Hello.
I don't know about you, but to me, as you scan through your radio in your home or when you're driving--albeit carefully, with your eyes on the road--you don't even have to look at the dial. When it stops on CBC radio, you know you're on the public broadcaster. I think it's important to note too that around the world, our programming is acknowledged as some of the best anywhere. We're heard extensively around the world.
I wanted to set it up that way because I believe we are a cherished institution for many Canadians. We've heard, and I know many of you have heard, anecdotes about how relatives and friends talk about listening to some of this great programming, one in one part of the country, another in another part of the country. They say, “This makes me feel like I'm a Canadian.” It's a shared experience.
At its roots, English radio was built on a very strong foundation of local service. Our regional stations are there deliberately. Obviously, on a journalistic level, it's to explore the stories and issues of the community, but as well, on a cultural level, it's to expose and discover and showcase a wide array of artistic expression. What's unique about this is that it's always done from the perspective of the communities in which our stations live. Our network journalistic and cultural programs, which, as I said, are recognized internationally for excellence, are informed and nuanced by the work of those local stations. Our goal at radio each day is to provide the highest-quality public service radio programming we can--locally, nationally, and internationally.
I want to give you a quick purview of the scope and depth of CBC radio. I understand that some members on the committee are new, so give me a moment to tell you about our service.
We operate three networks. We have 37 stations across Canada, and news bureaus in 15 more. We produce 70,000 hours of original programs each year. We broadcast more than 725 live concert recordings. We program in English and in eight first nation languages across the north. As I said, local, and strengthening our connection to Canadians in their communities, remains our greatest focus. In the past few years we have moved more network production to the region. We've expanded local programming, starting most recently with the afternoon drive show--an extra hour--to reflect local traffic and listening needs.
We've also talked about what the role is of each of our three networks against this objective--to become more relevant to more people in more ways--because broadcasting is evolving very quickly. Radio One is a broad-based service, connecting Canadians to their communities, to the country and the world, through a broad mix of journalistic, cultural, and entertainment programming. Radio Two is our adult music service, and it has an emphasis on classical music, jazz, and higher arts. Radio Three is a contemporary music service for younger adults.
This drive for relevance that I've talked about is also taking us to new platforms, such as satellite, podcasting, and other digital delivery. We are developing now a new generation of listeners by being on the leading edge of new platforms. One example is with podcasting. This is a huge success for us and, I would say, for Canadian content. Each week we have 200,000 downloads, and these are largely from the feedback. These are new listeners who are discovering content that many of us listen to on the radio through other means.
Looking forward, we're working toward a vibrant Canadian radio service that continues to embrace programs defined by their creativity, depth, and intelligence. We see a radio service that is more celebratory of high-quality Canadian cultural and artistic expression. We will continue to pursue diversity as a core value. We envision traditional, over-the-air broadcast, combined with more on-demand content, to reach more Canadians, and one that expands its commitments to local communities across the country.
On that, I will end by telling you that means more stations. Six million English Canadians in urban centres across our country have no local service and no consistent conduit to our national airwaves. It is for us an unacceptable void in our service.
Richard.