Honourable members of the committee, my name is Glenn O'Farrell and I am the president and CEO of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters. Joining me here today is Susan Wheeler, the CAB's vice-president of policy and regulatory affairs.
First let me thank the committee for the opportunity to appear again before you to share our views on your investigation into the role of CBC and Radio-Canada. As you can imagine, this is an important process from the private broadcasters' perspective. It's one you've embarked on, and it's a discussion we need to have sooner rather than later.
In our view, any examination of the roles and activities of our public broadcaster must recognize three fundamental realities. First, both private and public broadcasters operate in a fragmented and very rapidly changing media environment characterized by new technologies and changing consumer habits. Second, a healthy Canadian broadcasting system needs strong and vital public and private components that are relevant to Canadians. Third, Canadians are entitled to accountable and transparent reporting of publicly administered funds and activities.
We urge the committee to invest the time and energy in your committee work to ensure that Canadians have a strong and properly funded public broadcaster that complements a vibrant and dynamic private broadcasting sector, providing premium content that successfully serves the needs of all Canadians.
The CBC and Radio-Canada face many of the same challenges as private broadcasters, including competition from unregulated media sources, expanding content platforms and, of course, increasing copyright payments.
Canadian private broadcasters are proud of the role they play in achieving the cultural policy objectives, as set out in the Broadcasting Act. A brief look at key audience numbers and program expenditures demonstrates the value that the private broadcasting sector brings to Canadians.
Private radio broadcasters account for approximately 88% of all radio listening. Our sector accounts for approximately 66% of total spending on Canadian television programming, and Canadians dedicate about 66% of their total viewing hours to privately-owned Canadian services. It follows that any review of the CBC/Radio-Canada mandate should be mindful of the importance of maintaining and fostering a strong Canadian private broadcasting sector,
In certain specific activities, CBC/Radio-Canada has been successful in implementing its public service mandate in a way that complements the private sector. Their radio networks, for example, provide a distinctive non-commercial public broadcasting service that complements the service provided by private radio broadcasters. However, the situation with respect to the CBC/Radio-Canada's television network does not reflect a similar or comparable complementary public broadcasting service. There are several issues that warrant review and discussion in this regard.
In our written submission, the CAB has provided four specific recommendations to address these issues.
First, CBC/Radio-Canada should be required to publicly report annually detailed information relating to its radio and television networks as well as its online services, rather than just providing the broadly aggregated information that it currently places on the public file.
Second, the government should further study the implications of CBC/Radio-Canada's reliance on advertising revenues to support its television services.
Third, CBC/Radio-Canada should focus its resources on regional and national programming, leaving television programming of purely local interest, namely local news and information, to the private television broadcasters operating in local markets across Canada.
Finally, in moving into new digital platforms such as the Internet, CBC/Radio-Canada must ensure that its focus and its resources remain on its core broadcasting services as the primary vehicles for the achievement of its mandate.
The CAB believes that the legislative mandate of CBC/Radio-Canada, as set out in the Broadcasting Act, remains appropriate.
I'll now turn it over to Susan Wheeler to address the core issue of our submission: accountability.
Susan.