TV sector sees profits weighed down by rising operating expenses in 2014: StatCan

OTTAWA - The Canadian television broadcasting sector saw total operating revenues dip 0.3% to $7.6 billion in 2014, while profits before interest and taxes tumbled 22.0% to $836.8 million from $1.1 billion year-over-year, according to data released Tuesday by Statistics Canada.The decline in 2014 was attributable to a 3.2% increase in operating expenses to $6.7 billion. The higher expenses were due primarily to programming expenses, which rose 5.3% from $4.6 billion in 2013 to $4.8 billion in 2014.The private conventional television segment's share of revenues within the television broadcasting sector continued to shrink. At $1.8 billion in 2014, this segment accounted for 24.0% of the sector's revenues compared with 30.4% in 2010. Specialty television's share of the market continued...