Follow the Money: Who Paid for Canadian Television, 1990-2000?
Oct 23, 2001
This report highlights several financial trends in the Canadian broadcasting industry between 1990 and 2000.
- Federal funding for the CBC has declined, although government assistance for television programming in general has increased both absolutely and proportionally. However, it should be noted that much of the extra money in federal production funds is derived from mandated contributions from cable companies, which in turn come from subscribers.
- The production of Canadian programming by private conventional broadcasters has declined, even though these networks attract the largest audiences. Only part of this decline is attributable to the increase in production of Canadian programming by specialty channels, many of which are owned by conventional broadcasters.
- The budgets, number of productions and number of hours of Canadian programming produced by all sources all increased over the decade, but these increases have not translated into corresponding increases in exposure, especially during prime time.
Friends believes the high quality of Canadian programming should justify both increased investment and increased exhibition.
Click here to view PDF document (123KB)