Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

"Radio-Canada" redirects here. For other uses, seeRadio-Canada (disambiguation).

TheCanadian Broadcasting Corporation(French:Société Radio-Canada), branded asCBC/Radio-Canada,is the Canadianpublic broadcasterfor bothradioandtelevision.It is aCrown corporationthat serves as the national public broadcaster, with its English-language and French-language service units known asCBCandRadio-Canada,respectively.

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
Société Radio-Canada

CBC HeadquartersinOttawain 2019
Company type	Crown corporation
Industry	Mass media Public broadcasting Radio Television Digital media
Predecessor	Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission
Founded	November 2, 1936(1936-11-02)(radio) September 6, 1952(1952-09-06)(television)
Headquarters	CBC Ottawa Production Centre,Ottawa,Ontario,Canada
Area served	National; available on terrestrial and cable systems in northern American border communities; available internationally via Internet,Sirius XMand on TV
Key people	Michael Goldbloom(Chair) Catherine Tait(CEO) Barbara Williams (EVPEnglish Networks) Marco Dubé (EVPFrench Networks)
Products	Television Radio Digital media
Services	CBC Television Ici Radio-Canada Télé CBC Radio CBC News CBC.ca Radio-Canada.ca
Revenue	CA$515.84 million ($1.907 billion including public funding) (2023)
Operating income	CA$-$127.608 million (2023)
Net income	CA$-125.109 million (2023)
Number of employees	9,429 (2023)
Corporation overview
Minister responsible	Pascale St-Onge,Minister of Canadian Heritage
Key document	Broadcasting Act,1991
Website	cbc.radio-canada.ca
Footnotes / references

Although some local stations in Canada predate its founding, the CBC is the oldest continually-existing broadcasting network in Canada. The CBC was established on November 2, 1936.The CBC operates four terrestrial radio networks: The English-languageCBC Radio OneandCBC Music,and the French-languageIci Radio-Canada PremièreandIci Musique(international radio serviceRadio Canada Internationalhistorically transmitted via shortwave radio, but since 2012 its content is only available as podcasts on its website). The CBC also operates two terrestrial television networks, the English-languageCBC Televisionand the French-languageIci Radio-Canada Télé,along with the satellite/cable networksCBC News Network,Ici RDI,Ici Explora,Documentary Channel(partial ownership), andIci ARTV.The CBC operates services for the Canadian Arctic under the namesCBC North,and Radio-Canada Nord. The CBC also operates digital services includingCBC.ca/Ici.Radio-Canada.ca,CBC Radio 3,CBC Music/ICI.mu, andIci.TOU.TV.

CBC/Radio-Canada offers programming in English, French, and eightindigenouslanguages on its domestic radio service, and in five languages on its web-based international radio service,Radio Canada International(RCI).However, budget cuts in the early 2010s have contributed to the corporation reducing its service via the airwaves, discontinuing RCI's shortwave broadcasts as well as terrestrial television broadcasts in all communities served by network-ownedrebroadcast transmitters,including communities not subject to Canada'sover-the-air digital television transition.

The CBC's funding is supplemented by revenue from commercial advertising on its television broadcasts. The radio service employed commercials from its inception to 1974, but since then its primary radio networks have been commercial-free. In 2013, the CBC's secondary radio networks, CBC Music andIci Musique,introduced limited advertising of up to four minutes an hour, but this was discontinued in 2016.

History

Main articles:History of broadcasting in CanadaandTimeline of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

In 1929, theAird Commissiononpublic broadcastingrecommended the creation of a national radio broadcast network. A major concern was the growing influence of American radio broadcasting as U.S.-based networks began to expand into Canada. Meanwhile,Canadian National Railwayswas making a radio network to entertain its passengers and give it an advantage over its rival, CP. This, the CNR Radio, is the forerunner of the CBC.Graham SpryandAlan Plauntlobbied intensely for the project on behalf of theCanadian Radio League.In 1932, the government ofR. B. Bennettestablished the CBC's predecessor, theCanadian Radio Broadcasting Commission(CRBC).

Journalists in a CBC newsroom inMontrealin November 1944

The CRBC took over a network of radio stations formerly set up by a federal Crown corporation, theCanadian National Railway.The network was used to broadcast programming to riders aboard its passenger trains, with coverage primarily in central and eastern Canada. On November 2, 1936, the CRBC was reorganized under its present name. While the CRBC was a state-owned company, the CBC was aCrown corporationon the model of theBritish Broadcasting Corporation,which had been reformed from a private company into a statutory corporation in 1927.Leonard Brockingtonwas the CBC's first chairman.

