Communications Monitoring Report 2018

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Radio Sector

Infographic 8.1

  • The 712 private commercial radio stations reporting in 2017 generated $1.5 billion in revenues (down 1.9% from 2016) and a profit before interest and taxes (PBIT) margin of 18.7%.
  • In 2017, the 67 Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) radio stations reported a total of $295 million in revenues, up 1.6% over the previous year, and an EBITDA margin of 6.1%.
  • Indigenous radio stations revenues reached $17.5 million in 2017, growing 16.8% over the previous year, while the reported PBIT margin stood at -1.5%.
  • Revenues from Internet-based audio services were estimated at $383 million in 2017, a 25.9% increase from 2016.
  • On average, Canadians 18+ listened to 15 hours of radio per week in 2017, a decrease of 1.7% from 2016.
  • There were 109 radio station licensees in 2017, 19 of which reported revenues over $10 million.
  • Contributions to Canadian content development (CCD) initiatives totaled $43.5 million in 2017, a 6.7% decrease from 2016.
  • In 2017, a total of 9 radio ownership transactions resulted in $30 million in tangible benefits.
Source: CRTC data collection, Ovum, CRTC internal database, Numeris, Aggregate returns

In 2017, private commercial and CBC radio stations reported $1.8 billion in revenues, the vast majority of which (84%) were for private commercial radio stations. In comparison, Internet-based audio services generated estimated revenues of $383 million in the same year, which is equal to 21% of the revenues reported by traditional radio stations (private commercial and CBC combined).

In 2017, on average, Canadians 18+ tuned in to 15 hours of radio content per week. This weekly tuning was supplemented, on average, by an additional 7.2 hours of audio streaming content, for a total of 22.2 hours of audio listening each week. These levels are the highest observed for the period from 2013 to 2017.

In 2017, the five largest radio operators, operating 282 commercial radio stations, reported 65% of total commercial radio revenues.

i. Audience measurement

The average weekly number of hours that Canadians 18+ spent listening to traditional radio decreased slightly from 15.2 in 2016 to 15.0 in 2017, while the average weekly number of hours spent listening to streamed audio services grew from 5.2 in 2016 to 7.2 in 2017, a 38% increase. As such, the average weekly number of hours spent listening to all audio services increased from 20.4 in 2016 to 22.2 in 2017, the highest level of listening during the 2013-2017 period.

This demonstrates that Canadians are listening to increased amounts of audio content. Further, notwithstanding a shift from traditional radio, it suggests that the hours of listening to streamed audio content are complimentary to the hours of listening to traditional radio content.

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Source: Numeris Radio Diary, Fall surveys, Mo-Su 5a-1a, 18+, total Canada.
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Note 1: Fall 2016 Online Radio Diary (ORD) introduced

Note 2: MTM, Fall 2013-2017 (respondents: Canadians 18+). MTM data includes all types of audio streaming including AM/FM radio using Internet.

In 2017, the vast majority of Canadians were still tuning in to traditional radio. When asked about their use of radio and audio services, 88% of Canadians 18+ reported having listened to the radio in any given month. While streaming music videos on YouTube and listening to personalized online music services continued their rise in popularity in 2017, reaching 59% and 32%, respectively, of Canadians 18+, both types of online services have yet to reach as many Canadians as traditional radio. However, these online services surpass satellite radio in terms of penetration. In 2017, 17% of Canadians reported having a satellite radio subscription, an increase of 1% percentage point from 2016.

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Source: MTM, Fall 2016-2017 (respondents: Canadians 18+)
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Past month refers to the 30 days prior to when the respondent is surveyed.

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Source: MTM, Fall 2013-2017 (respondents: Canadians 18+)
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ii. Canadian content development

Canadian Content Development (CCD) contributions are financial contributions made by radio broadcasters to support the development and promotion of Canadian musical and spoken word content for broadcast. In 2017, CCD contributions, including tangible benefits contributions, totaled $43.5 million, a 6.74% decrease from the previous year. There are three sources of CCD contributions: new stations during their first licence terms (4.5% of total CCD contributions), stations for which the licences have been renewed (49.1% of total CCD contributions), and stations for which there has been a change in ownership and effective control (46.4% of total CCD contributions).

