CBC says it would refuse local advertising on radio networks, accept only national

CBC/Radio-Canada said its proposal for advertising on CBC Radio 2 and Espace Musique would draw national advertising only and refuse local ad buys. In final reply comments to the CRTC for its licence renewal proceeding, CBC said it would sell national level advertising on the two national radio music networks at national rates. “Any such advertising would be aired on the stations selected by the advertiser in accordance with its advertising needs,” CBC said. The Crown corporation said it would “neither solicit nor accept” local advertising. CBC’s proposal for advertising on these two services was announced last spring as part of a plan to help the broadcaster deal with budget cuts climbing to $115 million in 2014-2015. The plan has been opposed by radio companies that expressed concerns about the effects advertising would have local stations. In its reply, CBC said it changed its advertising proposal to address concerns. “We would accept a condition of licence that limits the number of minutes of national advertising calculated on a clock hour basis during the first three years of the licence term,” CBC said. In its first year, CBC said, it would broadcast five minutes of national advertising per hour on the two music services, with that number growing to seven minutes per hour in the second year and nine minutes in the third. CBC also said it is prepared to commit to licence content from independent producers at “no less than 75% of its original, first-run Canadian content hours.” On the final day of two weeks of public hearings last month, CBC president and CEO Hubert T. Lacroix reiterated the broadcasters' call for more regulatory flexibility in its broadcasting licences. He said it is necessary to deal with an internal “financial crisis” brought about since the Conservative government’s spending-cutting budget was announced last March. CBC has asked the CRTC for fewer licence conditions in part so that it can move around spending and programming in a multi-platform environment. In its reply, CBC said the commission should accept its proposal to increase its weekly hours of programs of national interest (PNI)—primarily Canadian long-form documentaries, drama, comedy, and awards shows—from seven hours a week to nine hours. “In the Corporation’s respectful submission, CBC/Radio-Canada’s proposals for PNI are reasonable given the financial situation of the Corporation,” CBC said. In other proposed conditions of licence, CBC said it would broadcast a minimum of 15 hours of children’s programming weekly aimed at children under the age of 12. It said a minimum of one hour per week would consist of original programming and “at least 75% of those hours shall be allocated to independently produced programs.” —With reporting by Danika Grenier at dgrenier@thewirereport.ca and editing by Simon Doyle at sdoyle@thewirereport.ca news@thewirereport.ca

CBC says it would refuse local advertising on radio networks, accept only national

Broadcast | December 19, 2012

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CBC says it would refuse local advertising on radio networks, accept only national

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