For the next few decades, the CBC was responsible for all broadcasting innovation in Canada. This was partly because, until 1958, it was not only a broadcaster but the chief regulator of Canadian broadcasting. It used this dual role to snap up most of theclear-channel licencesin Canada. It began a separate French-language radio network in December 1937.It introducedFM radioto Canada in 1946, though a distinct FM service was not launched until 1960.

Television broadcasts from the CBC began on September 6, 1952, with the opening of a station inMontreal,Quebec(CBFT), and a station inToronto,Ontario(CBLT) opening two days later.The CBC's first privately ownedaffiliatetelevision station,CKSOinSudbury,Ontario, launched in October 1953.At the time, all private stations were expected to affiliate with the CBC, a condition that relaxed in 1960–61 with the launch ofCTV.

From 1944 to 1962, the CBC split its English-language radio network into two services known as theTrans-Canada Networkand theDominion Network.The latter, carrying lighter programs including American radio shows, was dissolved in 1962, while the former became known as CBC Radio. (In the late 1990s, CBC Radio was rebranded asCBC Radio Oneand CBC Stereo as CBC Radio Two. The latter was rebranded slightly in 2007 asCBC Radio 2.)

A CBCsatellite truck,used for remote television broadcasts

On July 1, 1958, the CBC's television signal was extended from coast to coast. The first Canadian television show shot in colour was the CBC's ownThe Forest Rangersin 1963.Colour television broadcasts commenced on July 1, 1966, and full-colour service began in 1974.In 1978, the CBC became the first broadcaster in the world to use an orbiting satellite for television service, linking Canada "from east to west to north". The mission of CBC is contributing to the "moral economy of the nation".

Frontier Coverage Package

Starting in 1967 and continuing until the mid-1970s, the CBC offered a "Frontier Coverage Package" of limited television service to remote northern communities.Low-power television transmitters carried a four-hour selection of black-and-whitevideotapedprograms each day. The tapes were recorded inCalgaryand flown into a community with a transmitter, put on the air, and then transported to another community, often by the "bicycle" method used intelevision syndication.Transportation delays ranged from one week for larger centres to almost a month for small communities.

CBC Northstudios inIqaluitin 2011

The first stations were started inYellowknife,Northwest Territories;Lynn Lake,Manitoba; andHavre-Saint-Pierre,Quebec, in 1967.Another station began operating inWhitehorse,Yukon in November 1968.Additional stations were added from 1969 to 1972.

Most of the stations were reconfigured in 1973 to receive CBC Television programming from theAniksatellite in colour and live with the rest of Canada. Those serving the largest centres signed on with colour broadcasts on February 5, 1973, and most of the others were added before spring of that year.Broadcasts were geared to either theAtlantic Time Zone(UTC−4 or −3), originating fromHalifaxand laterSt. John's,or thePacific Time Zone(UTC−8 or −7), originating fromVancouver,even though the audience resided in communities in time zones varying from UTC−5 to UTC−8; the reason for this was that the CBC originated its programs for the Atlantic Time Zone, and a key station in each time zone would record the broadcast for the appropriate delay of one, two or three hours; the programs were originated again for the Pacific zone. The northern stations picked up one of these two feeds, with the western NWT stations picking up the Pacific feed.Some in northern areas of the provinces were connected bymicrowaveto a CBC broadcast centre within their own province.

Some of these stations used non-CBCcall signssuch asCFWH-TVin Whitehorse, CFYK in Yellowknife, CFFB in Frobisher Bay and CHAK in Inuvik, while some others used the standard CB_T callsign but with five letters (e.g. CBDHT).Uplinksin the North were usually atemporary unitbrought in from the south. Aground stationuplink was later established in Yellowknife, and then in Whitehorse and Iqaluit.

Television programs originating in the North began in 1979 with the monthly news magazineOur Ways,produced in Yellowknife,and graduated to half-hour newscasts (NorthbeatandIgalaaq) on weekdays in 1995.Until then, there were occasional temporary uplinks for such things as territorial election returns coverage; Yukon had the first such coverage in 1985,though because it happened during the Stanley Cup playoffs, equipment was already spoken for, so CBC rented the equipment ofCITV-TVEdmontonto use in Whitehorse that evening.

2011 transition to digital television

See also:Digital television in CanadaandList of defunct CBC and Radio-Canada television transmitters

Radio Canada Internationaltransmitter site (CKCX) inSackville, New Brunswickin 2009. The site was closed in 2012.

The CRTC ordered that in 28 "mandatory markets", full power over-the-air analogue television transmitters had to cease transmitting by August 31, 2011. Broadcasters could either continue serving those markets by transitioning analogue transmitters to digital or cease broadcasting over-the-air. Cable, IPTV, and satellite services are not involved or affected by this digital transition deadline.