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Source: CRTC data collection
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In 2017, combined, the Radio Starmaker and RadioStar funds were the leading recipients of CCD contributions, receiving a total of $9.9 million (representing 23% of total CCD contributions). Next were local initiatives ($8.9 million) and FACTOR ($8.8 million). Together, these three recipients received 63% of all CCD contributions in 2017. MUSICACTION, received approximately $3.4 million in CCD contributions, the equivalent of 39% of the funds that FACTOR received.

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Source: CRTC data collection
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iii. Tangible benefits

In 2017, the Commission approved 9 ownership transactions for both English- and French-language services resulting in total tangible benefits of $30 million.

Table 8.1 Number of radio ownership transactions, the value of those transactions ($ million) and the resulting tangible benefits ($ million), by language of service, for the period 1 January 2013 to 31 December 2017
Language of services Metric 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 Total
English Number of transactions 4 9 6 4 8 31
Value of transaction ($M) 756.7 257.7 55.1 1.4 260.4 1,331.3
Tangible benefits ($M) 52 15.5 4 0.8 15.6 87.9
French Number of transactions 1 0 6 4 1 12
Value of transactions ($M) 357.7 0 54.6 9.4 239.5 661.2
Tangible benefits ($M) 25 0 3.9 0.6 14.4 43.9

Sources: CRTC decisions and administrative approvals

The 2013 BCE/Astral ownership transaction (see Broadcasting Decision 2013-310), resulted in $71.5 million in tangible benefits. Approximately $46.5 million of this amount was committed to English-language initiatives and $25 million to French-language initiatives. In its decision, the Commission directed BCE to divest itself of 10 radio services. These divestitures are expected to generate not less than $11 million in additional tangible benefit commitments from other purchasers. In December 2013, the Commission approved the sale of 3 radio stations (CFQX-FM Selkirk and CHIQ-FM Winnipeg, Manitoba, and CKCE-FM Calgary, Alberta) to the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group Limited Partnership (Pattison). Pattison has committed $1.8 million in tangible benefits initiatives.

The 2017 Sirius XM Canada transaction (see Broadcasting Decisions 2017-114 and 2018-91) resulted in $28.7 million in tangible benefits. In its decisions, the Commission mandated equal distribution of $27.1 million between English- and French-language funds. The Commission also directed Sirius XM Canada to contribute the remaining $1.6 million of the tangible benefits package to the Broadcast Participation Fund. Given the breakdown of the tangible benefits contributions between English- and French-language recipients, the Sirius XM transaction is listed under the English and French sections, and its value is equally divided in each section.

iv. Commercial Radio

Infographic 8.2

Infographic 8.2 1Infographic 8.2 2
Source: CRTC data collection, Numeris
Long Description
2017 Commercial radio (total) AM radio stations FM radio stations English-language radio stations French-language radio stations Third-language radio stations
Number of reporting stations 712 121 591 589 98 25
Revenues $1,520 M $273 M $1,247 M $1,214 M $258 M $48 M
2016-2017 Revenue growth -1.9% -4.0% -1.5% -2.3% -1.2% 2.7%
Local advertising revenues (% of total revenues) 64% 73% 63% 64% 59% 88%
National advertising revenues (% of total revenues) 34% 25% 36% 34% 39% 5%
PBIT margin 18.7% 6.0% 21.4% 18.7% 18.9% 16.1%
Tuning share 93.9% 15.8% 78.1% 73.8% 20.2% N/A

In 2017, 712 reporting commercial radio stations reported $1.5 billion in revenues, a 1.9% decrease from 2016. This decrease is slightly higher than the annual average 1.6% decrease in revenues from 2013 to 2017. However, the overall profitability margin of those commercial radio stations remained steady, at 18.7%, compared to 18.6% for 2016.

