CBC signals plans to go full-stream and end traditional TV and radio shows

CBC President and CEO Catherine Tait says more Canadians are moving to streaming while the CBC “sits here loyally broadcasting over the airwaves.” Dave Chan/The Globe and Mail

The head of the CBC says he’s preparing to end traditional TV and radio shows and go fully digital as audiences shift to streaming, but the move is unlikely in the next decade.

In an interview with The Globe and Mail, Catherine Tait, CBC President and CEO, said the network is eventually preparing to move all of its content online only “to stay relevant.”

She said more Canadians are moving to streaming while the CBC “sits here loyally broadcasting over the airwaves.”

“If we’re going to be audience first, we have to be digital first,” she said. “We get up every day and say, ‘What does our audience want, and where is it?’ And they are digital in increasing numbers. So if we’re not there, we’re no longer relevant.”

She also criticized the Conservatives’ call to defund the CBC, calling it a “slogan” and expressing hope that Heritage Secretary Pablo Rodriguez would throw out a Senate amendment banning the CBC from accepting sponsored content.

Ms Tait said, “The core audience for television is 55 plus, or about 65 plus, so there’s young people and various newcomers to Canada … they’re online.”

Her comments followed the revelation in December by BBC director-general Tim Davie that the UK public broadcaster is preparing to become an online-only service over the next decade.

Ms Tait said the shift is unlikely to happen anytime soon in Canada, as it requires “broadband ubiquity” to ensure all Canadians — regardless of where they live or socioeconomic status — have adequate internet to view programs and programs to stream movies.

Ms Tait hit back at the Conservatives’ campaign to defund the CBC from public subsidies, saying her “defund the CBC” campaign was a tactic to solicit donations.

“They have an online fundraiser that specifically says, ‘We’re going to save you $1 billion, please send $20.’ “In 2022, the CBC received $1.24 billion from the government — 66 percent of CBC/Radio-Canada funding.

She accused Tory leader Pierre Poilievre of instigating attacks on the channel, saying: “There’s a lot of CBC bashing going on – somewhat fueled by the opposition leader.”

“I think they feel that CBC is a mouthpiece for the Liberal government,” she said.

On Friday, Mr Poilievre answered questions from reporters in the House of Commons about gun control and accused a CBC journalist of trying to help the prime minister.

Ms. Tait said CBC/Radio-Canada is operating on the same budget it was 30 years ago – “that’s a third less in real dollars.”

“Thirty years ago we did linear television and linear radio. And today we’re doing those two things plus streaming Gem, streaming radio and the digital platforms we’re doing,” she said. “So we have tripled our performance completely, and with less money.”

Aside from CBC Gem, which includes drama, there’s also CBC Listen, which streams audio; explore CBC news; ICI TOU.TV (Radio-Canada’s video streaming service); and Radio-Canada OHdio, a French-language audio streaming service.

“We don’t want to drag Canadians into the digital world. They’re dragging us with them,” said Ms. Tait, who founded digital content provider iThentic before taking the top job at CBC. “We’ve seen it in the pandemic, subscriptions to streaming are soaring and these people aren’t going back to conventional TV.”

The Broadcasting Act states that the CBC should “provide radio and television services” so such an amendment may require an amendment to the Act as well.

“We’re the only station in the system that’s committed to serving all Canadians,” she said. “So that means the rural audience might just have their TV – we’re not going to let them down.”

She said some shows are doing better on digital platforms even now. She urged producers who approach the CBC wanting to “put up TV shows” to think differently and maybe “put up a podcast” instead.

Ms Tait said CBC made a “big win” in last year’s renewal of its broadcasting license by regulator, the Canadian Radio-television and Communications Commission, when it came to recognizing Canadian content in CBC’s digital domain.

“The CRTC said for the first time in history that we will count your Canadian content commitments on your streaming platform,” she said.

She said she is watching closely this week to see whether Mr. Rodriguez accepts a Senate amendment to Bill C-11 that could affect CBC’s revenues.

The amendment said the CBC may not “develop or broadcast on behalf of an advertiser any advertisement or announcement designed to resemble journalistic programming.”

The CBC already has paid content on some digital pages, but not national news, and it is labeled as such.

Ms Tait said the Senate change on CBC’s paid content was “strange” because Bill C-11 is “not the place for this conversation”.

“Do I think there should be a conversation about the ultimate model of the public broadcaster? Of course,” she said. “But that’s not the venue.”

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