Communications Monitoring Report 2018

Quick Summary

Communications Services in Canadian Households: Subscriptions and Expenditures 2012-2016

In line with Canada’s communications industry, consumers’ habits are ever-changing.

Canadian households continued to spend more on mobile and television services than on Internet and landline services. More and more Canadians are abandoning landline telephone service in favour of mobile service but some Canadians still solely rely on landline telephone service to communicate.

Discover how much Canadians are spending on services and how they are adapting to industry changes.

Communications Services Pricing in Canada

The prices of communication services continue to shift in correlation with Canadians’ appetite for certain services. A growing or weakening demand impacts prices as do other factors, such as one’s geographical location. Indeed, the price of a communication service in a remote community as opposed to a large metropolitan centre will vary. However, as made evident in this report, communication services prices were fairly uniform between rural communities and urban centres in 2017. Find additional findings of the kind in this new publication.

Communications Industry Overview: Telecommunications and Broadcasting

Telecommunications Overview

Canada’s telecommunications sector is one of the country’s biggest industry generating revenues of over $50 billion annually. This underscores the fact that Canadians are increasingly using Internet and mobile services.

This publication provides a glimpse into various aspects of telecommunications in Canada. It covers the fixed Internet sector and the wireless sector with a focus on revenue trends, the competitive landscape and key industry characteristics.

Broadcasting Overview

The broadcasting industry continues to experience a noteworthy transformation as consumers further embrace Internet-based broadcasting services. However, as made evident in this publication, old habits die hard. Even though Internet-based services are growing more popular, a great deal of Canadians still catch their shows on conventional television and tune in to their radio. In 2017, an average 94% of Canadians 18+ watched conventional TV and 88% of Canadians 18+ listened to radio in any given month. Although the revenues of radio services have been declining in recent years, the medium remains popular for millions of Canadians.

Radio

Despite major changes in media, the radio sector remains a relatively healthy industry. In 2017, private commercial with CBC radio stations generated $1.8 billion in revenues as millions continue to tune in. Indeed, the radio audience remains loyal to the 19th-century technology. In 2017, adults listened to about 15 hours a week and this, even with the rise of Internet-based audio services, which saw its revenues grow by almost 26 % from 2016 to 2017.

TV

The downward trend of conventional television continues as more and more Canadians turn towards streaming platforms. Similarly to the regulated broadcasting system, Internet-based video services are led by a few players. In 2017, the top 3 services, Netflix, iTunes and YouTube, generated more than half the total revenues. While many Canadians are embracing this new technology, there remains a minority who still capture over-the-air signals. In fact, about 7% of the population still rely on their antenna to watch the tube.