The 591 reporting FM commercial stations reported revenues of $1.2 billion in 2017, equal to 82% of all commercial radio revenues. FM stations surpassed AM stations in terms of profitably, reporting a PBIT margin of 21.4%, compared to 6.0% for AM stations.

FM commercial stations relied less on local advertising revenues and more on national advertising revenues than AM stations. Whereas FM stations generated 63% of their revenues from local advertising and 36% from national advertising, AM stations generated 73% of their revenues from local advertising and 25% from national advertising.

Although the vast majority of revenues were generated by English language radio stations, profitability in terms of PBIT margins was somewhat similar between English-, French- and third-language stations. What sets third-language radio stations apart from English- and French-language radio stations is revenue composition: third-language stations generated 88% of their revenues from local advertising, compared to 64% and 59% for English- and French-language stations, respectively. In addition, third-language stations are mainly concentrated in major markets, and have a limited presence outside of those markets.

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Source: CRTC data collection
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Percentage of total revenues of third-language commercial radio stations Number of stations
Vancouver 34% 5
Toronto 45% 10
Montreal 7% 4
Others 14% 6

Market composition

In 2017, the five largest radio ownership groups in Canada garnered 65% of total commercial radio revenues. The two largest groups, BCE (105 stations) and Rogers (54 stations) garnered close to 40% of total radio revenues from 2014 to 2017.

Infographic 8.3

Infographic 8.3 1Infographic 8.3 2Infographic 8.3 3
Source: Public disclosure of aggregate annual returns for large ownership groups, Numeris
Long Description
2017 BCE Rogers Corus Newcap Cogeco Total
Number of reporting stations 105 54 39 71 13 282
Revenues $373 M $220 M $115 M $159 M $105 M $970 M
Share of total commercial radio revenues 25% 14% 8% 10% 7% 64%
English language station revenues $280 M $220 M $115 M $159 M n/a $773 M
French language station revenues $93 M - - - n/a $93 M
Tuning share in the English-language market 18% 13% 12% 9% n/a 52%
Tuning share in the French-language market 23% - - - 32% 54%

For 2017, in addition to reporting the majority of the revenues of the radio sector, these 5 ownership groups garnered the majority of tuning in both official-language markets. In the English-language market, they together held 55% of the tuning, with BCE leading at 18%, followed by Rogers at 13% and Corus at 12%. In the French-language market, Cogeco and BCE together held 54% of weekly average tuning hours in 2017, with Cogeco leading at 32%, followed by BCE at 23%.

Formats

In 2017, radio tuning in the English language market was more fragmented than in the French language market.

The top 3 formats in the English-language market garnered approximately 44% of the tuning share, with talk radio (CBC Radio One) and news/talk formats leading with 22%, followed by the Country and Top 40 formats, each garnering approximately 11% of the tuning share.

The top 3 formats in the French-language market garnered approximately 73% of the tuning share, with the talk formats (News/talk and Radio Canada première combined) leading with 37%, followed by the Hot adult contemporary format at 29% and Mainstream Top 40/CHR at 7%.

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Source: Numeris Radio Diary, 2017 Fall survey, Mo-Su 5a-1a, 12+.
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Source: Numeris Radio Diary, 2017 Fall survey, Mo-Su 5a-1a, 12+.
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Although CBC/SRC radio stations are not considered a format, they have been included as they hold an important radio tuning share.

v. CBC Radio

Infographic 8.4

Infographic 8.4
Source: CRTC data collection, Numeris
Long Description
2017 All CBC radio stations CBC AM radio stations CBC FM radio stations
Number of reporting stations 67 14 53
Revenues $295 M $50 M $245 M
2016-2017 Revenue growth 1.6% -1.8% 2.3%
Parliamentary appropriations (% of total revenues) 97% 98% 96%
EBITDA margin 6.1 6.0 6.1
Tuning share 16.2% n/a n/a

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) is Canada’s public broadcaster. Its 14 AM stations and 53 FM stations reported revenues of $295 million in 2017, an increase of 1.6% from 2016. This growth is mainly attributed to a similar rise in parliamentary appropriations which represent 97% of the CBC’s revenues.

