“…the end of CBC as we know it”.
Without the anchor of hockey exclusivity, and a Saturday night package that routinely drew audiences that doubled and tripled the CBC’s viewership for even its strongest non-hockey programs, the public broadcaster is about to see its reach fall off a cliff.
Pollspotting: Would you like to see Don Cherry stay with Hockey Night in Canada?
UPDATE
The Prime Minister’s Office has slammed the door on any bailout for the CBC to make up for lost advertising revenue from hockey broadcasts.
“CBC already receives significant taxpayer funds,” PMO spokesman Stephen Lecce wrote in an e-mail. “We believe they can operate within their existing budget.”
I wish you were right, but I think it just turned the Ceeb into an even bigger money pit.
It can’t happen soon enough.
The CBC has been a boondoggle for decades. I really laughed yesterday when I found out that HNIC doesn’t even do the production for the games. It is contracted out! CBC hangs on garnering no revenue for the new deal, they simply get to keep taxpayers tuned into the CBC channel and will bombard them with their adverts for other programs. Other programs that are almost all produced in the USA. CBC is a typical feel good effort by progressives who actually think their regular line of political BS they put out is actually watched.
My knee jerk demand was that the Harper government sell off the CBC when they achieved majority. I suppose the politics of the issue is that they cannot. Perhaps insiders realized that a slow death was inevitable. In actual fact what does the CBC have to sell? Yes, a $1 Billion office building in TO and numerous Limos I guess. As the ultimate demise approaches I can just imagine how all those hard working staffers are busy feathering their nests in anticipation. To early for jumpers down at ‘Red Square’ but certainly a future threat. As tough as things are at Sun TV I suggest a collection to buy Ezra a hardhat as he is known to crash the CBC doors now and again.
“The Stage Three or Four question, though, is whether the CBC will, as a viable entity, outlast this deal.”
It isn’t a viable entity now. And the CBC WILL last as long as the Country, with nervous nellie politicians too frightened to diss the Toronto-Montreal beautiful people who are paid lavish salaries to make faces on television at our expense.
I’m still waiting for a politician to demand a public audit,with publication of the “stars” salaries.
Welcome to the real world, Friends of CBC.
I second everything that CT said!
Can’t wait for CBC viewership to fall off the cliff. Couldn’t come soon enough, let’s just hope that the gov’t has the balls to start doing what should have been done a long time ago…stop the funding!
Great blog by the way and very refreshing from too many conservative blogs that just love to cry and whine over the left media’s handouts. Nice to see Kate and SDA continuing intellectual and effective challenges to that.
For years, the CBC audience has been clamoring for more coverage of PC, non-violent sports. This gives them the opportunity. 24*7 Curling events from around the world. Extreme Dressage. Ice-fishing tournaments. Riveting documentaries on the leasing of fast running Negroes from Kenya and Jamaica, joint-rolling skateboarders, and the role of camel-toes in figure skating.
Go CBC!
I was fairly sure the cons INCREASED funding in 2012. Is that accurate?
Sounds like good news to me, and an effective rebuttal to all those who have been demanding that Harper kill the CBC. You think maybe he knew this was coming down the pike, or even encouraged Rogers to buy the hockey rights away from the Ceeb? Take away the CBC’s single largest revenue stream, and take away all those viewers that only flip to CBC when hockey is on, and the Communist Broadcasting Corp withers away.
CBC’s ratings are going drop, precipitously, too. Which means that the price they can charge for advertising time on other programs will also drop. It’s not just the hockey revenue they loose; all their other ad revenue gets degraded, too.
Can’t happen soon enough.
Well, more camel toes would be nice!
Right you are DM …. and we need the CRTC to be purged of the paid shills who work against the interests of the Canadian Public.
It should be an interesting couple of years leading up to the 2015 election.
This deal will hamper the CBC revenue. They will need more tax dollars to maintain the status quo. The Conservatives will not be their first (or 2nd,or 3rd ) choice to ask for a bumo in their purse.
