By Caroline Paquet, pictured above, president of Cogeco Media
In today’s world where everything is moving too fast, we often take for granted things that seem unchangeable. It’s only when they’re gone that we realize we should have acted while there was still time. Commercial radio stations across the country, particularly those operating in the regions, could be facing this situation if nothing is done to help them.
Cogeco Media is 21 stations in the various regions of Québec: Montréal, Québec City, Trois-Rivières, Sherbrooke, Gatineau, Saguenay, Lac St-Jean, St-Jérôme and Lachute. It’s also more than 650 employees across the province who produce local news and information and cultural content every day. And it’s over 4.5 million listeners every week. We are a major player in Québec’s radio ecosystem.
This ecosystem is going through extremely difficult times. We have a clear example as BCE Inc.’s Bell Media announced this week that it is closing six radio stations. What’s more, Bell Media is going to a “single newsroom” structure, which will no doubt mean less local content.
Why is it so difficult in radio? Advertisers are abandoning local media and shifting their spending to foreign digital platforms, which are not subject to the same regulations and taxation systems. Add to this a significant regulatory burden on commercial radio, as well as government policies that support print media through tax incentives but exclude commercial radio, therefore creating taxation inequity and a competitive imbalance within the media industry itself.
There could be major consequences in seeing radio stations disappear, not only for our culture and French language, but also, to some extent, for the health of our democracy and our economic development. If broadcasters are essential to the vitality of Québec’s cultural sector, they are just as vital in terms of news and information. Whether it is broadcasting the music of local artists or inviting newsmakers on air, radio is a showcase that is essential and accessible to all.
Yes, governments are taking steps to remedy this situation. In this regard, I welcome the recent adoption of Bill C-11 (the “Online Streaming Act”). But I must also sound a note of caution: bringing foreign digital platforms into the Canadian regulatory arena is all well and good, but it’s only one way of looking at things.
Much more remains to be done. We need to lighten the rigid and cumbersome regulatory environment and abolish the inequities that broadcasters face, so that they can operate more freely. This will enable them to better compete with foreign media platforms and face the new realities of the market.
We unreservedly support Bill C-18 (the “Online News Act”), whose adoption is crucial to ensuring the economic viability and sustainability of Canada’s news media. This law will force the web giants to negotiate agreements with all Canadian media to compensate them for using their content. Recently, representatives of Meta, the parent company of Facebook, expressed their desire to see broadcasters, including the radio industry, excluded from the legislation’s reach. This demand is unacceptable. Not only is it another attempt by the web giants to dilute the impact of the legislation and circumvent their obligations, it is also an effort to establish a totally arbitrary information hierarchy based on distribution technology. This is totally indefensible. Bill C-18 makes no such distinction and encompasses all news, whether coming from a print, audio or audiovisual medium. And so it must remain.
Like many radio industry players, we at Cogeco Media are currently making significant investments in upgrading our radio stations’ technology and are rolling out other strategic initiatives to accelerate our digital transformation and better meet our audiences’ new needs and listening habits. But this transformation alone will not be enough to ensure that our industry is fully competitive with the web giants.
Finally, we must mention the crucial role played by government advertising investment policies. With its policy of prioritizing digital advertising for its own investments, the federal government is driving the exodus of advertising revenue to foreign digital platforms. The latest available data show that the federal government invests as much in advertising on Facebook as it does in all radio stations in Canada combined. This practice is inconsistent with the government’s position, which calls for a better balance of power in Canada’s media.
Radio is at a crossroads. It must adapt its delivery, its content and its marketing. Fairness is a priority if radio is to continue to offer credible content that meets listeners’ needs for entertainment, information and guidance.
We must act. It is the responsibility of all stakeholders to ensure that local media survive and remain viable. Cogeco Media is committed to doing just that with its 21 radio stations across Québec, and to assuring that radio is here to stay.
Cartt accepts commentary from informed observers of the telecommunications and broadcasting industry. The views reflected in these pieces do not necessarily reflect the views of Cartt. Pieces for consideration should be sent to editorial@cartt.ca.
