OTTAWA – CBC/Radio-Canada president and CEO Hubert Lacroix is striking back at the private media owners who he claims are trying to weaken the public broadcaster in order to better their own bottom lines.
In an open letter to the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage, Lacroix disputed the notion that challenges facing media in Canada are caused by the public broadcaster, and defended the Corp’s decision to carry online advertising.
Lacroix reminded the Committee that in addition to its parliamentary appropriation, CBC/Radio-Canada is expected to generate revenue, and noted that last year CBC/Radio-Canada earned $600 million in self-generated revenue of which $253.2M was advertising revenue. Of that amount, $25 million (10%) came from all digital advertising across CBC/Radio-Canada.
“To put that in context, total digital advertising in Canada generates over $4.6 billion a year, three quarters of which goes to Google, Facebook and Yellow Pages”, he wrote, quoting Internet Advertising Bureau data. “It is difficult to believe, as some media have suggested, that if only CBC/Radio-Canada was prevented from earning $25M, their problems would be solved.”
He also dismissed the argument that the Corp. is somehow “violating” the Broadcasting Act noting that the Act, written before the Internet, doesn’t specifically mention digital platforms.
“Our mandate is to serve Canadians”, Lacroix continued. “What should be clear by now is that the digital world is where Canadians are, and where they expect their broadcaster to be.”
