OTTAWA – The CBC will eliminate 650 jobs, including 475 this fiscal year, as it struggles to swallow the $115 million in budget cuts announced as part of last week’s federal budget.
President and CEO Hubert Lacroix told staff Wednesday afternoon that it will seek to increase self-generated revenues by adding advertising and sponsorship to its national radio networks CBC Radio 2 and Espace musique (assuming it can get CRTC approval on that), while CBC Radio One and Premiere Chaine will stay ad-free for now, leasing existing real estate, and by divesting of non-core assets, including digital specialty channel Bold.
It will also accelerate the shutdown of its over-the-air analog television transmitters, and pare back Radio Canada International by eliminating its news service and closing its Russian and Brazilian departments in order to concentrate on the five languages most spoken by its audiences: French, English, Spanish, Arabic, and Mandarin.
While CBC/Radio-Canada's plan submitted to the government was designed specifically to protect its five-year Strategy 2015, the Corporation said that it will also need to scale back its local service extensions, digital TV services, the number and/or budget of signature events it produces, and cross-cultural programming projects. Given that the feds have also eliminated the $60 million top-up funding the CBC has come to rely upon, Lacroix noted that CBC executives have targeted $200 million worth of cuts in expenditures.
The ‘pubcaster also said that it will delay the launch of four of its new local radio stations previously announced as part of its Local Service Extension initiative: Kamloops will be pushed back from a spring launch until Fall 2012; the Waterloo Region and London debut will move to late Fall 2012 or Winter 2013; and Saskatoon will launch in the Summer of 2013. The launch of its new, local digital service in Hamilton will not be affected.
"Clearly, in light of this reduction, we won't be able to move as far or as fast on certain elements of our 2015 plan as we might have liked," Lacroix said in a statement. "We are, however, still very focused on our goals of becoming more distinctly Canadian, more regional, and more digital, which remain vital to the fulfillment of our role as Canada's public broadcaster in a rapidly changing environment.
"Our job is to keep CBC/Radio-Canada whole and to continue to deliver on our mandate, and that's what these measures will ensure. Despite the magnitude of the reductions we're facing, CBC/Radio-Canada will continue to bring you news and entertainment programming of the highest quality – you have the right to expect that from your public broadcaster."
The CBC added a page to its website, called ‘Same Strategy, Different Path’ that elaborates on its plans.
While committing to the 27 digital over-the-air TV transmitters it has now in service, the CBC will completely shut down its 620 other TV transmitters by this summer, noting that its research shows just 1.7% of Canadians get their CBC off-air anyway. This list shows the transmitters the CBC will keep and this interactive map shows the vast swaths of the country which will no longer be able to get CBC TV or Radio-Canada television for free over the air.
The public broadcaster did not make any specific announcements on TV programs that face the axe, or which will face some trimming, noting that those announcements will be made next week.
– Lesley Hunter
