Traditional TV still a big draw, but the numbers keep slipping

CRTC REPORT

EMILY JACKSON Online streaming continued to dent traditional broadcasting businesses last year as more Canadians accessed television and music on the internet and spent less time on old-fashioned TV and radio, according to a new report from the federal broadcast regulator.

Foreign and domestic internet video services earned an estimated $2 billion in revenue in 2016, up 17.8 per cent from last year, according to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission’s 2017 Communications Monitoring Report released Wednesday.

Subscription services such as Netflix Inc. and BCE Inc.’s CraveTV pulled in $1.1 billion in cash, with the remaining revenue coming from transactions such as renting a TV show on iTunes or advertising on free videos on services such as YouTube.

The massive growth in online services contrasts with stagnant or declining revenue for conventional TV stations, TV service providers and radio stations — and the creative industries they fund through mandatory contributions based on a percentage of revenue.

The federal government released a plan to help content creation in a digital era, but received mixed reactions for the strategy that included a $500-million production investment from Netflix.

But there’s no argument that online video is getting more popular. The CRTC found 44 per cent of Canadians subscribed to online video services in 2016. That number jumps to 64 per cent for Canadians aged 18 to 34. In this age group, the CRTC reported 23 per cent watch TV exclusively online. in 2015. That easily trumps the average 3.1 hours they spent watching internet TV in 2016, although that increased from 2.7 hours in 2015.

Nor do they plan on cutting the cord en masse. Nearly 80 per cent of subscribers say they’re unlikely to axe their TV packages in the next year.

Yet, overall broadcasting revenue — this includes revenue for radio, TV and TV service providers — dipped by 0.5 per cent to $17.855 billion in 2016. TV service providers’ revenue fell 2.1 per cent to $8.7 billion, the radio sector fell 2 per cent to $1.8 billion and the TV sector increased 1.7 per cent to $7.3 billion.

Canadians seem to be moving online for their music as well, according to the CRTC.

Twenty-seven per cent of Canadians streamed music in 2016, up from 20 per cent in 2015. More than half (55 per cent) watched music videos online and nearly a quarter (22 per cent) listened to AM/FM radio stations online.

The CRTC will release the second half of its annual communications monitoring report on Tuesday. It will delve into telecommunications services including internet, wireless and land lines.