The CBC will ramp up their support for the Liberals, and their denigration of the Conservative party. I strongly suspect that they will be hyping a merger of the left once it becomes clear to them that Justin is incapable of winning even a minority. They will spend like the drunkest sailor to make it happen,knowing that if they fail, the debts won’t matter.
It is the likely path for them to follow. They don’t want to lose their silver spoons,and they don’t want anyone to take a close look at their books.
” bumo ” should be bump
If it weren’t for Murdoch Mysteries and the occasional Republic of Doyle and Rick Mercer show, I’d never watch CBC. I just haven’t got the stamina to put up with The National long enough to get to Rex Murphy (I visit their website for that instead).
This is not simply a matter of disliking the CBC,* it’s an indication that there are so many other choices out there now, particularly on satellite HD.
* And anyway, their programming obviously isn’t aimed at people like me anyway.
I ‘spects CBC can now take the money they saved on hockey programming and create 5 or 6 more endlessly lame shows that few watch – just like most of their schedule. A short term sugar rush. Looks like Murdock Mysteries is their last remaning hope – until they CBCisize it too.
“It will have to fundamentally rethink its business model”
In the real world … yes. However, here in Canada, not so much. Demand and receive an increase in the subsidy and life goes on. The only ones who suffer are the taxpayers. When you’re getting a billion plus dollars a year handout, business models aren’t really that pressing a matter.
Stage Two questions. What will the shows look like?
ANS: “Little Mosque on the Prairie” only with more taxpayer dollars required.
CT,
“My knee jerk demand was that the Harper government sell off the CBC…”
Ha, and in what world do you see the vote-driven PMSH taking the political hit for that decision? Certainly not the world where he championed major changes to a corrupted senate, and…well….we are all aware how darn good he did at that.
champ,
I posted numbers here only yesterday showing how Harper’s government has significantly increased the size of bureaucracy under his reign. The responses to these clear numbers were shallowly partisan and reactionary, basically in denial of reality. It was as if a bloated bureaucracy is A-OK, as long as it’s the conservatives doing it.
Anyways, in this case and because I remember my pleasure in hearing it, the government did actually CUT the CBC’s budget a year or so ago by about 10%. Probably because they needed money to buy votes elsewhere.
Where, please?
Apropos the CBC, I just emailed my MP with the following message:
Attention Dave Mackenzie, Former Woodstock Ontario Police Chief and current Conservative MP for Oxford County Ontario.
Hi Dave,
AS we both know, the current health care regime run by bureaucrats in Canada has the effect of rationing health care services, but more particularly, hip and knee replacement which is a major concern for aging Canadian “baby boomers”.
There is of course a way out Dave and the key is a “Made in Canada” solution and the solution lies in Osoyoos British Columbia on First Nations Land.
Chief Clarence Louie’s Band in Osoyoos is the ideal location for a WORLD CLASS and “FOR PROFIT” MRI, CATSCAN, HIP & KNEE REPLACEMENT HOSPITAL, in order to take ALL comers by Canadian sanctioned medical professionals, providing service for patients from around the WORLD including Canadians willing to pay for IMMEDIATE and WORLD CLASS attention!
Dave, as a POLICE Chief you did not have the power base, to which you now have access.
Can you see the benefit derived from such a health service in Canada and on First Nation soil?
First Nations bootstrapping their own!
Waiting times for Canadians Knee & hip replacements in Canadian Hospitals would shorten very quickly
A two-for one deal.
Former CMA head DR. Brian Day, I suspect will get on Board for such a Hospital.
But whom in our current Administration will act Dave?
Who will dare to “Bell the CANADIAN, FOR PROFIT Hip & Knee replacement cat?”
Rona Ambrose?
Lisa Raitt?
Diane Ablonczy?
Diane Finley?
Leona Aglukkaq?
Gail Shea?
Shelly Glover?
Candice Bergen?
MIchelle Rempel?
Alice Wong?
Lynne Yelich?