While its fellow Canadian broadcasters converted most of their transmitters to digital by theCanadian digital television transitiondeadline of August 31, 2011, the CBC converted only about half of the analogue transmitters mandatory to digital (15 of 28 markets with CBC TV, and 14 of 28 markets with SRC). Due to financial difficulties reported by the corporation, the corporation published a plan whereby communities that receive analogue signals by re-broadcast transmitters in mandatory markets would lose their over-the-air (OTA) signals as of the deadline. Rebroadcast transmitters account for 23 of the 48 CBC and SRC transmitters in mandatory markets. Mandatory markets losing both CBC and SRC over-the-air signals includeLondon, Ontario(metropolitan area population 457,000) andSaskatoon,Saskatchewan(metro area 257,000). In both of those markets, the corporation's television transmitters are the only ones that were not converted to digital.

On July 31, 2012, the CBC shut down all of its approximately 620 analogue television transmitters, following an announcement of these plans on April 4, 2012. This reduced the total number of the corporation's television transmitters across the country to 27. According to the CBC, this would reduce the corporation's yearly costs by $10 million. No plans have been announced to use subchannels to maintain over-the-air signals for both CBC and SRC in markets where the corporation has one digital transmitter. In fact, in its CRTC application to shut down all of its analogue television transmitters, the CBC communicated its opposition to the use of subchannels, citing, amongst other reasons, costs.CBC/R-C claims that only 1.7 percent of Canadian viewers actually lost access to CBC and Radio-Canada programming due to the very high penetration of cable and satellite. In some areas (particularly remote and rural regions), cable or satellite have long been essential for acceptable television.

Fallout over the Ghomeshi affair

In 2015, after allegations that CBC Radio hostJian Ghomeshihad harassed colleagues, Ghomeshi was placed on leave; his employment was terminated in October when the CBC indicated that they had "graphic evidence" that he had injured a female employee.The corporation commissioned an independent investigation. The resulting report by Janice Rubin, a partner at the law firm Rubin Thomlinson LLP, discussed employee complaints about Ghomeshi that were not seriously considered by the CBC. Rubin concluded that CBC management had "failed to take adequate steps" when it became aware of Ghomeshi's "problematic behaviour".

Ghomeshi was charged by police with multiple counts of sexual assault but was found not guilty of all but one of these in March 2016. He was to be tried in June on the last remaining charge, relating to a complainant who had also worked at CBC; her name was later revealed to beKathryn Borel.On May 11, 2016, however, the Crown withdrew the charge after Ghomeshi signed a peace bond (which does not include an admission of guilt) and apologized to Borel.Borel was critical of the CBC for its handling of her initial complaint about Ghomeshi's behaviour. "When I went to the CBC for help, what I received in return was a directive that, yes, he could do this and, yes, it was my job to let him", she told the assembled media representatives.

The CBC apologized to Borel publicly on May 11 in a statement by the head of public affairs Chuck Thompson. "What Ms. Borel experienced in our workplace should never have happened and we sincerely apologize...", he stated.The corporation has also maintained that it had accepted Rubin's report and had "since made significant progress" on a revised policy of improved training and methods for handling bullying and harassment complaints.

The Rubin report "contained several recommendations on how the CBC can change its workplace culture. One of those recommendations included the creation of a work and human rights ombudsperson whom employees could use to raise concerns about the workplace." The CBC also severed its relationship "with two top executives, Chris Boyce, the former head of CBC Radio, and Todd Spencer, the head of human resources for English services".

In aToronto Stararticle by Jacques Gallant from May 11, 2016, public relations expert Martin Waxman spoke of a "damning indictment" of the CBC which included the following comment. "Yes, they did their inquiry, but if I were the CBC, I would think strongly about what is wrong with the culture and what they can do to repair it", he said.The Staralso quoted employment lawyerHoward Levittstating that "harassment has not been fully addressed at the CBC" in his estimation. Levitt called the Rubin report a "whitewash" and reiterated his suggestion that a federal commission should conduct a more detailed inquiry into workplace issues at the public broadcaster.

Federal elections and copyright claims

42nd Canadian Parliament: lawsuit threats

During the2015 Canadian federal electioncampaign, the CBC issuedcease-and-desistletters to theBroadbent Institute,theConservative Party of Canada(CPC), theLiberal Party of Canada,and theNew Democratic Party of Canada,accusing them of usingcopyrightedfootage from CBC news programming in their campaign advertising without permission. The Liberals and NDP complied with the letters, pulling the ads in question, while the Broadbent Institute and the Conservatives persisted. Eventually, however, rather than go to court, the Broadbent Institute and the Conservatives agreed to remove the offending material, and as such, the CBC did not pursue them further for these alleged infractions in 2015.

