Without immediate assistance from Ottawa and the Canadian Radio and Television Commission, a new report says a third of local television stations and as many as 200 radio stations across Canada could go silent in the next three years.
The report by the Canadian Association of Broadcasters, entitled "The Crisis in Canadian Media and the Future of Local Broadcasting," says the broadcasting industry faces a revenue shortfall of $1.06 billion. It adds that up to 2,000 jobs are at risk.
The report paints a bleak portrait of local media in Canada without additional assistance and regulatory relief.
It suggests that without local journalism, even the health of Canada's democracy is at stake.
"A continued reduction in the resources available for local journalism will have devastating effects on the country and Canadian storytelling," the reads. "The stories of our communities and the scrutiny of our institutions are important ingredients in the functioning of our democracies."
The report blames unfair competition from digital platforms like Google and Facebook for the drop in revenues.
"The competition -- particularly from global internet conglomerates -- has devastated Canada's local media industry," the report says.
Private radio revenues have been in decline since 2014, with 40 per cent of radio stations reporting shortfalls.
The situation is even more dire for private conventional TV revenues. A total of 70 per cent of those stations have watched their income fall.
The pandemic has only exacerbated challenges. While the Canada Emergency Wage Benefit helped, the report concludes there is an immediate need for the CRTC to grant regulatory relief, and for the federal government to step up its targeted support this fall.
London-West Liberal MP Kate Young, a former broadcaster, calls the report "disconcerting." She said the federal government has provided some relief to Canadian broadcasters during the pandemic but admits it may have to do more.
"What we did as a federal government is, we acted quite quickly and provided independent news and community radio broadcasting with $25 million in emergency funding as part of our sector-wide, Canadian Heritage COVID-19 response," she says. "We know that the media is important. We know that we need, for our democracy, to keep the media working and we're very attuned to the problems that are associated with, not only COVID, but also the changes in the media landscape in the last 20 years with the internet."
Young says Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault is aware of the report and the challenges faced by private, independent broadcasters. She adds she plans to personally speak to the minister to make sure that the voices of radio and TV companies that are hurting are heard. When asked if the federal government would look at providing to broadcasters a similar package to the $600 million fund that was set up for newspapers, she said it would certainly be worth examining.
"I certainly believe that we need to have a strong media in all of its forms, whether it's newspaper, radio, or television. And we have to be equitable. So, I certainly think that we should listen and I know that Minister Guilbeault is taking this report seriously and is reading it and making sure we can do as much as we can to make sure our radio stations are as strong as they can be, while understanding that we are in a different world than we were many years ago," she says.
The CAB report can be read in its entirety by clicking here.
