OTTAWA-GATINEAU – While more Canadians report consuming content online, traditional television and radio services continue to hold their own, according to the 2013 edition of the CRTC’s Communications Monitoring Report
The report, released Thursday, provides an overview of the Canadian communication system. In 2012, Canadians listened to an average of 17.5 hours of radio each week, compared to17.7 hours in the year before, and watched an average of 28.2 hours of television per week, down slightly from 28.5 hours. Collectively, they watched 931.3 million hours of television per week, 48.9% of which were Canadian programs.
At the same time, more than two out of four Canadians owned a smartphone and more than one out of four owned a tablet, the report continues. Canadians used these devices, as well as computers and laptops, to access programming on digital platforms.
Of the 33% of Canadians that watched Internet television, typical users watched three hours of per week, an increase from 2.8 hours in 2011. Six percent of Canadians watched programming on a tablet or smartphone, while 4% report watching television programming exclusively online.
Of the 20% of Canadians that streamed the signal of an AM or FM station over the Internet, 14% streamed audio content on a smartphone, 13% streamed a personalized Internet music service and 8% streamed audio on a tablet.
“It is interesting to note that Canadians’ habits are evolving”, said CRTC chair Jean-Pierre Blais, in a statement. “More Canadians than ever are watching and listening to content on their computers, smartphones and tablets, yet the vast majority of programming is still accessed through traditional television and radio services”.
Other highlights from the report include:
– Canadian families spent an average of $185 each month on communications services in 2012, compared to $181 the previous year, and consumed more wireless data and subscribed to Internet services featuring higher broadband speeds;
– Overall, Anglophones spent 20.1 hours per week online, while Francophones spent 13 hours per week online;
– The broadcasting industry contributed $3.4 billion to the creation and promotion of Canadian programming in 2012, an increase of $263 million from the previous year.
Wireless services
– The number of wireless subscribers rose by 1.8% from 27.4 million in 2011 to 27.9 million in 2012, with an average of two wireless subscriptions per household. Canadian families spent an average of $67 per month on wireless services, up from $61 the previous year;
– The number of Canadians that own a smartphone increased from 38% in 2011 to 51% in 2012;
– The three largest wireless companies accounted for 92% of all revenues, however, the smaller wireless companies increased their market share from 4% in 2011 to 5% in 2012;
– The number of Canadians that can access Long Term Evolution (LTE networks) jumped from 45% to 72%.
Internet service
– By the end of the year, 11 million (79%) of the 13.9 million households in Canada had an Internet subscription, a 3% increase from the prior year. Canadian families spent an average of $31 per month on Internet services, which was slightly more than the $30 they spent the previous year;
– In 2012, revenues generated from Internet services increased by 5.9%, or from $7.2 billion to $7.6 billion. Internet services accounted for 17% of all telecommunications revenues;
– There were more than 500 Internet service providers operating in Canada.
Television
– In 2012, Canadians could choose from 743 television services, including 468 English-language services, 141 French-language services and 133 services in other languages.
Radio
– In 2012, 1,156 radio services were offered to Canadians, including 878 English-language services, 246 French-language services and 36 services in other languages;
– 13% of Canadians subscribed to satellite radio.
Broadcasting distribution
– In 2012, 12 million Canadian households subscribed to television services offered by broadcasting distributors, an increase of 1% over the previous year. Of those subscribers, over 68% subscribed to cable services, 24% to satellite services and 8% to services that deliver television programming through phone lines (Internet Protocol television);
– Canadians had access to nearly 250 cable and satellite television providers;
– Eight percent of Canadians report neither subscribing to cable or satellite services nor watching over-the-air television stations.
Home telephone services
– The number of residential subscribers to a traditional telephone in their homes decreased by 2.1% to 11.9 million in 2012. During the same period, subscriptions to wireless services increased by 5.8 million.
– In 2012, Canadian families spent an average of $35 on home telephone service, which was less than the $37 they spent the previous year.
