A Call Out to Canadians from the public advocacy group Friends of Canadian Broadcasting
Posted January 24th, 2016 on Niagara At Large
Starting Monday, January 25th, the survival of local TV in Canada will be the focus of a public hearing convened by the CRTC, Canada’s broadcast regulator. 
This examination can’t come fast enough. Even though local TV is highly valued by viewers, as a sector it is bleeding red ink and has been for years. Since 2010, private conventional TV has seen revenues drop by approximately 25%.
A combination of factors has brought local TV to its knees including economic, technological and audience behavior changes affecting the industry as a whole, as well as removal of regulatory protections and public subsidies to support this valued and particularly vulnerable sector.
Without action from the CRTC at this hearing, the future of this neglected but loved sector looks bleak. Something has to give.
Ian Morrison, spokesperson for the watchdog group FRIENDS of Canadian Broadcasting will attend the hearing on Monday morning and will be available for comment on-site. Morrison is scheduled as the second witness on Tuesday, January 26th.
AT STAKE
For viewers, journalism and local stations, the stakes are extremely high.
Local Stations
- Independent (i.e. not owned by a vertically integrated company such as Bell or Rogers) stations serving small and medium-sized markets are the most vulnerable to failure.
- Near Term Prospects for Local TV in Canada, an economic forecast from broadcast consultants Nordicity and Peter Miller and submitted to the CRTC by FRIENDS, predicts that more than half of local stations in small and medium sized markets will fade to black by 2020 in the absence of action by the CRTC. These are markets where there is no local TV alternative.
- Bell Canada, owners of a network of 30 local “CTV2” stations has already advised the CRTC that it could close as many as 20 of its local stations by September 2017. And the Coalition of Small Market Independent Television Stations (SMITS), which represents independent TV stations in small and medium-sized markets has told the Commission that station closures are imminent.
Local journalism
The Nordicity/Miller forecast also found that:
- Almost half (910 of 2090) of the people who work to put news and other programs on the air at local stations in small and medium-sized markets will lose their jobs.
- Job loss balloons to 3490 when large market stations are included.
Local viewers
- In the absence of CRTC action, viewers in 20+ already underserved small markets in Canada will be affected by the closure of their station as early as 2017, according to the Nordicty/Miller study.
- Counting medium-sized markets, almost 30 communities are forecast to lose their local station.
- 100 hours of local programming weekly will be permanently lost including local news and information programs that are central to life in smaller Canadian communities.
About Us
Formed in 1985, FRIENDS of Canadian Broadcasting is an independent, Canada-wide, non-partisan voluntary organization supported by 180,000 households whose mission is to defend and enhance the quality and quantity of Canadian programming in the Canadian audio-visual system. FRIENDS is not affiliated with any broadcaster or political party.
For more on Friends of Canadian Broadcasting visit https://www.friends.ca/ ,
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