TORONTO – CBC English Services announced where, exactly, the money will be saved and employees let go which were originally made public yesterday.
On the English side, its portion will be approximately $85 million out of the 2009/10 budget which will affect 393 positions.
These will involve:
*Planned reductions in prime time entertainment, variety and factual entertainment programming, including the number of episodes of programs such as The Border, Being Erica, Little Mosque on the Prairie and others;
* Discontinuation of the daytime Living programs;
* Reduction of spending on children’s television programs;
* Reduction or elimination of some sports programming, including international figure skating, skiing, world aquatics, world athletics and some soccer programs;
* Reduction of staff at current affairs and consumer affairs programs the Fifth Estate and Marketplace;
* CBC News overall will see a reduction of approximately $7 million and 80 positions;
* (Recently announced) cancellation of daytime program Fashion File and hiatus of Steven and Chris);
* On CBC Radio, discontinuation of network programs The Point, Out Front, The Inside Track, In the Key of Charles and the weekend edition of The Signal;
* Reduction to one-hour of regional radio noontime programs;
* Reduction of live music recordings and radio drama;
* Closure of one-person bureaus in La Ronge, SK, and Thompson, MB;
* Reduced staffing in: Windsor, Thunder Bay, Sudbury, Quebec City, Moncton, Saint John, Sydney, Corner Brook, Labrador, Gander and Grand Falls, NL;
* Reductions in staffing at both the network and regional levels for all platforms.
Despite all this, “CBC will maintain a commitment to its non-commercial radio service, Canadian television programming in prime time, its regional programming network, its industry-leading broadcast news operations and internet platforms,” reads the press release.
"Our objective throughout this very difficult exercise has been to protect as best we can the programs and services we provide to Canadians, as well as our most valuable resource, the CBC employees who provide them," said Richard Stursberg, executive vice-president of English Services.
"That being said, we recognize that the reality is that we will provide less to Canadians: fewer programs and hours of programming, fewer songs written and performed, less debate and discussion of public issues and fewer Canadian stories being told."
Stursberg noted that despite last fall’s huge decline in ad revenues, CBC Television, CBC Radio and CBC.ca have been experiencing “considerable success” with their respective audiences. Every week, about 20 million Canadians, representing about 80% of the country’s English-speaking population, turn to CBC for news, information and entertainment.
Of course, as with all other media companies, the CBC is struggling to monetize that audience.
"Overall, our strategic priorities remain," Stursberg continued, in the release. "We want to continue to increase audiences in both television and radio. We will continue our renewal of CBC News. We will continue to be firmly rooted in the regions and we will make investments in the new platforms required for the future. We’ll do this within the framework of our available resources."
“In addition to programming changes, English Services will be introducing proportional reductions in both spending and staffing throughout its administrative infrastructure. The reduction of jobs will be achieved through a combination of voluntary retirements, elimination of vacancies and separations in accordance with collective agreements and in close consultation with CBC unions,” the release outlines.