43rd Canadian Parliament: trial of suit

In October 2019, two weeks before the2019 Canadian federal election,the CBC sued the CPC for using excerpts from its leaders' debates in campaign material. The CBC petitioned for aninjunctionagainst the CPC continuing to use the excerpts as well as seeking an acknowledgement from the CPC and its executive director,Dustin Van Vugt,that the party had "engaged in the unauthorized use of copyright-protected material". Furthermore, the CBC indicated that the clips in question were "taken out of context and are edited and relied on to make partisan points for the benefit" of the CPC.In response, the CPC stated that 17 seconds of footage had been used and the video in question had been removed before the lawsuit was filed, and expressed "grave concern that this decision was made on the eve of an election that CBC is to be covering fairly and objectively".

Intellectual property academicMichael Geiststated that the use of the footage was likely covered byfair dealingprovisions.CBC President and CEOCatherine Taitcontends that she does not believe that the use of journalistic material for partisan ads is covered by the "fair dealing" exemption of theCopyright Act.

Resolution: court allows fair dealing

On May 13, 2021, the CPC lawsuit was dismissed in theFederal Court of Canada,with Justice Phelan's clarification that the CPC's use was fair and allowable.The decision made precedent. "Prior to this decision, Canadian jurisprudence held that to meet the requirements of criticism and review, the copyrighted work in use must be critiqued and analyzed. Furthermore, the Court held that for attribution of the source and author, the inclusion of the CBC's logo was sufficient" to meetCopyright Actrequirements.

Logos and slogans

Logos used by the CBC

1940–1958

1974–1985

1986–1992

1992–present

Flag of the CBC

The original logo of the CBC, designed byÉcole des Beaux Artsstudent Hortense Binetteand used between 1940 and 1958, featured a map of Canada (and from 1940 to 1949,Newfoundland) and a thunderbolt design used to symbolize broadcasting.

In 1958, the CBC adopted a new logo for use at the end of network programs. Designed by scale model artist Jean-Paul Boileau, it consisted of the legends "CBC" and "Radio-Canada" overlaid on a map of Canada. For French programming, the "Radio-Canada" was placed on top.

The "Butterfly" logo was designed for the CBC by Hubert Tison in 1966 to mark the network's progressing transition from black-and-white to colour television, much in the manner of theNBC peacock logo.It was used at the beginning of programs broadcast in colour and was used until all CBC television programs had switched to colour. A sketch on the CBC Television programWayne & Shusteronce referred to this as the logo of the "Cosmic Butterfly Corporation".

The fourth logo, known internally as "the gem", was designed for the CBC by graphic artistBurton Kramerin December 1974, and it is the most widely recognized symbol of the corporation. The main on-airidentificationfeatured the logo kaleidoscopically morphing into its form while radiating outward from the center of the screen on a blue background. This animated version, which went to air in December 1974, is also known colloquially as "The Exploding Pizza". The appearance of this logo marked the arrival of full-colour network television service. The large shape in the middle is the letter C, which stands for Canada; the radiating parts of the C symbolize broadcasting, and the blue circle the logo was placed in represented the world, so the entire logo, according to Kramer, represented the idea of "Canada broadcasting to the world". The original theme music for the 1974 CBC ident was a three-note woodwind orchestral fanfare accompanied by the voiceover "This is CBC" or "Ici Radio-Canada".This was later replaced by a different, and more familiar 11-note woodwind orchestral jingle, which was used until December 31, 1985.

The updated one-colour version of the gem/pizza logo, created by Hubert Tison and Robert Innes,was introduced on January 1, 1986, and with it was introduced a new series of computer graphic-generated television idents for the CBC and Radio-Canada. These idents consisted of different background colours corresponding to the time of the day behind a translucent CBC gem logo, accompanied by different arrangements of the CBC's new, synthesized five-note jingle. The logo was changed to one colour, generally dark blue on white, or white on dark blue, in 1986. Print ads and most television promos, however, have always used a single-colour version of this logo since 1974. During 1986, they use gold platings on their idents to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the CBC.

In 1992, the CBC updated its logo design to make it simpler and more red (or white on a red background). The new logo design, created by Swiss-Canadian design firm Gottschalk + Ash,reduces the number of geometric sections in the logo to 13 instead of the previous logo's 25, and the "C" in the centre of the logo became a simple red circle. According to graphic designer Todd Falkowsky, the logo's red colour also represents Canada in a symbolic way. With the launch of the current design, new television idents were introduced in November of that year, also using CGI. Since the early 2000s, it has also appeared in white (sometimes red) on a textured or coloured background. It is now CBC/Radio-Canada's longest-used logo, surpassing the original incarnation of the Gem logo and the CBC's 1940 logo.

