OTTAWA-GATINEAU – Canada’s television service providers saw their overall revenues increase 1.5% in 2014 despite a dip in subscribers, according to the CRTC’s statistical and financial results for the industry released Thursday.
Broadcast Distribution 2009–2013: Cable, Multipoint Distribution Systems and Direct-to-Home said that combined revenues grew from $8.8 billion in 2013 to $8.9 billion in 2014, while subscribers remained relatively flat over the period, decreasing from 11.5 million to 11.4 million for the year ended August 31, 2014.
The revenues of cable and Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) service providers increased by a combined 3% from $6.3 billion in 2013 to $6.5 billion in 2014, while the number of subscribers held steady at 8.8 million. Growth was fuelled by IPTV, which added 29% more subscribers over the period and saw revenues increase by 39%, while the subscriptions and revenues of cable service providers decreased by 5.2% and 3.2%, respectively.
For their part, satellite television providers saw revenues decrease by 2.4% to $2.4 billion, while the number of subscribers dropped by 4.9% to just under 2.6 million.
Spending on content made by Canadians dropped from $477.7 million in 2013 to $474.9 million year-over-year, the report continued. Of this amount, $219.3 million was directed to the Canada Media Fund, $64.1 million to independent funds, and $151.6 million to cable-based community channels and other sources of local content. The companies employed a total of 29,028 people in 2014.
For the first time, the CRTC excluded information on Internet access, telephone services and other non-programming items from its report on cable and satellite companies, opting instead to publish a separate report on this data in the coming weeks.
Cable and IPTV companies
– Operating expenses for cable and IPTV companies increased by 7.6%, from $5.1 billion in 2013 to $5.5 billion 2014;
– The number of Canadian households that subscribed to a cable or IPTV company increased by 0.2% from 8.81 million to 8.83 million;
– The total number of terrestrial television distribution company employees rose by 1.3% from 26,852 to 27,188 people in 2014. Total employee earnings rose by 5.6% from $2.2 billion to $2.3 billion; and
– Cable and IPTV companies spent $2.5 billion on affiliation payments for pay and specialty services in 2014, up 7.8% compared to the $2.3 billion spent in 2013.
Satellite companies
– Operating expenses for satellite companies were essentially unchanged at $1.6 billion;
– The number of Canadian households that subscribed to a satellite company’s television service dropped 4.9% from 2.7 million to 2.6 million;
– Satellite companies employed 1,840 people in 2014, down from 1,973 in 2013. These companies spent $162 million on salaries in 2014, down from $183 million the previous year; and
– Satellite companies saw affiliation payments increase by 1.9% from $794 million in 2013 to $809 million in 2014.
