OTTAWA and GATINEAU – Canada’s private conventional broadcasters recorded their highest ever revenue total in the 2007 broadcast year (ended August 31st) at $2.17 billion, says the CRTC.
That number was up slightly from 2006 while expenses were held in check, too, which meant that profits before interest and taxes rose to $113 million, up 24% over the 2006 total. As well, the PBIT margin rose from 4.24% to 5.2% during the same period. However, these totals are pretty skinny and remained below those reported between 2003 and 2005 when it was closer to 15%.
Overall, revenues from the sale of local advertising posted a modest growth of 3.3%, coming in at $387.9 million, while national advertising sales remained consistent with the previous year and stood at $1.5 billion.
The figures come from the Commission’s annual release of financial data for the Canadian TV broadcast industry,
Broadcasters’ operating expenses held steady at $2 billion, and the acquisition and production of programming continued to constitute the majority of expenses. From 2006 to 2007, Canadian programming expenditures decreased by 1.2%, going from $623.7 million to $616 million, including local news production. Of this amount, $143.5 million was paid to independent producers to acquire Canadian programming. Private broadcasters also spent $721.9 million on foreign programming, which represented an increase of 4.9% over the $688.3 million spent on popular U.S. prime time fare in 2006.
Spending on Canadian programming included $74.2 million for drama, $103.5 million for general interest programming, $324.8 million for news programs, $60.6 million for other information programs, $23.8 million for musical and variety shows, $8.6 million for sports programs, and $12.2 million for game shows.
In 2007, private conventional television stations employed 7,873 people (or 2,233 less than the CBC alone) and paid a total of $594.6 million in salaries. In comparison, this sector employed 8,197 people and paid a total of $593.6 million in salaries in 2006.
Of course, for those making Canadian shows, these figures are bad news. "Canada’s broadcasters are spending seven times more on buying foreign drama than they spend on Canadian drama," said Stephen Waddell, the national executive director of actors union ACTRA. "They are now spending more than half a billion dollars on U.S. Hollywood shows, as they annually bid up the prices against each other at the L.A. Screenings. Canada’s public airwaves are filled with hundreds of millions of dollars worth of U.S.-made drama programs and Canadian audiences, creators, and culture pay the price.
"With revenues stable at more than $2 billion, Canada’s private broadcasters can afford to do more for Canadian drama. If you’re going to call yourself a Canadian broadcaster and make significant revenue on our public airwaves, you need to broadcast Canadian drama. We need more Canada on TV," said Richard Hardacre, ACTRA national president.
