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Advertisements on a Public Broadcaster

Monday, 26 June, 2006

As the pressure continues in Australia for the public broadcasters to turn increasingly to commercial revenue raising, a Canadian Parliamentary committee has recommended that the government owned CBC stop taking advertisements. The Canadian committee quoted approvingly Scott Stirling, President and CEO of Newfoundland Broadcasting Company, describing the CBC's dilemma:

What are you? Are you taxpayer-supported or are you advertiser-supported? There is a conflict in the decision making. If I were supported by two sources, then I would have to ask: On what am I basing my decision? Will I put on a commercial program so that I can take advantage of advertising or will I do something for the public good? There is a conflict, almost a type of schizophrenia.

The Canadian politicians want the CBC to complement the efforts of private broadcasters, not compete with them. “As times change, it is vital to be realistic about budget realities and to focus effort on the most important elements of the CBC mandate, such as covering the news and serving regions that are outside of Canada 's major metropolitan areas,” the report says. “Not addressing mandate and budget issues simply pushes the CBC, particularly its television services, to chase for ratings and thus to duplicate services offered by the private sector.

“At least two areas come to mind: sports programming and commercially successful American movies. This Committee believes that the CBC should greatly reduce its broadcasting of professional sports (e.g., hockey games) and the Olympics since these are activities that will be covered by other broadcasters in both official languages. In addition, broadcasts of professional sports are readily available everywhere in Canada via cable and satellite.”

[At home here, SBS would do well to take note as it basks in the ratings success of soccer's world cup.]

As to CBC's future the Canadian parliamentary committee recommends:

•  Services that are not available elsewhere;

•  Distinctive services of high quality in news and information programming; and

•  Services to all regions of the country particularly those regions where there is a relative absence of different sources of news and information programming.