CBC television slogans have been periodically updated:

• 1966: "Television is CBC"
• 1970: "When you watch, watch the best"
• 1977: "Bringing Canadians Together"
• 1980: "We Are the CBC"
• 1984: "Look to us for good things" (general) / "Good to Know" (news and public affairs)
• 1986–1989: "The Best on the Box"
• 1989–1992: "CBC and You"
• 1992–1994: "Go Public" / "CBC: Public Broadcasting" (to emphasize that CBC is a public broadcaster)
• 1995–2001: "Television to Call Our Own" and "Radio to Call Our Own"
• 2001–2007: "Canada's Own"
• 2007–2014: "Canada Lives Here"
• 2009–present: "Mon monde est à Radio-Canada, SRC" (English translation: My world is on Radio-Canada)
• 2011 and 2016: "Yours to Celebrate" (French: "Un monde à célébrer" ) (for the CBC's 75th and 80th anniversaries)
• 2014–2023: "Love CBC" / "Fall for CBC"
• 2023–present "It's a Canada thing"

Personalities

Main article:List of Canadian Broadcasting Corporation personalities

Notable CBC alumni have included futureGovernors General of CanadaJeanne Sauvé,Adrienne Clarkson,andMichaëlle Jean,as well as futureQuebecpremierRené Lévesque.

Knowlton Nash,whose career at the CBC spanned the years between 1965 and 1992, was a beloved and trusted news anchor for the news programmeThe National.Peter Mansbridgethen took over the reins at the premiere Canadian news broadcast until July 1, 2017.For a time Mansbridge shared the anchor position withWendy Mesley,who was forced to retire after a 38-year career under a cloud for inappropriate use of language in two closed editorial meetings.

A staple in Canadian living rooms since 1952 is the weekly Saturday night broadcastHockey Night in Canada.Personalities likeFoster Hewitt,Dick Irvin Jr.,Harry Nealewere amongst the light-blue jacketed commentators of the 20th century.Ron MacLeanandDon Cherrywere famous for their commentary during the first intermissionCoach's Corneruntil Cherry was fired for remarks during broadcast onRemembrance Day2019 that were widely condemned as anti-immigrant.

Organization

Main article:List of assets owned by Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

Mandate

The1991Broadcasting Actstates that:

... the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, as the national public broadcaster, should provide radio and television services incorporating a wide range of programming that informs, enlightens and entertains;

... the programming provided by the Corporation should:

• be predominantly and distinctively Canadian,
• reflect Canada and its regions to national and regional audiences, while serving the special needs of those regions,
• actively contribute to the flow and exchange of cultural expression,
• be in English and in French, reflecting the different needs and circumstances of each official language community, including the particular needs and circumstances of English and French linguistic minorities,
• strive to be of equivalent quality in English and French,
• contribute to shared national consciousness and identity,
• be made available throughout Canada by the most appropriate and efficient means and as resources become available for the purpose, and
• reflect the multicultural and multiracial nature of Canada.

In June 2018, theGovernment of Canadalaunched a review of theBroadcasting Actas well as theTelecommunications Act,and the CBC mandate is subject to updating following the review's completion. The CBC also submitted a paper to the Review Panel entitled "Our Culture, Our Democracy: Canada in the Digital World", which included various recommendations regarding the strengthening ofpublic broadcastingwithin the global broadcasting market. The Review Panel submitted its final report and recommendations on January 29, 2020.

Management

As aCrown corporation,the CBC operates atarm's length(autonomously) from the government in its day-to-day business. The corporation is governed by theBroadcasting Actof 1991, under a board of directors and is directly responsible toParliamentthrough theDepartment of Canadian Heritage.General management of the organization is in the hands of a president, who is appointed by theGovernor General of Canadain Council,on theadviceof the prime minister.

According toThe Hill Times,a clause inBill C-60—anomnibusbudget implementation bill introduced by the government ofStephen Harperin 2013— "appears to contradict a longstanding arm's-length relationship between the independent CBC and any government in power".The clause allows the "prime minister's cabinet to approve salaries, working conditions and collective bargaining positions for the CBC".

On September 1, 2007, the CBC became subject to the federalAccess to Information Act.

Board of directors

In accordance with theBroadcasting Act,a board of directors is responsible for the management of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The board is made up of 12 members, including the chair and the president and CEO. A current list of directors is available from the CanadianGovernor in Councilhere.

