JOHNSON – The CBC Part 3: The case for ditching the TV arm but keeping radio

This is the third and final instalment of a three-part column revolving around the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 

The CBC – Part 1 – Pierre Poilievre ‘defunding the CBC’ focused on what Poilievre is saying and what he is not, can legally do, and what he can not regarding CBC Funding.

The CBC – Part 2 – Liberal or liberal discussed big and small L liberalism, the Liberal Party and the CBC.  Is the CBC the ‘propaganda arm of the Liberals’ … actually. Recommended reading for background before reading todays column.

TODAY, The CBC – Part 3 – is this writer’s Hot Take on CBC TV vs CBC Radio – Does the CBC matter today? And moving forward if the CBC does have to change.

FROM THE START, a few disclaimers.

I don’t regularly watch CBC TV, haven’t for many years.

That said, I have enjoyed a few standout CBC TV shows like Kim’s Convenience, Shitts Creek, Little Mosque on the Prairie and others, watching via other means.  As well, the Beachcombers was an important part of my growing up, and helped mold my ideal of being from the west coast and Canadian broadcasting in general.

Likewise, I have no opinion regarding Radio-Canada French language or indigenous language programming, as I either don’t speak the language at all, or well enough to enjoy the programming, although I have been told both these services are aligned with English CBC Radio programming in style and quality.

I do listen to English CBC Radio 1 almost every day, almost all day, when I can.
I have for about 30 years now.

CBC TV and Radio approach their work very differently within their specific medium and can be compared by the simplest of perspectives;

– CBC TV fairly closely matches what other Canadian TV networks provide, but
– CBC Radio does not match what the rest of the radio broadcast industry does.

First the CBC TV world and a Hot Take;

I wouldn’t really mind if CBC TV was kicked to the curb and forced to fend for itself in the corporate world, without public funding.

They already run commercials like every other TV channel and receive revenue from that.  It is fair to say that both the news and non news programming can compete on the same level with other Canadian TV programming networks in the self sustained commercial world.

We should ask why CBC TV can’t pay for itself and needs public funding to do what in essence IS the same job other private broadcasters are doing.  Even the CBC TV nightly news show, The National, which has been part of the Canadian news landscape for generations, has as competition a nightly halo newscast from every other Canadian TV network, but The National is partly paid for by taxpayers.

So … set CBC TV adrift to survive on its own earnings.

I think it’s time to let it go as the National TV Broadcaster.

Poilievre isn’t wrong regarding CBC defunding, when he talks about CBC TV.

What about CBC Radio, Radio-Canada French services, and Indigenous language services? Should this also be made to leap into the commercial world?

Not a chance.  Absolutely not. Completely different animal.

I remember decades ago, in conversation with a group of 30 somethings, and in other conversation since then with a lot of people: everyone agrees that CBC TV didn’t really matter to them, but “CBC Radio?  They really do that well don’t they?”

Repeating the same question from Poilievre’s perspective that we asked regarding CBC TV: Does any other private radio broadcaster do what CBC Radio does on a daily basis?

Unlike CBC TV, the answer for our radio services is … unequivocally no.

Let’s talk about radio ratings in Canada as that is the comparative statistical standard.

Other than Montreal (where the market is split with Anglo and French CBC radio services), in all major markets in Canada, CBC radio 1 is either rated as number one most listened to, or in a few markets the number two most listened to radio station … period.

This rating is for the group that includes all ages over 12 (oddly known as ‘adults over 12’) and all gender groups combined … together a ratings group known as ‘A12+’.

Moving away from major cities using just the A12+ metric, CBC radio 1 is heard across the country from coast to coast to coast, wherever it is able to be heard, both small cities or rural listenership, and still scores as the number one radio station or close to it in every market across the country.

To be clear, once you look within more specific age and gender demographic groups in larger markets, these numbers do change but that’s to be expected. Teenagers prefer their Hip Hop and popular music stations and other demographic groups prefer specific types of stations like country or classic rock, or even sports, but overall CBC radio reigns supreme in the ratings.