Kellie Leitch?
And where does the PM stand on aiding the aged Canadians with worn out aching knees and hips??
I AM
Joe Molnar
snip
Woodstock, Ontario
n4v 1a8
snip
Post Script:
Dave, I just spoke to someone at the Osoyoos First nations Band Office, but was not able to speak with Chief Clarence Louie at the time.
I am also seeking a private sponsor for a mobile domicile (modest motor-home) while I walk across Canada with my “Property Rights” petition in hand, on my God given aching knees.
J.
Hot damn! This news was a ray of sunshine on a grey November day that had the first major snow of the season roll into eastern Ontario. Beginning next fall, CBC loses half of its advertising revenue. That’s gonna hurt big time. It is very unlikely that the Conservatives will shed any tears for the Mother Corp’s plight; they will NOT top up their coffers with more tax dollars. And why should they? The CBC hates Conservatives and Conservatives loathe the CBC.
So, if it wants to survive, the CBC will have to get much leaner and very quickly. Look for huge lay-offs. It could try for revenue growth by producing programs that people actually want to watch. That, however, would require new management and a corporate cultural shift of earthquake magnitude. Maybe the government will relieve the CBC of its public service mandate so it can privatize (assuming anyone would want it). Or maybe the CBC will just fade away, unlamented, save for the Friends of Canadian Broadcasting. Oh, what interesting times are looming.
I hope that Don Cherry leaves HNIC, on his own. He is getting up there in the years and losing Mr.Cherry would only hurt the CBC.
I’m also quite sure that Mr. Rogers would be happy to give Don an expanded spot without the PC filter in place.
I can’t help wonder if predictions of CBCs demise are a bit premature.
Why, I’m sure that as I’m typing this, the freethinkers in CBC’s production department are working on fresh, riveting programming: Little Mosque in the Arctic; The Mohammed Mysteries; How high’s the AGW-induced water Momma; and for the kiddies, Mr. Dressup comes out of the Closet.
This is a complete misunderstanding of what is going to happen.
Rogers will own HNIC. The CBC will only be the network used for Saturday broadcasts and the finals and some playoff games. It will be guaranteed this for four years where it pays nothing to the NHL and gets nothing from Rogers but gets only the the over the air ad revenues.
This is being done only because Rogers currently does not have as big a broadcast network channel in place – roughly their cable channels only reach half the sets that CBC does.
But that is going to chance rapidly over the next four years as the Rogers CITY tv assets are expanded. Then four years from now the CBC will be dropped. And the ad revenue will cease.
I posted numbers here only yesterday showing how Harper’s government has significantly increased the size of bureaucracy under his reign. The responses to these clear numbers were shallowly partisan and reactionary, basically in denial of reality. It was as if a bloated bureaucracy is A-OK, as long as it’s the conservatives doing it.
Strange, the way I remember your rant yesterday, you were soundly thrashed by actual data refuting your assertions.
Shallow, partisan, reactionary, indeed.
Good stuff Jamie. You gave me my laugh for the day.
Gord, this has been coming for more than three years. “Encouraged to buy” had nothing to do with it. The contract lapsed and it went up for auction, which process has been going on for at least two years. Of course Harper knew it; everyone knew it who follows sports business.
I said in this forum at least a couple of years ago that the CBC was done. HNIC accounts for at least half of CBC’s total advertising revenue. There was absolutely no way that it had the cash resources to bid with the big guys. It couldn’t possibly meet the $8.5 billion that Rogers ponied up. The only relevant question was whether it would be Rogers or TSN or maybe BellMedia was going to get the rights.
And yes it’s a good deal for the NHL. It gets revenue certainty for a decade.
As to CBC carrying HNIC for four years, that’s just a sop to retain TV audience while Rogers shifts over time to a new broadcast format and lets them keep Ron and Don for the time being.
