CRTC Denies CBC Bid To Continue Selling Ads On Radio 2, Ici Musique

No More Radio Ads

The CRTC has shot down the CBC's application to continue to sell ads on the CBC RADIO 2 and ICI MUSIQUE radio networks past TODAY (8/31).  

The agency had permitted the two government-owned networks to broadcast a limited amount of paid national advertising -- four minutes per hour -- but limited the permission to three years, expiring TODAY, with the only continuing exceptions being shows only available on a sponsored basis or election ads as required by law. The CBC applied for an additional two year term, claiming that it had met the CRTC's four-pronged test for continuing, namely that the ads did not have an "undue negative impact" on ad sales markets, that the ads were not "unduly disruptive" to listeners, that the CBC's level of investment had been maintained, and that the service provided by the two networks had not been diminished. 

The network also claimed that revenues were "far below projections," amounting to less than 1% of revenues for commercial radio in 2014 and 2015 with little or no growth projected, but added that it needed those revenues because parliamentary appropriations for upcoming years will cover only about 2/3 of the network's budget.  

But while the CRTC agreed with three of the four points, it voiced concerns that the CBC has not maintained its level of investment in radio, with operating expenses declining. Concluding that the lower expenses mean that the CBC had not maintained its investment in radio, and in light of commitments from the TRUDEAU government that federal funding will be increased over the next five years, the CRTC denied the extension and the CBC will have to cease running ads on the two networks. 

CBC RADIO ONE and PREMIÈRE, the company's primary radio networks in English and French, were not part of the commercial experiment; the CBC's television networks, which operate as commercial ventures, are likewise not affected by the ruling.

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