CBC radio can be heard in many, many remote parts of Canada that no other private commercial provider would ever even try to cover.  You would be surprised how remote you can be, but still get the CBC on the radio.

For our local small city example, Kamloops CBC Radio 1 listener ratings year after year show it is the number 1 local listened to radio station.  In Kelowna, CBC Radio 1 dominates the airwaves by a long shot.

So, it’s clear that CBC has a reach far, far beyond any single private provider, from coast to coast to coast.  And if you combine all CBC Radio listeners across the country, the total number is staggering, but competitively that’s an unfair comparison, as no other single radio network or station has a cross country reach.

That’s a great platform of listenership for the news, so let’s talk about CBC news on the radio.

Once per hour … 24 hours a day … at the top of the hour in every time zone across the country, there is a short national news report, which covers both national and international news.

As well at the 30-minute point of the hour, there is a provincial news covering provincial events or politics, often including weather, large centre traffic, and wildfire and other natural disaster alerts.

As well, unscheduled, CBC Radio News will often interrupt regular programming in case of a National or Provincial news conference that’s happening live, due to a natural disaster, health advisory or, like this summer … wildfire updates.

This is the extent of the actual ‘live news readings’ or events on CBC radio.

These short hourly news reports are what Poilievre would be limited to when calling for defunding the CBC because ‘the same work is done by private providers’ … but that is the limit he must be talking about.

So … what’s going on here?
What do they do besides the news?
This ‘non-news programming’?
What does CBC Radio do that is so different than other radio service, and why would defunding or cancelling it be a bad thing?

Let’s deep dive into these questions, as they are what is at the heart of the matter.

Shows on CBC Radio 1 are either a full hour or a half an hour.

There are nationally heard daily shows that broadcast at the same time in each time zone, every weekday; including ‘q’, The Current, As It Happens, and others.

Then there are once a week national shows; Cross Country Checkup, Quirks and Quarks, Tapestry, Ideas, Spark, White Coat Black Art, Now or Never, Unreserved, Under the Influence … and a very long list of other shows, each incredibly unique.

Some with many, many decades of pedigree, others that come and go with the times.

There’s comedy like The Debaters and Laugh Out Loud, and the hilarious but recently ended This is That … and music shows like Marvin’s Room (R&B), Frequencies (international music sources) and Reclaimed (modern indigenous music) and Saturday Night Jazz.

There’s Canadian politics focussed shows like ‘The House’, ‘Day 6’ and other shows specifically for book readers like Writers and Company or The Next Chapter … all these are long-form interviews with politicians or fiction writers.

Not everything is for everyone, but that’s the thing about CBC Radio 1 … there’s at least something for everyone.

All of the above shows are on the national feed that is heard in every region of Canada.  These are time-slotted in along with provincial and local produced content.

The B.C.-focussed time slots like B.C. Today that discusses B.C. stories, including a call-in segment to hear real B.C.ers’ opinions on stuff … or Radio West at 4 p.m.

Across the country, this type of provincial or territorial regional radio is produced in every home region.  People living in every part of Canada hear what matters locally to them as well as the national content.

There’s even a hyper-local content that weaves into the mix.

Kamloops has our own morning drive show, Daybreak Kamloops from 6-8:30 a.m. where local stories and interviews happen and this is heard only in this region. Local content is replicated in all large and most smaller communities that are big enough to support it across the country … Kamloops is about the minimum size limit to actually have its own outlet. Kelowna has one as well, as does Prince George, the island, etc.

Regarding revenue for CBC Radio, there is no advertising at all on the air. None.

It’s the only radio station that doesn’t bust into programming to sell you a product.  Regular listeners will agree that in our hyper vigilant commercialised world, it’s really nice to have a place that you are not marketed to.

Federal funding that CBC TV receives … even though they do advertise … is huge.

CBC radio federal funding, which pays for the entire national radio service
… is tiny in comparison.

Advertising really isn’t needed here to prop up public funding, as little as it is.

