The commission report says despite those declines, those sectors remained profitable, with the exception of commercial conventional television where revenue was down overall by 8.6%. BDU revenue was down 7.99% for the year, followed by discretionary services (-4.6%) and commercial radio (-0.9%). In total, commercial broadcast revenue was up 0.2% from the 2023 to 2024 broadcast year.

Online undertakings were the only sector to significantly increase revenues, generating more revenue than any single sector of the conventional broadcasting system – now accounting for 36% of total broadcasting revenues. BDUs follow at 32.81%, while discretionary television accounted for 19.16% of total broadcasting revenue.

CBC radio revenues increased 10.04% due to an increase in Parliamentary Appropriation (10.35%), while CBC conventional TV revenues increased 15% driven by increases in national time sales (33.6%) and Parliamentary Appropriation (13.56%).

Commercial radio

In 2024, revenues generated by English stations accounted for 77.7% of the total commercial radio revenue share, followed by French-language (18.2%) and Ethnic (4.1%) stations. Local advertising accounted for 66.8% of total commercial radio revenues – down 0.88%, but still above 2022 levels. National advertising represented 29.2% of total commercial radio revenue, with commercial radio stations reporting a decrease in national ad sales of 1.87%. French-language radio revenues for the year were up 0.55%, while English-language radio stations reported a decrease of 1.26% and Ethnic stations a decrease of 0.66%.

Commercial traditional television

Advertising accounted for 91.7% of commercial conventional television revenues, with most ad revenue generated through national advertising (71.2%). The revenues of conventional French-language television stations declined at a faster rate than English and Bilingual stations. In contrast, discretionary services generated 65.6% of their revenues through subscriptions and 32.6% of their revenue through advertising. Discretionary service subscription revenues were down by 3.7%, while discretionary service ad revenues fell 6%.

Shifting consumer habits

The report also highlights shifting consumer habits. Since 2020, average weekly time spent with online audio services has increased at a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 0.5%, while traditional broadcasting continues to occupy 40% of Canadian listening habits.

Compared to 2023, tuning to traditional services decreased 1.5% in 2024, with online audio service listening increasing by 5%. Over the past five years, Anglophone Canadians have increased their average audio streaming hours per week from 9.8 in 2020 to 10.23 in 2024. Francophone Canadians’ consumption of online audio grew slightly from 8.2 in 2020 to 8.45 in 2024.

Music streaming accounts for the largest portion of online audio consumption for both Anglophones and Francophones. Weekly AM/FM streaming accounted for 10.7% of weekly listening hours for Anglophones and 20.5% for Francophones. In 2024, 36% of Canadians 18+ reported listening to a podcast in a given week, with nearly identical listening habits among 36% of Anglophone Canadians and 35% of Francophones. Podcasts are most popular among younger Canadians, with 49% of those 18-34 and 44% of Canadians 35-49, having reported listening to a podcast in 2024. Time spent listening to podcasts increased slightly from 1.75 mean weekly hours in 2023 to 2.09 mean weekly hours.

According to Video Audience Measurement (VAM) data from Numeris (which is currently only available for Ontario and Quebec), traditional television viewing during the 2024 broadcast year varied from between 16.1 to 19.4 average weekly hours per viewer. For online audiovisual services in the Ontario and Quebec Franco market, consumption varied between 11.6 and 13 average weekly hours per viewer.

MTM data cited in the report, indicates weekly traditional television consumption in 2024 was highest among Canadians aged 50+ (87%), while weekly consumption of online audiovisual content was most popular among those aged 35-49 (83%). Francophones were more likely to have consumed traditional audiovisual content than Anglophones. Both streaming and traditional television remain popular in Canada, with MTM reporting that 62% of Canadians subscribe to a traditional television and 76% to an SVOD service.

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The kids’ and family entertainment purveyor says following a recent CRTC decision finding WildBrain was not the subject of undue disadvantage from Rogers, the company has been unable to negotiate a new carriage agreement with Rogers for the aforementioned channels. WildBrain says Rogers has subsequently informed them it intends to remove the channels from its distribution service in the coming months. As a result, WildBrain’s previously-announced $40 million deal to sell a majority stake in the channels to Halifax-based IoM Media Ventures will no longer go ahead.

WildBrain says in combination with a decision by Bell to also remove the channels, it’s determined that side of its business is no longer commercially viable and plans to surrender its licenses to the CRTC.

