CBC Television’s advertising revenue dropped another 10% last year, according to the broadcaster's financial accounts, with management warning that the trend is likely to continue. Blacklock's Reporter says the CBC’s Annual Report to Parliament acknowledged a challenging future for traditional TV ads, as more Canadians shift to digital platforms.“We expect TV advertising revenue to continue to decline as TV audiences decrease,” the report stated. “Sustaining overall advertising revenue in the long term is dependent on digital advertising revenue.”In the past year, CBC’s TV ad revenue fell from $215.5 million to $194.7 million, marking a 9.6% drop. The network attributed this decline to “a softer TV advertising market” and ongoing shifts in viewing habits, particularly among younger Canadians. The broadcaster’s Corporate Plan, tabled in Parliament, projected no improvement in the near future, citing that younger audiences are increasingly turning to digital platforms rather than traditional television and radio.The CBC’s commercial revenue has taken a significant hit over the past decade, plummeting from $767.8 million annually to $493.5 million, a 36% decline. During the same period, federal subsidies for the public broadcaster have increased from $1 billion to $1.4 billion annually.The broadcaster’s loss of exclusive rights to Hockey Night in Canada in 2013 to Rogers Communications — under a $5.2 billion contract lasting until 2026 — has also had a significant impact on revenue. According to an internal Department of Canadian Heritage memo, losing the NHL broadcast deal cost CBC an estimated $2.1 billion over time, or about $175 million a year.Richard Stursberg, a former CBC vice-president, testified in 2014 before the Senate transport and communications committee that the loss of hockey affected not only direct profits but also broader advertising sales. “You not only lose the profits from hockey, you also lose your capacity to sell the rest of your advertising at reasonable prices,” Stursberg explained. “Hockey props up the rest of the advertising sales.”The CBC’s foray into radio advertising in 2013 was also short-lived. An attempt to bring in $24 million annually by lifting a 1975 ban on radio ads resulted in poor sales, generating only $1.4 million a year before the broadcaster returned to ad-free radio.While digital advertising is expected to grow, CBC's management acknowledged that overall commercial revenues remain under pressure due to fierce competition. “The decline in conventional TV audiences is challenging to predict,” the report noted, “but sustaining overall advertising revenue in the long term is dependent on digital revenue.”
