OTTAWA-GATINEAU – Canadians’ penchant for watching television programming across multiple platforms increased the overall average number of weekly television viewing hours, but cut into time spent on traditional TV viewing, according to the 2014 edition of the CRTC’s Communications Monitoring Report.
The report, released Thursday, provides an overview of the Canadian communication industry for the year ended August 31, 2013. This year, the CRTC will release the report in three parts, with data related to telecommunications, as well as information about consumer spending on communications services, pricing and international comparisons, to be published in the coming weeks.
Canadians had access to 644 television services authorized to broadcast in 2013, including 374 English-language services, 84 French-language services and 186 services in other languages.
In 2013, the time spent watching traditional television each week decreased slightly across all age groups, the report found. The greatest decline occurred among 18-to-34-year-olds, where average viewing dropped by 3.9%, from 22.8 hours in 2012 to 21.9 hours in 2013.
Adult Canadians supplemented this viewing by watching 1.9 hours of television content over the Internet per week, an increase from 1.3 hours in 2012. In particular, Netflix adoption among English speakers grew from 21% to 29% and for French speakers increased from 5% to 7%.
The percentage of households subscribing to cable, satellite and Internet Protocol television (IPTV) services decreased slightly from 85.6%, or 11.93 million households, to 84.9%, or 11.92 million households.
The total number of authorized radio services was 1,174, including 885 English-language services, 244 French-language services and 45 services in other languages
Canadians are also listening to audio content on a variety of devices. On average, Canadians listened to 19.3 hours of radio per week in 2013, down slightly from 19.6 hours in 2012. Twenty percent of Canadians streamed the signal of an AM or FM station online and 18% accessed personalized online music streaming services.
In 2013, total broadcast revenues increased 1.3% to reach $17.1 billion. The sector invested $2.7 billion in the creation of new television content made by Canadians, as well as $52 million in the creation of Canadian audio content and to support Canadian artists.
“The 2014 Communications Monitoring Report provides timely information on the broadcasting sector, particularly as we prepare our Let’s Talk TV public hearing to discuss the future of television beginning on September 8”, said CRTC chairman Jean-Pierre Blais, in a statement. “The data appears to show that Canadians are maintaining their subscriptions to traditional television services, even as they are making greater use of Internet-based services. We look forward to gathering more input during the hearing to ensure that Canadian television is able to adapt to changing viewing habits and technologies.”
Other highlights from the report include:
Television
– The adoption of Internet TV among English speakers increased from 38% to 42%. Internet TV adoption for French speakers increased from 34% to 39%. Nationally, over 40% of adults used Internet TV in 2013.
– The percentage of English speakers that watched Internet TV on a tablet doubled from 6% in 2012 to 12% in 2013. Among French speakers, watching Internet TV on a tablet more than doubled, going from 4% in 2012 to 10% in 2013.
– Access of Internet TV via mobile phone for English speakers increased from 7% in 2012 to 12% in 2013. Mobile-phone Internet TV access among French speakers increased from 4% to 7%.
– Overall television revenues decreased 0.2%, from $6.51 billion in 2012 to $6.50 billion in 2013.
Radio
– Growth of satellite radio subscription was essentially static. Among English speakers, adoption increased slightly from 16% in 2012 to 17% in 2013. Among French speakers, 7% subscribed, the same as in 2012.
– Revenues for private commercial radio stations increased by 0.1%, going from $1.62 billion in 2012 to $1.623 billion in 2013.