JMD is absolutely right. The CBC is about to take a huge cash flow hit starting right now. No way to avoid it, and I expect the pink slips and program cancelations to start in the new year. And losing HNIC will also likely mean rating slips and hence ad revenue drops for other programming as well. JMD is mistaken about only one thing; the CBC has a lot of asset in terms of its bandwidth. But it’s only worth anything if you sell it.
Jamie, dead wrong. The producers can dream up whatever content they like, but it’s all about advertising revenue. And the CBC just lost billions in future revenues. Half the salaries of the producer geeks that dream up new and supposedly wonderful content was paid by HNIC. And what if they do? CBC comes just about dead last in every broadcast market, and without HNIC, their CanCon requirements are going to kill them. They’ve got nothing else that generates that kind of viewing audience.
My final point is this for all you impatient ones. There’s no need for endless clamouring to de-fund the CBC. Why should Harper publicly stick in the shiv when Rogers or any of the other big media moguls was going to do it for him? The CBC was done because, like an over-leveraged bank, it had too great a dependency on one solitary revenue source.
Give Grapes his Order of Canada (which he most richly deserves) and retire him. It’s been a great run but time has caught up with him.
The cashflow hit will come until four years from now.
Only quibble with you, cgh, is that the CBC’s bandwidth is ‘valuable’. Um, where? Anyone with a marginal business plan can get on cable and satellite, and make a tiny profit. Why shell out for airwaves that very few people tune in to?
Note that I say this as someone who dropped Rogers years ago, and watched whatever TV I did watch over the air with a digital antenna. The US channels have jumped on digital much more than Canadian ones; Buffalo’s NBC affiliate (channel 2) has a 2.1 Sports only channel, 2.2 Old sitcoms, 2.3 Old movies, etc. There’s tons of bandwidth available, and only the CRTC/Dept of Ind keep it expensive.
cgh;
I believe TSN is a subsidiary of Bell Media.
CBC contracts the production of HNIC and now Rogers takes that over. It will now cost the CBC $200 mil per year for the HNIC feed. Rogers gets the commercial revenue. CBC gets to pump their other shows and keeps Canadians tuned onto the CBC network. We will see how long that lasts as Sportsnet gets up to speed.
It will get ugly in the trenches as TSN and CBC duke it out for the Brier.
CBC will martial all forces for the colossal fight in 2015. I am afraid an ally in that endeavor is BCE/TSN which already takes less than subtle shots at the Harper government on BNN.
One thing about CBC. It can’t be sold. A buyer would inherit the unions which would guarantee a loss and that is the law. It has to be sold piece meal.
It is interesting how a Conservative government chooses to spend a $ billion plus on bad TV than on health care or reducing the deficit. The CBC had a place as a pioneer but when there are hundreds of channels available, let er die.
David,
Here are the government’s own numbers on federal employees, going back 10 years. They exclude, military, RCMP and overseas posts.
2003-242,737 2004-244,158 2005-243,971
2006-248,932 2007-254,622 2008-263,114
2009-274,370 2010-282,955 2011-282,352
2012-278,092 2013-forecast 262,817(in other words, meaningless today but I include it for full transparency)
Even considering his first two terms were minorities, the numbers are quite remarkable. That is remarkable if you are a real fiscal conservative.
For context, this quote was from the link that spurred me to highlight the topic…
” As is made clear by everything from campaign donations to the IRS jihad, the bureaucracy is the Left, and the Left is the bureaucracy. Elections will be held, politicians will come and go, but if you expand the power of the bureaucracy, you expand the power of the Left……”
CT,
Didn’t intend to come across as disagreeing with you, because I support your sentiments. With a couple years of conservative majority left, if we don’t take some actions now, when will our next opportunity come? Are we supposed to wait another decade for another PM too timid to act on his conservative ideals?
Sorry to sound alarmist but I don’t think the west has that long until JT’s fave communist country mows us down.
David,
Here’s the actual numbers from Wiki which include the number of federal employees as a percentage of Canada’s population.
The federal work force has shown a drop most years under Harper as a percent of population.
