Good Example Of Essay On The State Of Canada’s Television Industry

This brief essay provides an overview of the state of television broadcasting in Canada. Several components of this industry are reviewed, including developments in programming, audience composition, technology inroads, business and international initiatives.
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) is an independent public authority that regulates and supervises broadcasting and telecommunications in Canada. Its role in broadcasting “is to balance the interests of consumers, the creative community and distribution industries in implementing the public policy objectives established by Parliament” (“Canadian Culture”).
Canadian television employs almost 60,000 people working with $4 billion each year to develop content made by Canadians (“Let’s Talk TV: CRTC Announces Measures”). Last year pay-per-view and video-on-demand services spent the most ( $1.3 billion) followed by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation/Société Radio-Canada (CBC/SRC), private TV stations, satellite and cable companies and public and non-profit TV stations (“CRTC Issues 2014 Report”). The CRTC has launched pilot programs designed to provide flexibility and production assistance to improve the quality and availability of Canadian-produced television material for domestic and international distribution (“Let’s Talk TV: CRTC Announces Measures”).
The data from the 2014 CRTC report “appears to show that Canadians are maintaining their subscriptions to traditional television services, even as they are making greater use of Internet-based services” (Jean-Pierre Blais, CRTC Chairman, qtd. in “CRTC Issues 2014 Report”). Specifically, average weekly viewing of traditional television stations remained constant (about 28 hours each week) (“CRTC Issues 2014 Report”).
The trend in Canada is to increase use of emerging technology, especially the Internet. Overall television viewing time for the key 18-to-34-year-old Canadian demographic showed almost a four percent drop from 2012 to 2013. Canadians in 2013 increased their television viewing over multiple platforms. Both English and French adult Canadians increased Internet TV viewing and Netflix rentals in the same period. Average weekly viewing of Internet television increased to almost two hours for Canadians 18 or older. Internet TV adoption by English and French viewers increased noticeably with over 40 percent of adults reported using Internet television in 2013. Both groups doubled their use of tablets to view Internet TV. Mobile phone Internet TV usage also increased about 85 percent from 2012 to 2013 while Netflix adoption showed modest increases. The CRTC reports slightly reduced subscriptions (to about 85 percent) for cable, satellite and IPTV services in 2012-2013 (“CRTC Issues 2014 Report”).
In 2013, overall Canadian broadcast sector revenues increased slightly over the previous year to $17.1 billion. However, overall television income dropped slightly to approximately $6.50 billion. While private television station revenue dropped 4.6 percent, pay, specialty, pay-per-view and on-demand services revenue increased over three percent to $4.09 billion, and distribution systems such as cable, satellite and Internet protocol television (IPTV) had a 2.7 percent increase over 2012 to $9 billion in 2013 (“CRTC Issues 2014 Report”).
This brief overview of the current state of television broadcasting in Canada shows profound changes in all components of the industry. Programming investments continue to increase. Audiences continue to watch conventional TV stations but have increased use of Internet TV delivery systems. Canadians have embraced new technology and delivery systems. Business investments in television have increased. International television programming initiatives are underway. The principal objective is to ensure Canadians are watching content they want on devices and at times they choose (“Let’s Talk TV: CRTC Proposes Measures”).
According to Jean-Pierre Blais, Chairman of the CRTC, “Canada’s television system now has a forward-looking and flexible framework that will enable it to adapt within a rapidly changing environment. . . .Canadians will have access to compelling television content, the freedom to choose the content that meets their needs and tools to navigate a dynamic marketplace” (“Let’s Talk TV: CRTC Proposes Measures”).

Works Cited

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“CRTC Issues 2014 Report on State of Canadian Broadcasting Industry.” news.gc.ca. 04
Sept 2014. Web. 10 April 2015. <http://news.gc.ca/web/article-en.do?nid=881199>.
“Let’s Talk TV: CRTC Proposes Measures to Empower Canadian TV Viewers.” news.gc.ca.
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