Beginning in 2014, national advertising sales for CBC stations have represented a modest source of income. At its height in 2015, it represented 0.5% of the public broadcaster’s total revenues. In 2017, the CBC ceased receiving revenues from national advertising sales (notwithstanding revenues of $82,000).

CBC Radio One and its French counterpart ICI Radio-Canada Premiere are popular talk radio services. It is the most popular English-language radio format with 13% of English tuning shares while the French-language service has 17% of French audience tuning shares. Together, they represent 13.1% of all weekly average radio tuning hours. These talk radio formats generate 80.5% of CBC’s tuning across the four networks.

vi. Non-Commercial Radio

Infographic 8.5

Infographic 8.5 1Infographic 8.5 2Infographic 8.5 3
Source: CRTC data collection, Numeris
Long Description
2017 Campus Community Indigenous Religious Total
Number of reporting stations 48 112 32 29 221
Revenues $11.0M $33.9M $17.5M $9.3M $71.8M
Average revenues per station $229,000 $303,000 $548,000 $321,000 $325,000
2016-2017 Revenue growth -0.6% -4.5% 16.8% -3.1% 0.8%
2013-2017 Average annual revenue growth rate 4.5% 1.2% 2.3% 4.9% 2.4%
Advertising revenues (% of total revenues) 7% 46% 28% 32% 34%
Government/Corporate grants (% of total revenues) 16% 18% 19% 5% 16%
PBIT margin 3.3% 4.3% -1.5% 5.0% 2.8%
Tuning share 0.3% 1.7% 0.3% 0.3% 2.7%

Non-commercial radio stations play an important role in the communities they serve and in the broadcasting sector as a whole. In 2017, there were 221 reporting non-commercial radio stations, falling under four categories: campus, community, Indigenous and religious. Total reported revenues of these stations in 2017 was $71.8 million, with community stations garnering almost half of those revenues (47%), while Indigenous stations garnered almost one quarter (24%).

Over 50% of Indigenous radio station revenues are derived from alternative sources and fundraising activities. In 2017, advertising revenues represented 28% of total revenues (89% of which were from local advertising) and government grants represented 19% of total revenues. Based on average revenues per station, of all non-commercial radio stations, Indigenous radios generate the most revenues per station. Conversely, their profitability margin is the lowest of all non-commercial radio stations.

Campus radio station revenues are mainly derived from alternative sources and fundraising activities. In 2017, government grants represented 16% of those stations’ revenues, while advertising revenues represented 7% (96% of which were from local advertising).

Although their mandates are similar, community radio stations differ from campus radio stations in regard to revenue sources. In 2017, advertising revenues represented 46% of community station revenues, with 79% coming from local advertising. Government grants represented 18% of community station revenues.

As is the case for other non-commercial radio stations, in 2017, alternative sources of funding were an important revenue source for religious radio stations (54% of total revenues). Advertising revenues represented 32% of total revenues (98% of which were from local advertising). Syndicated production sales represent 9% and government grants represented 5% of religious radio station revenues.

From 2013 to 2017, of all types of non-commercial radio stations, religious radio stations reported the highest average annual growth in revenues (4.9%), followed by campus radio stations (4.5%), and Indigenous radio stations (2.3%).

Revenues

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Source: CRTC data collection
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Although the number of stations decreased slightly from 2013 to 2017 (from 228 to 221 stations), revenues increased on average by 2.4% per year over the same period. Total revenues for each type of non-commercial radio station in 2017 were similar to that for the period 2013-2017, with community radio stations having the greatest share of total non-commercial radio revenues (community radio stations, 47%; campus radio stations, 15%; Indigenous radio stations, 24%, and religious radio stations, 13%).

