Canadian Media Means Business (CMMB) includes Adapt Media, Bell Media, the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB), Cogeco, Friends of Canadian Media, Glacier Media Group, La Presse, Pattison Media, ThinkTV and Village Media.

Hailed as the first study of its kind quantifying the sector’s economic impact, based on research led by Nordicity, its scope encompassed the media and advertising sector (defined as all types of media platforms that connect consumers and the public with news, information, and advertising), including online media, television, audio, and out-of-home media as well as the newspaper, magazine, and directory publishing industry.

The report finds that the industry supports nearly 170,000 jobs, contributing an estimated $21 billion to Canada’s GDP. It states that every $1 million invested in Canadian advertising, generates 8.2 jobs, $630,000 in salaries, and adds $1 million to the GDP.

Despite its impact, the report emphasizes that the sector is under increasing pressure, losing an estimated $7.5 billion in advertising revenue to foreign digital platforms between 2017 and 2022. CMMB says 92% of digital ad dollars currently flow to non-Canadian platforms, putting the sustainability of Canadian media in jeopardy.

“Over the past decade, I have witnessed the alarming loss of jobs in media, the degradation of information integrity, the rise of misinformation, and the increasing inability for Canadians to see themselves in stories and know whom to trust,” writes Sarah Thompson, Executive Managing Director, Glassroom, and Project Lead for CMMB. “The loss is felt in every community across our country, both in our connection to one another and in our democracy. This is not a situation we can afford to ignore. This topic has been extensively studied by many in our own country and around the world. This isn’t what this report is about, nor was it the focus of the analysis. This report is about following the money. I have spent the last decade of my career in media. And I have watched dollars leave the Canadian market rapidly, creating erosion across our economy, as colleagues in media, advertising, and marketing lose their jobs and media environments degrade for our advertisers. This raised a critical question: What is the total contribution of all media and advertising to Canada’s gross domestic product? However, the economics of the local media ecosystem in a country have not been studied in Canada or around the world.”

Thompson says the report isn’t about evaluating the estimated $26 billion invested in advertising in Canada, it’s about the jobs connected to those dollars staying in the market.

“What this report won’t tell you is what could have been: what the Canadian media economy might have looked like if those advertising dollars had stayed in the market,” said Thompson. “The post-COVID shift that led to more dollars being invested in platforms has not been reversed. And so, as ad dollars left Canada, they have never come back.”

“This is a call to action for everyone in business, advertising, media, and government to understand how the ripple effect of Canadian media and advertising dollars drives our country and across multiple connected industries – and the power of collective action in this endeavour,” she continued. “This report also informs us of what the economic value of Canadian media was, not what it could be or is today. What is clear is that investing in Canadian media is beneficial for businesses and our country because it is closely connected to our economic future.”

Additional findings include that the media sector’s total economic impact was $22.6 billion in 2023, including “direct, indirect, induced, and spillover impacts.” Relying on data from Statistics Canada, Nordicity estimates that the sector directly provided 138,000 jobs in 2023. Among these jobs, advertising, public relations, and related services contributed over 40% of the total at 56,700 jobs. Radio and television broadcasting, together with discretionary television, remain significant employers, contributing almost 20% of the total, or 24,500 jobs. Newspaper, periodical, and directory publishing (excluding book publishing) supported an estimated 19,400 jobs.

According to Statistics Canada data cited in the report, traditional media platforms lost over 11,000 jobs between 2019 and 2024. Newspaper employment experienced the most significant job losses, shedding nearly 7,693 jobs between 2019-24 – just over 30% of its 2019 workforce. Radio and television broadcasters – which depend far more on advertising revenue – lost 3,232 jobs in the same period, or over 14% of their 2019 workforce. Despite tapping into both advertising and monthly subscriber fees, pay and specialty television services still lost over 400 jobs from 2019-24, or just over 9% of its 2019 workforce.

“Sustaining and supporting Canadian media and advertising sector will require coordinated efforts from industry and policy makers to ensure its economic and cultural contributions are fully recognized,” the report stated.

The post CMMB report highlights value of Canadian media and ad sector appeared first on Broadcast Dialogue.

Leveraging Demos+, an extension of Triton Podcast Metrics measurement service, features include Demos+ Top Podcasts (overindexing for audience demographics and consumer purchase intent and the Demos+ Category Ranker (audience profiles by podcast genre), Top 10 Podcasts by Unique Audience, Top Categories by Reach, Top Podcasts by Downloads, and Genre audience trends (outlining consumer intent).

Triton – which is billing the combined ranker as “a first-to-market blend of download and survey data” – says the new insights reframe the advertiser approach to podcasting, giving weight to the strategy that it’s not just about the biggest shows, but the right shows for the right audience. The newly-published data is sourced from the Demos+ survey and audience profiles collected and assembled in collaboration with Signal Hill Insights.

Each podcast in the Top 200 is based on the number of survey respondents who reported listening to or watching a specific show in the past 30 days. Triton says the approach delivers the largest available full-market view of true listener reach.