As well, product commercialization considerations are also a reality here. There is no marketable advertising that suits a nationally heard 30-minute conversation with an author you may not have heard of, even if the volume of Canadians that tune in to hear that interview is astonishing.  Advertising on CBC Radio isn’t really needed, and ad companies might not see a market they can benefit from.

Why do so many people listen?

It has been said that CBC Radio is the intellectual capital of Canada, but what does that bit of limerick laden, political correctness, mumbo-jumbo even mean?

CBC Radio non-news programming reflects the real world reportable multicultural fabric of our nation, giving voice to every community, and fosters understanding among Canadians who coast to coast to coast are all listening to the same programming.  People in Newfoundland, Nunavut, B.C. and Saskatchewan are all literally listening to each other, learning about each other, every single day.

There is no other radio that will spend time telling me about polar bears and their seal hunting difficulties in the north due to disappearing ice, Costco selling gold bars, or how a bunch of provinces are thinking about using the Notwithstanding clause to get their way regarding school gender reporting issues … or how carbon was discovered on Jupiter’s moon, Europa.

The point is, regular listeners keep up, are tuned in and are informed, therefore have broad perspectives on a massive range of issues and, most important, learn from the actual on-the-ground experiences of other Canadians.

Let’s ask ourselves; what defines our country? Who are we Canadians … to ourselves?

What do we want to and what should we know about each other across this massive country?

This is the question that CBC radio tries to answer every day.

Soo … who’s listening?  What type of person is part of this huge listening base?

Canadians across the country unsatisfied with the same old commercial, ad interrupted local radio that likely replays the same song four or five times a day, often find themselves moving to CBC Radio, at least part time, to hear programs they know they will enjoy.

It has also been said that many people, once they become adults with an interest in the world around them, switch from their commercial music station to CBC Radio 1 … and at some point, some don’t go back.

After a few listens … they get it.

Some people reading this are nodding their heads, it’s a thing.

CBC Radio is not for everyone.  Some are happy with background music during their day, and there’s nothing wrong with that. A music station on a job site makes the day go by. Been there – done that.  I lived that for a long time.

But those who have heard enough top 40 and are able and willing to tune in to CBC Radio when they can actually listen … soon realize that radio listening can be different than just background sound.

Soo … no Mr. Poilievre … your reason to defund based on ‘someone in the private market does it’ is no real argument because no one else can or would do what CBC Radio does every day.

Perhaps you and the bobble-head base you’re trying to attract does not listen to CBC Radio, and that’s fine, but this country is chock full of Canadians who do … from all walks of life, and they subscribe to every political and ideological angle … including many, many card carrying Conservatives.

The funny thing is, I first heard Poilievre saying the CBC was only ‘Liberal propaganda’ ,… when I was actually listening to the CBC. They didn’t care, it was news so they covered it without any editorialization.

Theres no attempt by the CBC to hide any news that argues the CBC’s own existence. Not only does the CBC not do that, it feels like they intentionally go out of their way to report anti-CBC stories, and they always do it in the same non partisan deadpan way … as if they were reporting on migrating butterflies.

It’s just another story.

That alone kinda pops Poilievre’s balloon.  The CBC does not avoid him or his rhetoric.

They also report on Trudeau’s various gaffs, without concern of consequences.

Soo … If you have never listened to CBC Radio 1, give it a shot, change the car radio or work radio if possible, and see what catches your attention.

Yes … there will be the occasional hour-long interview with a book writer you have never heard of, so change the channel, but there will likely be something that interests you … so after that boring interview is over, turn it back on.

Every hour or every half hour, it changes up completely to something else.

Find CBC Radio 1 on your FM dial in Kamloops at 94.1. If you drive highways anywhere in the interior, B.C. or across Canada, that number changes regularly, so watch for highway signs.

CBC TV?  Ya … I can let it go.

Just don’t touch my CBC Radio.

David Johnson is a Kamloops resident, community volunteer and self described maven of all things Canadian.