clock, CBC/Radio-Canada is embracing new devices and technologies to remain relevant to Canadians, according to the CRTC.
Scott Hutton, executive director of broadcasting at the Regulator, noted during an appearance before the Senate Standing Committee on Transportation and Communications that one only needs to look at CBC’s coverage of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics (and its multi-platform efforts), its content licensing agreements with Netflix and its Tou.tv French-language online video on-demand service to see the degree to which the corporation is adapting to the new broadcast environment.
He was appearing before the committee as part of its ongoing study of the challenges and opportunities facing the CBC in light of its loss of the NHL hockey TV broadcast rights.
When the CRTC renewed CBC licences last November, the Commission’s decision pointed to, among other things, the public broadcaster’s 2015 strategic plan that included ongoing commitments to the digital platform until the end of its current licence term in 2018.
“This should ensure that Canadians will have access to leading-edge digital content from their national public broadcaster. Equally important, it should help to secure the viability of the corporation’s operations,” said Hutton. “This approach recognizes that Canadians today want access to their favourite programs anywhere, anytime and on the device of their choice. It also confirms CBC/Radio-Canada’s understanding of just how dramatically the broadcasting and communications landscape is changing.”
Services such as Netflix and Apple TV combined with significantly increased viewing of TV programming online has certainly upset the apple cart of the broadcasting system. Rather than see this new environment as a challenge, all parts of the broadcasting system should take advantage of the benefits offered by these new platforms.
“We should be leveraging them to promote Canada’s creative advantage in the global arena because information and communication technologies now drive industry and create business opportunity,” said Hutton. “Certainly, this is how CBC/Radio-Canada seems to view the situation.”
Conservative Senator Leo Housakos delved into CBC’s digital strategy and wondered what the private broadcasters had done to force the public broadcaster to “get on its horse and catch up.”
Hutton reiterated comments he made during his opening remarks that CBC has often been at the forefront of addressing new technology challenges to broadcasting. He highlighted the fact that the public broadcaster was the first to test digital broadcasting on both radio and TV, and this was well before the corporation’s foray into new digital platforms. But it goes beyond that as well. CBC is using the web to expand its coverage of the greater Montreal area, which has largely been focused on the Island of Montreal. It’s doing the same thing for Vancouver (and has an all-digital “station” in Hamilton).
“So they are trying, they are exploring and they are actually putting some level of their own budgets behind developing product for all platforms and they’re actually exploring new things on new platforms. So they certainly have been at the forefront of digital media." – Scott Hutton, CRTC
“So they are trying, they are exploring and they are actually putting some level of their own budgets behind developing product for all platforms and they’re actually exploring new things on new platforms. So they certainly have been at the forefront of digital media,” Hutton said in correcting Housakos’ premise.
The Senator pressed Hutton on the profitability of CBC’s foray into the digital platform arena which Housakos estimated to be nearly $100 million.
The CRTC broadcasting chief said that number isn’t “out of whack with my understanding,” but added it would be hard for any Canadian public or private broadcaster to say they are making a profit from their digital media endeavours.
“I’m pretty sure Mr. Lacroix (CBC’s CEO) will have to say no. But put any other person in this business here (he taps the table) and they’ll answer the same thing he did. In our research and our conversation with Canadians, we’ve heard Canadians want this programming to be everywhere and I think all broadcasters including CBC-SRC have to respond to that need and want,” said Hutton.
Later on in the hearing, Housakos noted that while the private broadcasters are seeing high ratings the CBC has seen its slip and wondered whether it’s worth continuing with a public broadcaster using taxpayers money to produce Canadian programming. “Can CBC fulfill its mandate without becoming an endless pit that we have just as a national symbol that financially makes no sense?” he asked.
Hutton responded that more and more Canadian shows, including those on CBC, are topping the million viewer mark and making it into the top 30 shows watched according to BBM numbers.
“Five years ago you never saw an English language Canadian program in the top 30. Just prior to the Olympics, you had six or seven Canadian shows in the top 30,” he said, noting that CBC’s Murdoch Mysteries had about 1.3 million tuning in. “It’s not as good as the best show, which was Criminal Minds at 2.5 million, but it beat out other procedurals likes Hawaii Five-0 or one of my favourites, Blue Bloods. That didn’t happen before.”
No further witnesses have yet been identified, but the committee will continue its study.