Revenue sources for non-commercial radio stations range from air-time advertisement sales, syndicated production, government/corporate grants, and other, non-radio related revenues. In 2017, revenues from government/corporate grants represented just over 16% of total revenues. These contributions decreased at a rate of 4.1% each year from 2013 to 2017. Revenues from syndicated productions represented a negligible amount of total revenues.

Advertising revenues represented approximately 34% of total revenues. Advertising revenues can be broken down based on local and national advertising revenues. Non-commercial radio stations share the distinction of being hyperlocal, with 84% of their total advertising revenues coming from local advertising revenues (compared to 65% for commercial radio stations).

vii. Internet-Based Audio Services

Internet-based audio services are a growing means by which Canadians access audio content. Different types of services are available, which can be categorized under two main types of business model:

  • Download-based audio services are offerings that allow consumers to download audio files in exchange for a one-time fee (for example, iTunes).
  • Streaming audio services refer to Internet-based services that allow users to stream audio content that either contains adverting, or that is done in exchange for a subscription fee (for example, Spotify).

Infographic 8.6

Infographic 8.6
Source: Revenue estimates from Ovum
Long Description
Download-based audio services Streaming audio services Total
2017 Estimated revenues in Canada $109 M $274 M $383 M
2016-2017 revenue growth -19% 61% 25.9%
Share of the estimated revenues of Internet-based audio services 28% 72% 100%

Estimated revenues in Canada for Internet-based audio services grew by 25.9% from 2016 to 2017, reaching $383 million. Compared to the $1.8 billion in revenues of Commercial and CBC radio stations, Internet-based audio services still only represent 21% of the regulated radio sector revenues.

Whereas estimated revenues of streaming audio services increased, those of download-based audio services declined. In 2017, streaming audio services garnered 72% of the estimated Internet-based revenues in 2017, while download-based services garnered 28%.

In 2013, the revenues of Internet-based audio services were driven by download-based audio services, which garnered 87% of estimated revenues. Since then, download-related revenues declined on average by 18.8% each year, while revenues garnered by streaming-based services rapidly increased over the same period, with an average year-over-year growth of 78.4%. Streaming services garnered estimated revenues of $274 million in 2017, suggesting that Canadians are shifting from downloading audio content to streaming such content.

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Source: Revenue estimates from Ovum
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viii. Availability of radio services and other audio services

The following table lists the type and number of radio services and audio services that were authorized to broadcast in Canada in 2016 and 2017. The list includes commercial AM and FM radio stations, non-commercial AM and FM radio stations, satellite subscription radio services, specialty audio services and pay audio services.

In 2017, 1,121 radio services and audio services were authorized to broadcast in Canada, which includes 9 more over-the-air radio services compared to 2016. Private commercial radio stations accounted for almost two thirds of all radio services and audio services in Canada, while community stations, the second most numerous type of radio service, represented 12% of all radio services and audio services in 2017.

Table 8.2 Type and number of radio services and audio services authorized to broadcast in Canada, by language of broadcast
Type of station English-language French-language Third-language All languages
2016 2017 2016 2017 2016 2017 2016 2017
CBC Radio/Radio Canada 53 53 35 35 0 0 88 88
CBC/SRC Radio network licenses 2 2 2 2 0 0 4 4
Private commercial AM stations 105 104 9 6 14 18 128 128
Private commercial FM stations 484 481 93 93 20 23 597 597
Private commercial AM and FM network licences 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 1
Religious (music and spoken word) 45 47 4 6 1 1 50 54
Community 59 61 65 68 3 3 127 132
Community Developmental 2 3 1 1 0 0 3 4
Campus Community-based 42 42 5 5 0 0 47 47
Campus Instructional 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Indigenous stations 43 43 5 5 3 3 51 51
Other (tourist/traffic, etc.) 3 7 2 2 0 0 5 9
Total number of over-the-air radio services 838 843 222 224 41 48 1,101 1,115
Satellite subscription radio service 2 2 0 0 0 0 2 2
Specialty audio (commercial/non-profit, regional/national) 2 2 0 0 5 5 7 7
Pay audio 0 0 0 0 2 2 2 2
Total number of radio and audio services 842 847 222 224 48 55 1,112 1,126

Source: CRTC internal database, as of 31 December 2017

This table shows the number of radio services and audio services approved by the Commission. Not all are necessarily in operation. “Over-the-air radio services” exclude radiocommunication distribution undertakings, rebroadcasting transmitters, and radio services that are exempt from licensing requirements.

