(file photo/jpbroadcast.com) 

By Glenn Hicks

staying on air

Canada’s broadcasters seek more government help amid COVID pandemic

Aug 26, 2020 | 5:00 PM

Canada’s private broadcasters want more emergency assistance from the federal government and changes from the regulatory body – the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) – to help them get through the challenges they faced even before the additional dilemma of COVID-19.

The pandemic has resulted in a significant loss in advertising revenue which threatens jobs and the existence of many stations. Ottawa meanwhile says it is working to modernize the Broadcasting Act to protect communities and promote economic growth.

The Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB), wants what they’re calling a fair and sustainable future for the industry. Otherwise it said vital elements like news and information, community building initiatives, and support for businesses in markets across the country are at stake.

Jobs and local news at stake

A report commissioned by the CAB and conducted by a Winnipeg-based independent media economics firm, Communications Management Inc. (CMI), projects up to 200 TV and radio stations along with 2,000 jobs could be lost in the coming 18 months. Revenues are expected to plummet by $1 billion by the end of 2022.

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Rod Schween, is a director with the CAB and President of the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group, Canada’s largest private Western-based TV and radio company. He said smaller market stations in Western and Atlantic Canada will potentially be the most impacted, and listed some of the help that is needed.

“Some of the things we’ve looked at include expanding the federal government’s current advertising buy to ensure that makes it through to smaller markets, the potential for increasing emergency broadcaster funding, and the waiving of certain licensing fees which are due,” Schween told paNOW.

He added a lot of regulations governing broadcasting in Canada are antiquated. The CMI report cites the devastating impact of advertising competition from largely foreign-based digital media conglomerates like Google and Facebook and classifieds such as Craigslist.

“A lot of the regulations that broadcasters operate on are at least a decade old and of course the challenge of the internet has changed substantially in the last 10 years. So, we’re facing regulations that have not changed… and don’t take into account the current environment we operate in,” Schween said.

…the public loses not only the service that they want but that they’re entitled to – _{Carmela Laurignano, Evanov Communications Inc.}

The report said while the federal government’s COVID-19 measures such as CEWS (Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy) were helpful, they only covered part of local broadcasting’s revenue shortfall.

Community losses

Carmela Laurignano, the treasurer at the CAB and Vice-President of Evanov Communications Inc., which operates stations from Manitoba to Nova Scotia, said the industry is looking for another $100 million in relief funding by the end of the year. Also, she said possible tax breaks could help keep vital local news and information programming going. She noted local broadcasters have already been doing everything they can providing an essential service to communities and yet face having to be shut down because of the loss in advertising revenue.

“The double irony is the stations that could shut down are the ones that are needed the most — the little guys who operate in small markets that are standalone,” she explained. “What happens is if they shut down the public loses not only the service that they want but that they’re entitled to.”

The CMI report makes it clear “the continued reduction in the resources available for local journalism will have devastating effects on the country and Canadian storytelling.”

Laurignano said local news and information is vital for community.

“It is a public and essential service and is also critical to Canadian society and culture and offers vital information in life and death situations,” she said.

Feds promise modernization

In a statement to paNOW, Steven Guilbeault, minister of Canadian Heritage, acknowledged “Canadian broadcasters have been working around the clock to deliver news and information programming, while facing operational and financial challenges due to COVID-19.”

He noted the government assisted the industry with $25 million as part of its sector-wide Canadian Heritage COVID-19 emergency response, and $30 million would be freed as part of waived CRTC licensing fees for the 2020-21 fiscal year.

The statement added, in part:

We believe that a stronger, more competitive broadcasting system is essential to protect our communities, strengthen our sense of belonging and promote economic growth. That is why we are currently working towards modernizing the Broadcasting Act. More information will be shared in due course in this regard.

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Editor’s note: this story includes comment from the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group which operates paNOW.

glenn.hicks@jpbg.ca

On Twitter:@princealbertnow