More importantly, it has not grown. Quite a feat in today’s world.
It would be interesting to know if it’s the only G7 country with this trend.
Year-Size of Civil Service- national pop- % of national pop
1970- 198,000- 21,500,000- 0.92%
1975- 273,000- 23,400,000- 1.2%
1983- 251,000- 25,367,000- 0.99%
1986- 217,000- 26,101,000- 0.83%
2008- 263,000- 32,248,000- 0.82%
2009- 274,000- 33,894,000- 0.81%
2010- 283,000- 34,149,200- 0.83%
2011- 282,352- 34,483,975- 0.82%
2012- 278,092- 34,880,491- 0.78%
2013- 262,902- 35,158,300- 0.75%
Be sure to tuck a couple of four leaf clovers into your gear for your cross Canada trek Joe, as a resident of Ontar-I-Owe you’ll have a long wait for hip or knee replacements. Wynne’s knees allow her the pleasure of running the road, but not for election as she continues to waste and spend, running up debt for future generations.
Nobody is going to kill the CBC, but no one is going to save it either. It’s political constituency is not what it used to be. The CBC will probably just wither away to nothingness.
Never watch CBC except for Coronation Street which is a British production.
God forbid they have to cut the salary of Petey Mansbridge. Don Cherry bugs the hell out of them but his ratings are so high they cannot afford to can him.
Why should Harper publicly stick in the shiv when Rogers or any of the other big media moguls was going to do it for him?
Can Roger kill the Ceeb’s billion dollar subsidy? Nope that’s up to Harper to fail to accomplish. Which would be forgivable if he prioritized deregulating broadcasters and killing the (far worse) CRTC. Instead, he does the opposite. Harper loves big government.
ITT, CO pwns everyone.
No the cash flow hit comes with the start of the new contract in 2014. Rogers, not CBC, gets all the ad revenue. The only delayed revenue loss is for advertisers on programs adjacent to HNIC. That comes in four years.
KevinB, there’s always a shortage of bandwidth. That’s why it secures such high values at auction by CRTC. CBC bandwidth is valuable if the CBC vacates it and offers it up to another broadcaster. No anyone can’t get on cable and satellite and make a profit. The woes of WindMobile testify to that. CRTC is the gatekeeper of who has broadcast rights, and that’s not going to change. Those airwaves that “no one listens to” are worth a lot to different media with different content than the CBC.
CT, right you are about TSN and BellMedia. There’s been so many media mergers and takeovers over the past decade that I’ve long since lost track of them all. I disagree with you about TSN in support of CBC. That’s just on-air commentary. Everyone wants to grab sections of CBCs assets as long as they don’t have to take the public broadcaster mandate that comes with it. The VERY interesting discussions will be between CBC and the government when the CBC states its case as to how it will continue with its public mandate. The government’s opening position will be that the taxpayer already gives the CBC full funding for its public mandate. Hence, pink slips all over the place. Just replacing HNIC to meet CanCon requirements is going to cost the CBC a bundle. Look for the news department to take a big hit, as TV news is a big money loser in any network.
Scar, you’re right about the unions. But no one’s going to buy the CBC, because no one in their right mind wants the public broadcast mandate. Which means that you’re right: the CBC is going to get attritioned down to radio and not much more.
As usual, you don’t have a friggin clue
http://spon.ca/by-2015-harper-will-have-shrunk-government-to-smallest-size-in-50-years/2013/11/19/
Buy a bumper sticker! Convince your neighbours: De-fund the CBC!
http://tinyurl.com/ky3wuvv
And here is the intellectually dishonest poster I mentioned earlier…
doowleb,
I noticed you still refuse to openly state the 2013 #’s are a forecast, doesn’t get much sleazier than that. I do understand that you can’t resist the deception when you need some encouraging numbers to save face.
Where are 2005, 2006, 2007??? How could you possibly have skipped 3 more important years????? Why??? From your past behavior, I’m guessing leaving them out made your “fun with numbers” game much, much prettier. And wow, 1970,75 and 83 look really pretty too, I guess that’s why they’re included. Where are some historical lows for balance?