As of April 2021,the CBC's board of directors page lists:

• Michael Goldbloom
• Catherine Tait(president and CEO)
• Guillaume Aniorté
• Suzanne Guèvremont
• René Légère
• Sandra Mason
• Jennifer Moore Rattray
• François R. Roy
• Rita Shelton Deverell
• Sandra Singh
• Bill Tam
• Marie Wilson

Presidents

• 1936–1939:Leonard Brockington
• 1940–1944:René Morin
• 1944–1945:Howard B. Chase
• 1945–1958:A. Davidson Dunton
• 1958–1967:J. Alphonse Ouimet
• 1968–1972:George F. Davidson
• 1972–1975:Laurent A. Picard
• 1975–1982:A.W. Johnson
• 1982–1989:Pierre Juneau
• 1989:William T. Armstrong
• 1989–1994:Gérard Veilleux
• 1994–1995:Anthony S. Manera
• 1995–1999:Perrin Beatty
• 1999–2007:Robert Rabinovitch
• 2008–2018:Hubert T. Lacroix
• 2018–present:Catherine Tait

Ombudsmen

English (CBC)

• William Morgan
• David Bazay(1995 – October 30, 2005)
• Vince Carlin(January 2006 – December 2010)
• Kirk LaPointe(November 2010 – 2012)
• Esther Enkin(January 1, 2013 – December 2018)
• Jack Nagler(January 2019 – present)

French (Radio-Canada)

• Bruno Gauron(1992)
• Mario Cardinal(1993–1997)
• Marcel Pépin(1997–1999)
• Renaud Gilbert(2000–2007)
• Julie Miville-Dechêne(April 1, 2007 – July 2011)
• Pierre Tourangeau(November 14, 2011 – April 2016)
• Guy Gendron(April 1, 2016 – 2021)

Financing

For the fiscal year 2006, the CBC received a total of $1.53 billion from all revenue sources, including parliamentary funding via taxes, subscription fees, advertising revenue, and other revenue (e.g., real estate). Expenditures for the year included $616 million for English television, $402 million for French television, $126 million for specialty channels, a total of $348 million for radio services in both languages, $88 million for management and technical costs, and $124 million for "amortizationof property and equipment ". Some of this spending was derived from amortization of funding from previous years.

Among its revenue sources for theyear ending March 31, 2006,the CBC received $946 million in its annual funding from parliament, as well as $60 million in "one-time" supplementary funding for programming. However, this supplementary funding has been repeated annually for a number of years. This combined total is just over a billion dollars annually and is a source of heated debate. To supplement this funding, the CBC's television networks and websites sell advertising, while cable/satellite-only services such as CBC News Network additionally collect subscriber fees, in line with their privately owned counterparts. The CBC's radio services do not sell advertising except when required by law (for example, to political parties during federal elections).

CBC's funding differs from that of the public broadcasters of many European nations, which collect alicence fee,or those in the United States, such asPBSandNPR,which receive some public funding but rely to a large extent on voluntary contributions from individual viewers and listeners. ANanos Researchpoll from August 2014 conducted for Asper Media (National Post,Financial Post) showed 41% of Canadians wanted funding increased, 46% wanted it maintained at current levels, and only 10% wanted to see it cut.

The network's defenders note that the CBC's mandate differs from private media's, particularly in its focus on Canadian content; that much of the public funding actually goes to the radio networks; and that the CBC is responsible for the full cost of most of its prime-time programming, while private networks can fill up most of their prime-time schedules with American series acquired for a fraction of their production cost. CBC supporters also point out that additional, long-term funding is required to provide better Canadian dramas and improved local programming to attract and sustain a strong viewership.

According to theCanadian Media Guild,the $115-million deficit reduction action plan cuts to CBC which started with the 2012 budget and were fully realized in 2014, amounted to "one of the biggest layoffs of content creators and journalists in Canadian history". The 2014 cuts combined with earlier ones totalled "3,600 jobs lost at CBC since 2008. The CMG asked the federal government to reverse the cutsand to repeal Clause 17 of omnibus budget bill C-60 "to remove government's interference in CBC's day-to-day operations".

In September 2015, the Canadian Media Guild announced that the CBC planned to sell all of its properties across Canada to gain a temporary increase in available funds. Media relations manager Alexandra Fortier denied this and stated that the corporation planned to sell only half of its assets.