The move means WildBrain will no longer be subject to Canadian control restrictions under the Broadcasting Act and will subsequently remove its variable voting structure applicable to non-Canadian shareholders. The company says simplifying its voting structure will provide greater strategic flexibility and opportunities.

“For nearly four decades, Family Channel has been a trusted destination for Canadian kids and families,” said WildBrain President & CEO Josh Scherba, in a company announcement. “We’re incredibly proud of the legacy we’ve built—thanks to our loyal viewers, dedicated television employees and the many talented Canadian producers we’ve partnered with.”

“While it is unfortunate that the channels will be discontinued, the impact on our broader business is minimal and does not affect our go-forward strategy. WildBrain remains a global leader in kids’ and family entertainment, with unique strengths in monetizing entertainment IP across content creation, audience engagement and global licensing. We have deliberately positioned our business to align with changing consumer habits, including a strategic exit from the declining broadcast space in Canada,” he continued.

Scherba noted that the company experienced 17% growth year-to-date through its third fiscal quarter, underscoring the strength of its diversified platforms beyond its TV business, despite “ongoing industry headwinds.”

“We remain focused on sustaining that momentum by leveraging our iconic IP—such as Peanuts, Strawberry Shortcake and Teletubbies—across streaming, YouTube, consumer products and immersive fan experiences,” he said. “As the entertainment landscape evolves, so do we—with a clear vision and an unwavering commitment to delivering quality content and beloved brands to kids and families around the world.”

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The CRTC’s Performance, 1969-2025 looked at the commission’s role and performance based on three strategic objectives established by the Treasury Board in 2024 – transparency, accountability, and participation by the public in government decision-making.

Breaking down the CRTC’s own numbers, the FRPC report takes aim at the gradual reduction in hearings the public can actually attend – from dozens in the 1980s to a handful in the last decade, supplemented by private meetings with lobbyists (an average of 44 per year in the same period), which it says raises concerns about whose interests are being heard.

FRPC also reviewed CRTC resources, finding that from 1969-88, it issued nearly 31,000 decisions with an average staff of 380 people (some 80 decisions per staff person). From 2005-24, the commission issued just over 12,000 decisions, with an average staff of 460 full-time or equivalent persons, or roughly 27 decisions per staff person. Its 2025-26 Departmental Plan indicates a contingent of 717 full-time or equivalent staff, a 56% increase over the 2005-24 average.

“FRPC believes there are evidence-based grounds for serious concerns about the degree to which the CRTC is meeting TBS’ [Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat] 2024 principles of Transparency, Accountability and public Participation. The concerns centre around the fact that, in 2025, the CRTC is effectively unaccountable to Parliament and to Canadians due to: the non-transparency of the CRTC’s decision-making processes, the lack of any published objective evidence from the CRTC describing how it has implemented and is implementing Parliament’s broadcasting and telecommunications policies, its noncompliance with reporting requirements regarding CBC non-compliance which the Broadcasting Act mandates, its evasion of requirements for public hearings by redefining the term to mean both ‘appearing’ (public) and ‘non-appearing’ (non-public) processes, and its general lack of timeliness in its licensing, policy-making and alternative-dispute resolution processes,” the report states.

FRPC believes it’s time to undertake a review of the CRTC to determine “whether and how it has been and is implementing Parliament’s broadcasting and telecommunications policies, and whether it is meeting this responsibility in an efficient, effective and timely manner,” however the organization is emphatic that it is not suggesting the commission be replaced or dismantled.

“To the contrary, as the CRTC is empowered to change its own by-laws and its procedural rules, the CRTC can readily amend its processes to make them transparent and to facilitate its accountability – and can do so on its own motion and quickly,” it stated.

Recommendations

Among its recommendations, the Forum is suggesting the CRTC publish minutes of the meetings of the commission and its committees, including copies of any presentations made at meetings within one week; ensure that all of its decisions are signed by the commissioners who made the decisions (including those who dissented), and published, if necessary, by providing abbreviated summaries of the facts and outcomes; ensure decisions are published on matters resulting “in now-secret Letter Decisions”; and improve the timeliness of its decision-making by publishing decisions concerning broadcasting, telecom and online news applications within four months of receiving the applications, and policies within six months of initiating proceedings.

It is also asking the CRTC to publish annual – or more frequent – statistical updates on its implementation of Parliament’s broadcasting and telecom policies, convene an annual meeting of interested parties to respond to questions about data published by the CRTC, and invite comments every two years on the measures it uses to evaluate its performance.

Read an OP-ED from FRPC Executive Director Monica Auer on CARTT.ca, our sister web publication, here.

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