Table 8.3 Number of public/community-based and private radio services authorized to broadcast over-the-air in Canada, by province and language of broadcast, 2017
Province/territory English-language French-language Other Languages Total
Public/community Private Public/community Private Public/community Private Public/community Private
British Columbia 35 104 3 0 1 8 39 112
Alberta 12 103 5 0 0 5 17 108
Saskatchewan 14 43 2 0 0 0 16 43
Manitoba 10 34 3 0 0 1 13 35
Ontario 68 212 14 4 2 17 84 233
Quebec 16 7 64 90 2 7 82 104
New Brunswick 8 25 13 5 0 0 21 30
Nova Scotia 16 31 6 0 0 1 22 32
Prince Edward Island 1 5 1 0 0 0 2 5
Newfoundland and Labrador 13 18 1 0 0 0 14 18
The North 10 5 2 0 0 0 12 5
Canada 203 587 114 99 5 39 322 725

Source: CRTC internal database

This table shows the number of radio services approved by the Commission. Non-commercial, tourist information and emergency radio services, as well as rebroadcasting transmitters, are excluded. Other languages include Indigenous-language services and third-language services. All are not necessarily in operation.

The North refers to Northwest Territories, Nunavut and Yukon.

Table 8.4 Number of new over-the-air radio stations licensed categorized by language, licence category, type of service, and licensing process
Category Sub-category 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 Total
Language English-language 20 24 10 10 6 70
French-language 5 2 3 2 2 14
Third-language 0 3 1 3 0 7
Total 25 29 14 15 8 91
Licence category Commercial 12 20 7 4 0 43
Community 7 6 2 6 2 23
Campus 0 1 1 0 0 2
Indigenous 0 2 1 5 6 14
Other 6 0 3 0 0 9
Total 25 29 14 15 8 91
Type Stand-alone digital 0 0 0 0 0 0
Digital radio 0 0 0 0 0 0
AM frequency 0 2 1 2 1 6
FM frequency 25 27 13 13 7 85
AM to FM conversions (included in FM) (5) (0) (2) (0) (1) (8)
Total 25 29 14 15 8 91
Process Competitive 0 5 1 2 8 16
Non-competitive 25 24 13 13 0 75
Total 25 29 14 15 8 91

Source: CRTC decisions issued from 1 January 2013 to 31 December 2017

This table shows the number of stations licensed by language, licence category, type of service, and the process used in granting the licence.

Under “Licence category,” ”Other” includes not-for-profit stations, such as those operated in English and in French by the CBC/SRC, and Environment Canada.

ix. Programming of High Standard

The Broadcasting Act sets out that programming provided by broadcasting undertakings should be of high standard. In addition to the CRTC, two bodies deal with complaints relating to the programming provided by broadcasters – the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council (CBSC) and Advertising Standards Canada (ASC) The CRTC also deals with issues that are outside the parameters of the codes administered by the CBSC.

Canadian Broadcast Standards Council

The CBSC is an independent organization created by the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) to administer codes established by Canada’s private broadcasters. The CBSC’s membership includes more than 790 private-sector radio and television stations, specialty services, pay services, and networks across Canada. Membership includes broadcasters broadcasting in English, French, and third languages. For more information, visit www.cbsc.ca.

The CBSC administers specific codes of broadcast conduct and provides a means of recourse for members of the public regarding the application of the standards set out in the following codes:

  • the Canadian Association of Broadcasters Code of Ethics;
  • the CAB’s CAB Violence Code;
  • the CAB’s Equitable Portrayal Code; and
  • the Radio Television Digital News Association of Canada Code of Journalistic Ethics.