In September 2015,Hubert Lacroix,then-president of CBC/Radio-Canada, spoke at the international public broadcasters' conference inMunich, Germany.He claimed for the first time that public broadcasters were "at risk of extinction".The Canadian Media Guild responded that Lacroix had "made a career of shredding" the CBC by cutting one quarter of its staff—approximately 2,000 jobs since 2010 under Lacroix's tenure. More than 600 jobs were cut in 2014 in order "to plug a $130-million budget shortfall".Isabelle Montpetit, president of Syndicat des communications de Radio-Canada (SCRC), observed that Lacroix was hand-picked by Stephen Harper for the job as president of the CBC.For the fiscal year 2015, the CBC received $1.036 billion in public funding and took 5% funding cuts from the previous year.

In 2015, the Liberal Party was returned to power. As part of its election platform, it promised to restore the $115 million of funding to the CBC that was cut by the Harper Government, over three years, and add $35 million, for a total extra funding of $150 million.

On November 28, 2016, the CBC issued a request for $400 million in additional funding, which it planned to use towards removing advertising from its television services, production and acquisition of Canadian content, and "additional funding of new investments to face consumer and technology disruption". The broadcaster argued that it had operated "[under] a business model and cultural policy framework that is profoundly broken", while other countries "[reaped] the benefits of strong, stable, well-funded public broadcasters".

CBC has received $1.2 billion of annual public funding since fiscal 2018. Parliamentary funding increased to almost $1.4 billion for 2020–2021 to cover 'retroactive salary inflation' and potential issues arising from the pandemic. It returned to $1.2 billion the following year.

Services

See also:List of assets owned by Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

News

Main article:CBC News

See also:Le Téléjournal

CBC Newsjournalist and camera crew reporting on a rally in support ofAlexei Navalnyoutside the Russian consulate in Montreal, January 2021

CBC News is the largest broadcast newsgathering operation in Canada, providing services to CBC radio as well asCBC News Network,local supper-hour newscasts, CBC News Online, andAir Canada's in-flight entertainment. Recent CBC News services are also proving popular, such as news alerts to mobile phones andPDAs.Desktop news alerts, e-mail alerts, and digital television alerts are also available.

Radio

Main article:CBC Radio

Further information:List of defunct CBC radio transmitters in Canada

CBC Radio has six separate services: three in English, known asCBC Radio One,CBC Music,andCBC Radio 3;and three in French, known asIci Radio-Canada Première,Ici Musique,andIci Musique Classique.Over the years, a number of CBC radio transmitters, with a majority of them on theAM band,have either moved toFMor have shut down completely. The CBC plans to phase out more CBC AM transmitters across Canada.This goal however remains to be seen in light of the CBC budget cutbacks.

CBC Radio One and Première focus onnewsand information programming, though they also air some music programs, variety shows, and comedy; in the past, they aired some sports programming as well. Both of these services used to broadcast primarily on the AM band, but many stations have moved over to FM. CBC Music andIci musiqueis found exclusively on FM, airing arts and cultural programming, with a focus on music. CBC Radio 3, found only online, plays exclusively-independent Canadian music.

A live audience attending a special anniversary broadcast ofInformation Morning,a morning show onCBHA-FM

CBC Radio also operated twoshortwaveservices. The first,Radio Nord Québec,broadcast domestically toNorthern Quebecon a static frequency of 9.625MHz;and the other,Radio Canada International,provided broadcasts to the United States and around the world in eight languages. Both shortwave services were shut down in 2012 due tobudget cuts;theSackville transmitter sitewas dismantled in 2014.Additionally, the Radio One stations inSt. John'sandVancouveroperatedshortwave relaytransmitters, broadcasting at 6.16 MHz. Some have suggestedthat CBC/Radio-Canada create a new high-power shortwavedigitalradio service for more effective coverage of isolated areas.

In November 2004, the CBC, in partnership withStandard BroadcastingandSirius Satellite Radio,applied to theCanadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission(CRTC) for a licence to introduce satellite radio service to Canada. The CRTC approved the subscription radio application, as well as two others for satellite radio service, on June 16, 2005.Sirius Canadalaunched on December 1, 2005, with a number of CBC Radio channels, including the new servicesCBC Radio 3andBande à part.The CBC once owned a stake inSirius XM Canada,but exited from ownership following a reorganization announced in 2016.

In some areas, especially national or provincial parks, the CBC also operates an AM or FM transmitter rebroadcasting weather alerts from theMeteorological Service of Canada'sWeatheradio Canadaservice.