Would you like to know the worst part, doowleb? You may even have a valid point, but who would ever believe you when they witness the deceptive methods you employ to pad your point. But then again, partisans aren’t known as the freest thinkers.
It’s utterly sad when an individual supports their political party with the same depth of thought they use to cheer their favorite sports team.
Go CPC Go!
Let’s face it: hockey ain’t as good as it once was.
No one much cares, really, except the law firms in downtown Toronto who own the “boxes” in Rogers Centre, whatever that means.
Canadian Observer’s information is helpful — but I think I made the case, in response to one of LAS’s usual Tom Mulcair/Justin Trudeau Burberry-style tirades, a year or so ago, that the number of federal civil servants per capita, versus Mr. Martin, on the same basis, has fallen under Mr. Harper, even before the “cutbacks”.
No matter: Gary Bettman did a particularly fine job of making himself look like Mickey Doyle (from “Boardwalk Empire”).
If you really want to know what’s really going on, follow cgh.
For gawds sake observer.
The list of data posted is IDENTICAL to the info relayed by Wiki on Federal Employee numbers.
No additions, no subtractions…now p1ss off.
Isn’t Roger’s the largest shareholder of the Make Beliefs? They should have to sell off their ownership in the Make Beliefs to do this. Every aspect of the broadcast may become even more Make Belief.
Thankyou David, but I think you give me too much credit. I made at least one mistake above which CT politely corrected.
As to whether or not hockey is better or worse, I’m the last one to ask. I haven’t watched a complete game in at least 20 years, maybe 30. I’m only interested in the business aspects, ie how Leaf Nation seems to be subsidizing the rest of the business (which is why Hamilton does not and never will have an NHL team).
And yes, however much Canadians may despise the little New York lawyer, Bettman has been brilliant in both building the business and in keeping such an ornery, pugnacious ownership group on the same page. That’s board management skill at its very greatest.
Mike in Calgary: you don’t need the bumper stickers. The CBC just got defunded by losing its crown jewel to Rogers. The interesting question now is how far the CBC will have to contract to achieve a stable business model. One thing’s for sure, Strombo’s days of hosting Celebrity Only Parties are done, done, done. Now they’ll be counting the paper clips every night.
Very good link, Pd. The cuts have been indeed very large as percentage of GDP, and that’s the only one that matters because inflation is factored out. And the government has managed this despite large (compared to the Liberals) investments in equipment for defense and fighting the most expensive part of our role in the Afghanistan war.
Curry’s article is the reason why the CPC needs re-election and why all the other choices on offer need to be shunned. Canadians need to be told just how much the feds have reduced their tax burden, and perhaps how much the provinces have crept in on the sly, most notably the Thieves of Queen’s Park.
and what has not really been touched on yet is the fact that over the next 4 years some of the top management talent will probably evaporate, as they will not wait for the “pink” slip, they will leave on their own and will be able to do so as they are employable, the hangers-on, well they will probably fight among themselves and take the CEEB to new lows, beer and popcorn time:-))))
Ya know.
I would rather cut the Communist Biased Corporation and set it adrift to sink with its own weight.
But if not, I almost have to agree with LAS here especially the part about the CRTC. Remember though, the CRTC and the Mother Corp remain ad nauseum with Justine.
Yikes! How can this be?!
Rogers and BCE SHARE the 75% majority shareholder stake in Maple Leaf Sports Enterprises.
CRTC approved this in 2012.
I fear that the coverage of non Leaf games and programming will suffer.
However, there may be hope for sports fans to BUY non Leaf broadcast content.
Upside = CBC loses … downside = content gets even more polarized and costly.
I’m sure though that should enough people spend their time and money on other teams and (rightfully) ignore the Leafs and the BeeJays and the Ruptures … the broadcast side will go where the money is and the worthless (to fans) teams will be sold off.