Advertising Standards Canada

ASC is a national, not-for-profit advertising self-regulatory body that responds to complaints by consumers and special interest groups regarding advertising with respect to all media subject to the Canadian Code of Advertising Standards, the principal instrument of advertising self-regulation. ASC also undertakes pre-clearance functions in five industry categories, which consist of reviewing advertisements based on applicable legislation, regulations, and/or industry codes and guidelines. Additional information on ASC can be found at: www.adstandards.com/en/

Table 8.5 Number of radio-related contacts received by the CRTC, by type of issue
Period CRTC – policies/decisions Quality of service/delivery Programming Loudness Other Total
2013-2014 1,535 146 1,024 11 197 2,913
2014-2015 1,184 89 865 11 136 2,285
2015-2016 1,027 157 515 14 90 1,803
2016-2017 774 248 480 7 90 1,599

Source: CRTC correspondence tracking system

For the 12-month period from 1 September to 31 August.

Table 8.6 Number of radio complaints received and number of radio complaints referred to the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council (CBSC), by subject matter
Subject Matter 2012-2013 2013-2014 2014-2015 2015-2016 2016-2017
Complaints received Referrals to the CBSC Complaints received Referrals to the CBSC Complaints received Referrals to the CBSC Complaints received Referrals to the CBSC Complaints received Referrals to the CBSC
Abusive comment 47 22 57 15 43 3 58 4 24 1
Adult content 8 1 6 1 11 2 5 0 1 0
Alcohol advertising 3 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Gender portrayal 0 0 4 1 4 0 0 0 0 0
Offensive comment 573 449 432 130 414 117 198 33 304 108
Offensive language 42 12 46 13 38 7 33 4 16 2
Total 673 484 548 160 510 129 294 41 345 111

Source: CRTC correspondence tracking system

For the 12-month period from 1 September to 31 August.

Together, the CRTC and the CBSC receive and address a range of complaints regarding radio and subscription radio services. This table shows the number of complaints received by the CRTC—and referred to the CBSC—regarding various issues across diverse market sectors for the 2012-2013 through 2016-2017. No complaints were received for satellite radio from 2012-2013 to 2016-2017.

The CRTC’s correspondence tracking system counts multiple communications from the same client regarding the same complaint as separate units. Consequently, the actual number of complaints received is likely to be slightly lower than the figures indicated.

The category “Abusive comment” includes complaints alleging hatred or contempt incited on air against one of the groups identified in the Television Broadcasting Regulations, 1987 or the Specialty Services Regulations, 1990. (In 2017, the Specialty Services Regulations, 1990, were replaced by the Discretionary Services Regulations.)

The category “Offensive comment” includes complaints alleging offensive humour, or other comments that do not fall under the “abusive comment” provision in CRTC regulations.

The category “Offensive language” includes complaints alleging offensive language in song lyrics or in spoken word programming.

Table 8.7 Radio complaints handled by the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council in 2017 by language and national origin
Category Sub-category Radio Subscription radio (satellite) Total
Language of Broadcast of program English 205 3 208
French 1459 0 1459
Third languages 2 0 2
Other 5 0 5
Total 1671 3 1674
National origin of program Canadian 1654 2 1656
Foreign 8 0 8
Other 9 1 10
Total 1671 3 1674

Source: CBSC, 2016-2017 annual report

The category “Other” in each case refers to complaints for which there was not enough information for the CBSC to determine either the language of broadcast or the origin of the program.

