CBC and the future of Canada If the CBC is simply shut down as Pierre Poilievre has promised, it will possibly mean the end of Canadian TV, perhaps even Canadian sovereignty. Full disclosure, I worked for CBC for almost 30 years and I appreciate the CBC has flaws and needs an update. CBC was founded in the 1930’s when American radio stations threatened to invade Canadian homes through their living room radios. Today, Google, Apple, Netflix and Facebook have successfully completed the invasion through our smartphones, tablets and TVs and the results have devastated our radio, TV and newspaper industries.

Some of the transmitters and presses are still functioning, but barely. A few small online news outlets exist but they are narrow in scope and draw very small audiences. The legacy newspapers have an internet presence but are dominated by foreign-owned platforms; meanwhile Canadian cable channels are losing tens of thousands of subscribers to Netflix, Disney, Prime, etc. A few individuals have found followers on services like Instagram, YouTube and TikTok but overall Canada’s voice is being strangled in traditional media and is a squeak in the new media. If we don’t have our own media, will we have a country?

The old newspaper audience has all but disappeared; it’s hard to find a store that sells hard copies. Abandoned newspaper boxes are empty and clutter up the sidewalks. The Globe and the New York Times may be the only legacy newspaper survivors. TV is trying to hang on to at least some of its audience with live sports and news but people are increasingly drawn to U.S. streaming giants, YouTube and Instagram. Radio is still viable because you can’t watch a screen in your car but the advertisers have departed for Google and Facebook.

CBC, which right-wing journalists and some politicians are proposing be shut down, has been somewhat buffeted from the media mêlée because it doesn’t depend totally on ad revenues. For many decades Canadians have supported CBC via government grants, regardless of whether it was a Conservative or Liberal government. The grants, which are basically from the Canadian public rather than the “government”, amounted to about $1.4 billion in 2024.

That amounts to about $3 per month per person or $8 per household, much less than what we pay for Netflix or Disney, let alone what we pay for cable TV, internet or smartphone services. What do Canadians get for $3/month? Ratings data from independent measurement services Numeris and Comscore show that Canadians spend about 18 hours per month consuming CBC/Radio-Canada radio, TV and internet services. 18 hours/month means we pay pennies per hour for CBC. Note these measurement companies measure people’s behaviour not opinion and measure all services without favour to any one.

French services are largely protected by the language barrier and thus Radio-Canada has large market shares and accounts for more than half of the CBC audience. Nevertheless francophones are also spending a lot of time watching U.S. streamers. Critical to note: there is a large audience for CBC English radio; some 10.5 million Canadians listen to CBC English radio in a typical month according to Numeris and on average spend about 70 hours per month (or 17.5 hours per week) tuned to CBC radio.

Shutting down CBC radio, which is funded totally by government grants, would deprive millions of Canadians of a vital information service in both urban and rural communities. CBC English TV and private Canadian TV broadcasters have been broadsided, mostly because of the onslaught of U.S. streamers, plus Google and Facebook. The main CBC network only accounts for about 3% of legacy TV viewing according to CRTC analysis of Numeris data; CBC’s news channel garners another 2% (about a third of what U.S. news channels capture in Canada).

CBC’s internet services have made up for some of the losses but only account for about .4% of internet use. Like CBC radio, millions use CBC.ca every month but they spend less than half an hour with it on average. Private Canadian TV has also lost audience to the U.S. streamers and has seen advertising revenues dwindle as advertisers flock to Google, Facebook and other digital platforms. The result is private radio and TV stations have been forced to cut important news programming and other Canadian content.

CBC English TV and private TV networks, both of which depend to some degree on ad revenues and cable fees, have slowly been defunded over the last two decades as cable subscribers pull the plug and advertisers have gone to Google, Facebook, etc. They are facing an existential moment as U.S. media have overwhelmed our communication system. The time may have come for the Canadian government to replace the CBC with a new entity responsible for Canadian radio, TV and internet services.

The Canadian communications corporation, funded by government grants like CBC’s, would likely keep the successful CBC French services and CBC English radio much as they are. But the new corporation would revitalize Canadian English TV, producing quality entertainment programming for one or more ad-free networks dedicated to drama and other entertainment. This programming would be made available at no cost to private networks for simultaneous and second airing. The corporation would also maintain ad-free digital streaming services free to consumers featuring Canadian programs.

The new communications corporation would produce news programming and provide one or more ad-free TV news channels in both English and French, providing sufficient airtime for balanced news coverage. The corporation’s news services would provide journalists and other resources to legacy TV, radio and online news outlets, especially local news services. CBC.ca, the online CBC news service, which has a small audience but is very costly, could be phased out and no longer compete with other Canadian online news services. This would improve the prospects for the Globe and Mail, Postmedia, Le Droit, etc.

Private TV networks and radio stations in this environment could be largely deregulated and be free to leverage U.S. content which consumers want for the benefit of Canadian business. One exception: there could be a requirement to air a specified amount of local and national news and information if applicable. Shutting down CBC would only accentuate the surrender to U.S. media, which Canadians of all parties have resisted for almost 100 years. The moment to save Canadian television and our other media and regain sovereignty over our entire communications system is at hand. Appendix: Supporting Data Barry Kiefl