The CRTC has released broadcasting sector data for the 2023-24 broadcast year, ended Aug. 31, 2024, highlighted by ongoing declines in radio, discretionary TV and BDU revenues.

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.