“As the largest publicly available ranker in the U.S. the Top 200 better reflects the diversity of content and audiences in podcasting,” the company said in an announcement Tuesday. “Potent opportunities in podcast advertising extend well beyond the Top 50 hit shows — in fact, focusing spend on just the Top 50 podcasts limits total possible reach to only 49% of all monthly podcast consumers. However, investing across podcasts outside the Top 50 unlocks the ability to reach the vast majority (84%) of the monthly podcast audience who indicate consuming at least one podcast somewhere beyond the Top 50 in the past month. This demonstrates why a broader view matters: the extended ranker along with the demographic and consumer profiles of Demos+ give advertisers more options to connect with diverse and often underserved audiences that live further out on the long tail of podcast consumption.”

The Demos+ survey is conducted throughout each quarter, which Triton says allows for a consistent snapshot of recent listening behaviour by combining the opt-in, download-based ranker reflecting listening frequency, and survey-based measurement capturing reach across the entire industry.

“We built Demos+ to surface the types of insights advertisers need, but haven’t had consistent access to in audio,” said Daryl Battaglia, SVP, Measurement Products & Strategy, Triton Digital. “It’s about who listeners are, what motivates them, and why they tune in. That level of context drives better decisions, smarter investments, and more inclusive planning across the board.”

Triton says the new planning tools will be published and updated on a quarterly basis, with the company also maintaining its existing monthly download ranker.

Q2 2025 Ranker Insights

Demos+ Ranker Highlights

(Based on U.S. survey responses — reflects podcasts across the entire market, not just those measured by Triton)

• Top 10 Podcasts by Unique Audience in Q2:

1. The Joe Rogan Experience [Joe Rogan]
2. The Daily [The New York Times]
3. Crime Junkie [audiochuck]
4. Call Her Daddy [SiriusXM Podcasts]
5. SmartLess [SiriusXM Podcasts]
6. This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von [Theo Von]
7. Dateline NBC [NBC News]
8. Stuff You Should Know [iHeart Audience Network]
9. This American Life [NPR]
10. The Breakfast Club [iHeart Audience Network]

• Top 3 Podcast Categories by Reach:

1. Comedy (42.1%)
2. News (27.3%)
3. Society & Culture (23.4%)

Download Ranker Highlights

(Based on server-side measurement from July — includes only sales networks directly measured by Triton Digital)

• Top Sales Networks by Average Weekly Downloads:

1. iHeart Audience Network
2. NPR
3. Audacy Podcast Network

• Top Podcasts by Average Weekly Downloads:

1. NPR News Now [NPR]
2. Up First from NPR [NPR]
3. Stuff You Should Know [iHeart Audience Network]

View the full Q2 2025 U.S. Podcast Ranker, here.

The post Triton Digital launches next evolution of U.S. Podcast Ranker appeared first on Broadcast Dialogue.

Bell Media operating revenue increased 3.8% year-over-year to $843 million, driven by higher year-over-year subscriber revenue, partly offset by lower advertising revenue. The growth of Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix and the acquisitions of Sphere Abacus and OUTEDGE Media Canada also contributed to higher total media revenue in the quarter.

Subscriber revenue increased 8.1% in Q2, compared to the same quarter last year, with continued Crave and sports direct-to-consumer streaming subscriber growth. Total Crave subscriptions increased 29% from last year to approximately 4.1 million, driven by a 72% increase in Crave direct-to-consumer streaming subscribers, while sports direct-to-consumer streaming subscribers were up 7%.

Advertising revenue was down 3.1% year-over-year due to soft demand overall for non-sports, as well as lower year-over-year audio advertising revenues attributable to the company’s divestiture of 45 radio stations, of which the majority of transactions were completed within Q2.

That was offset by higher digital video advertising revenue with total digital revenues up 9% in Q2 2025, compared to Q2 2024, driven by subscriber growth and higher digital video advertising revenue reflecting growth in Connected TV and ad-supported subscription tiers on Crave.

In a Thursday morning earnings call, BCE President & CEO Mirko Bibic said digital revenues now account for 43% of Bell Media revenue, driven by Crave.

“Bell Media has delivered a strong first half and it’s because of our digital pivot and our focus on flagship franchises and it’s paying off after five years of dedicated effort and investment,” said Bibic. “While we expect Bell Media to generate positive revenue and EBITDA for the full year, segment results may be somewhat uneven due to industry dynamics and near-term macroeconomic headwinds that may impact advertiser demand in the second half of this year. That said our goal remains unchanged, for Bell Media to consistently deliver annual revenue and EBITDA growth while delivering meaningful cash flow to BCE.”

Adjusted EBITDA in the media segment was up 7.8% to $235 million, delivering a 1.1 percentage-point increase in margin to 27.9%, compared to the same period last year. BCE attributes that to the “flow-through” of higher operating revenue, despite a 2.4% increase in operating costs due to the acquisitions of Sphere Abacus and OUTEDGE Media Canada, in addition to higher costs associated with the growth of the Canadian Grand Prix. BCE noted that those cost increases were offset by workforce reductions.

Overall, BCE consolidated revenue was up 1.3% in Q2, compared to the same period in 2024, while consolidated adjusted EBITDA declined 0.9%, reflecting higher operating costs. Net earnings of $644 million, up 6.6% with net earnings attributable to common shareholders of $579 million, up 7.8% or $0.63 per common share

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