Table 8.8 Complaints handled by Advertising Standards Canada
Statistic 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Total number of complaints 1,310 1,274 1,774 1,639 1,808
Complaints about radio advertisements 84 64 94 82 81
Radio complaints as percentage of total (%) 6% 5% 5% 5% 4%

Source: ASC complaint reports

This table shows the number of complaints handled by ASC relating to advertisements on radio as a percentage of the total number of complaints handled. In 2017, 4% of those complaints related to radio advertisements.

x. Methodology

Media Technology Monitoring (MTM)

MTM measures Canadians’ media technology adoption and use at two points in time to monitor changes in media penetration and use over the year. Telephone interviews are conducted with a regionally representative sample of Canadians who have a landline telephone service and those who rely solely on cell phone service. The fall survey includes 8,000 Canadian adults (4,000 Anglophones and 4,000 Francophones). Of those 8,000 respondents, 2,976 also completed an online survey introduced in the fall. An independent sample of 4,000 Canadians (2,000 Anglophones and 2,000 Francophones) is surveyed in the spring.

www.mtm-otm.ca

The CMR uses data collected from the fall survey unless stated otherwise.

Ovum

Download-based audio services

Revenues of download-based audio services are estimated based on publicly available data such as company annual reports in addition to the country’s other media revenues such as physical music album sales and live music attendance revenues. These estimates are further refined using data about online audio subscriptions in the market as a benchmark.

In some cases where information is unavailable, Ovum based its revenue estimations on the service provider’s market shares and revenues in a country similar to the one subject to analysis.

Streaming audio services

Streaming audio services comprise different business models where different methodologies apply. The total revenues of Subscription-based digital streaming, advertisement-based digital streaming, and video (audio) streams are added to determine total streaming audio services revenues.

  • Subscription-based digital streaming services (such as Spotify) revenues are estimated based on publicly available data on the number of subscribers and services rates/pricing such as company annual reports and news articles. These are then used to estimate an average monthly subscription revenue per subscriber considering all available service plans from a given provider and distributed on the estimated number of subscribers. The estimated average monthly subscription revenue per subscriber is then multiplied by the subscriber estimate.
  • Advertisement-based digital streaming and video streams revenues are estimated based on publicly available data about traffic, advertising load and pricing as well as video traffic and digital advertising forecasts. These estimates are further refined based on each entity’s performance in other video segments.

Numeris

Audience measurement data is important not only to industry stakeholders, who use the data to help sell air time to advertisers, but also to the CRTC, which uses the data to assess the effectiveness of its policies by understanding the reach of programming across the country and across various demographics.

  • Audience measurement data is compiled by Numeris through the use of portable people meters (electronic devices that records listenership data) and diary surveys (written logs of listenership). National figures are based on diary surveys only. All Numeris-related data for previous years have been restated to align with methodological changes.
  • Audience measurement data is based on Numeris radio diary data from the fall surveys across Canada, Monday to Sunday from 5 am to 1am, with participants aged 12 or older.

NEW TO FALL 2016: Online Radio Diary (ORD) was implemented in all radio diary marketsFootnote 1. For the first time, participating households were provided the choice of completing the day diary by using either the traditional paper form or the new online form. The introduction of ORD affects the data collection methodology and therefore, fall 2016 results may not be comparable to previous years with high precision.

Contents of the Report

  1. Communications Services in Canadian Households: Subscriptions and Expenditures 2012-2016
  2. Communications Services Pricing in Canada
  3. Communications Industry Overview: Telecommunications and Broadcasting
  4. Telecommunications Overview
  5. Retail Fixed Internet Sector and Broadband Availability
  6. Retail Mobile Sector
  7. Broadcasting Overview
  8. Radio Sector
  9. Television Sector
  10. Broadcasting Distribution Sector

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Data from this report is available on Open Data in .xlsx and .csv:
Report Section Open Data
Communications Services in Canadian Households: Subscriptions and Expenditures 2012-2016 Households data
Communications Services Pricing in Canada Pricing data
Communications Industry Overview: Telecommunications and Broadcasting Industry overview data
Telecommunications Overview Telecommunications Overview data
Retail Fixed Internet Sector and Broadband Availability Internet data
Retail Mobile Sector Mobile data
Broadcasting Overview Broadcasting Data
Radio Sector
Television Sector
Broadcasting Distribution
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