American TV shows sweep Top 10 in Canada
Despite hundreds of millions of dollars annually in government subsidies and handouts, not one Canadian made television show made it into the top ten this past fall season.
BBM Canada reported this week that the top ten shows in Canada among adults 18-49 during the Fall 2009 television season were all produced in the United States.
The top rated show among the key advertising demographic of Adults 18-49 was House which originates from Fox in the United States and is rebroadcast in Canada on Global TV.
The ratings agency found that CTV was the top rebroadcaster with eight of the ten most-watched programs in the 2008/09 season. CanWest Global captured the remaining two spots in the top 10.
The following were the Top 10 television programs in the fall season among adults 18-49.
- House
- Grey’s Anatomy
- Survivor: Samoa
- The Amazing Race
- Criminal Minds
- CSI: NY
- CSI: Miami
- CSI
- Desperate Housewives
- Glee
Revenues at Canadian Cable companies continue to soar
Statscan released figures this week show that operating revenue for Canadian cable and direct-to-home satellite television companies totalled $10.3 billion in 2008, up a whopping 14.4% from 2007.
Despite the fact that Canada was in a recession in 2008, the industry still managed to rack up it’s third consecutive year of revenue growth in excess of 10%.
Once again in 2008, it was cable operators, dominated by Rogers Cable, Shaw Cable, Videotron, Cogeco and Eastlink, which accrued the big revenue increases and profits. While profit margins at wireless tv providers, primarily satellite providers (Bell TV and Shaw Direct), were a narrow 4.1% before interest and taxes, profit margins among cable operators profit margins were more than six times higher at 25.9%.
Statscan figures reveal the cable industry’s profit margin before interest and taxes has been above 15% every year since the beginning of the decade and higher than 20% since 2004.
The huge increase in annual profits among cable operators is attributable to the ability to bundle additional services such as Internet access and digital phone services. Because cable subscribers pay for the bulk of the cable companies infrastructure, the bundled services have become huge cash cows with high rates of return.
On August 31, 2008, cable operators had almost as many telecommunications subscribers (Internet and telephone) as television subscribers.
Cable distributors had 15.7 million subscribers to their primary services (television, Internet access and telephony) on August 31, 2008, 1.4 million more than in 2007. More than half of the new customers were telephone service subscribers.
For a second consecutive year, cable television subscriptions grew faster than subscriptions to competing wireless services (+2.3% compared with +1.5%). Over the previous 10 years, wireless service providers had always succeeded in increasing their market share.
On August 31, 2008, there were 2.7 million wireless television (mainly satellite) subscribers, compared with 8.1 million cable television subscribers.
Broadcaster, 12/8/2009
Cable Subscribers Tell CRTC No to TV Tax
Cable and satellite subscribers today made their case against a TV Tax to the CRTC commissioners during the regulator's public hearings on the impact of a TV Tax on Canadian television consumers.
Presenter Rosalie Persichini of York Region owns a family business with her husband; the two started the Persichini Easter Seals Run/Walkathon 34 years ago, and have long used community television to promote their event. During today's hearing, Persichini noted the value of her local cable station to her charity, "Rogers TV has had a huge impact on the success of the run/walkathon. Over $3 Million dollars has been raised for over 7,000 physically disabled children across Ontario.... "When I think of local TV, I think of Rogers TV. They are truly part of our community and cover the events that are important to local residents."I am here today to say I don't think we should pay more for local TV. We already have wonderful local TV from our cable company. Rogers TV provides the local lens on York Region."
Former BCTV reporter and 26-year veteran of TV journalism Harvey Oberfeld lamented the loss of local content, particularly in TV news, "Mr. Chairman, I was there. I saw ... for years before my retirement, how the (network) conglomerates that took control of Canada's private television stations, did their hatchet jobs on local television ...in particular, local television news."
Later in his testimony, Oberfeld urged the commission to be skeptical of the Big Networks' claims, "Don't believe private TV's claims.... what they really want is a bailout from bad investments, the poor economy, and rising costs of buying foreign programs."
Lydia Luckevich, a cable subscriber in Toronto told the commission that she preferred the local content offered by her cable provider's own local station, "(My Rogers community station) has more local content of interest to me than CBC, CTV, Global or CHCH all of which I rarely if ever watch."
Nicole Brunet, of Montreal, echoed Luckevich's concerns about the fee, "I'm against this fee. Consumers will pay it, and it is nothing more than a disguised tax we'll be forced to absorb. (Text Translated)
This round of hearings will continue until Friday, December 11.
The individuals called to present today all submitted their names through the public process hosted on the CRTC's website. They were assembled to appear by the Stop the TV Tax coalition.