Long-range radio plan

The CBC'slong-range radio plan(LRRP) was developed by theCanadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission(CRTC) in collaboration with the CBC to identify thoseFMfrequencies that would likely be required to deliver the CBC's radio services to the maximum number of Canadians. The CBC is not subject to any conditions or expectations concerning its LRRP. The CBC noted that Première Chaîne (nowIci Radio-Canada Première) andCBC Radio Onewere available to about 99% of the Canadian population. The CBC stated that it plans to maintain its radio service but has no plans to grow the coverage area. It described the LRRP as a planning vehicle and indicated that it would no longer use it. Given reductions in public funding to the CBC and given that Première Chaîne and Radio One are available to the vast majority of Canadians, the Commission considers that the CBC's plan to maintain current coverage and discontinue the LRRP is reasonable. Accordingly, the Commission accepted the CBC's proposal to discontinue the LRRP.

Radio Guide

Beginning in 1981, CBC Radio launched the monthly magazineRadio Guide,which includedCBC Radioprogram listings alongside feature content, such as profiles of musicians and writers and behind the scenes looks at CBC programs.The magazine was released both by subscription and as a newsstand title. In 1984, due to budgetary pressures at the CBC, the magazine began accepting paid advertising from outside clients;in 1985, due to further budget cuts, the magazine was discontinued as a standalone title, and instead became a supplement inSaturday Night.In 1988, the magazine was sold to Core Group Publishers of Vancouver,and continued in this format until 1997, when it was discontinued due to a declining subscriber base.

Television

Further information:CBC Television,ICI Radio-Canada Télé,List of CBC Television stations,andList of CBC Television Programs

Maison Radio-Canadain Montreal holds the headquarters of CBC Radio-Canada's French-language output

TheCanadian Broadcasting Centrein Toronto serves as the CBC's English-language master control point

The CBC operates two national broadcast television networks:CBC Televisionin English, andICI Radio-Canada Téléin French. Like private broadcasters, both of these networks sell advertising but offer more Canadian-produced programming. All CBC television stations are owned and operated by the CBC itself and carry a common schedule, aside from local programming and otherregional variation(such as theCBC Northstations inNunavut,theNorthwest Territories,and theYukoncarrying an additional newscast in theInuktitutlanguage and a weeklyCreeprogram), andCBET-DTin Windsor amending its non-primetime schedule at various points due to program rights conflicts withDetroitstations.

Both CBC's English and French networks previously had a number of privateaffiliatesowned by third-party owners. However, the majority of them have either been bought by the CBC and subsequently shut down during the transition to digital television, or have switched to other networks and program services. The only remaining privately owned affiliate of any CBC-owned network is Ici Radio-Canada Télé affiliateCKRT-DTinRivière-du-Loup(which is part of atriplestickalso containing private affiliates for Quebec's two private networks).

One of the most popular shows is the weekly Saturday night broadcast ofNHLhockeygames. In English, the program is known asHockey Night in Canada,and in French, it was calledLa Soirée du hockey.Both shows began in 1952. The French edition was discontinued in 2004, though Radio-Canada stations outside of Quebec simulcast some Saturday night games produced byRDSuntil 2006. The network suffered considerable public embarrassment when it lost the rights to the show'stheme musicfollowing a protracted lawsuit launched by the song's composer and publishers.In 2013, the exclusive national media rights to the NHL were acquired byRogers Media,although Rogers would reach an agreement with the CBC to license theHockey Night in Canadabrand for use in itscoverageof Saturday-night games, andbrokera version of the broadcasts to CBC at no charge.

The CBC also wholly owns and operates four specialty television channels—the news channelsCBC News NetworkandIci RDI,and the French-language networksIci ExploraandIci ARTV(the latter since 2015 after buying the remaining 15% of the channel fromArte France). It also owns a managing interest inDocumentary Channel.

CBC provides viewers with interactive on-demand television programs every year throughdigital-cableservices likeRogers Cable.

Children's programming air under the commercial-free preschool programming block calledCBC Kids.In French, the children's programming block isZone JeunesseonICI Radio-Canada Télé.

Online

Further information:CBC.caandIci TOU.TV

The CBC has two main websites:CBC.cais in English and was established in 1996;andRadio-Canada.cais in French.The websites allow the CBC to produce sections that complement the various programs on television and radio.

In May 2012, as part of an initiative to improve its service in "underserved" markets, the CBC launched aCBC Hamiltonnews operation forHamilton, Ontario.With the Hamilton area already within the broadcast range of CBC Radio and CBC Television's services inToronto,the outlet focuses exclusively on digital content, including a section of the CBC News website oriented towards the market. CBC Hamilton reporters have occasionally filed reports for the CBC's television news output, in the event of major stories centred upon the city.

Also in 2012, the corporation launchedCBC Music,aninternet radioservice that produces and distributes 40 music-related channels, including the existing audio streams of CBC Radio 2 andCBC Radio 3.In October 2019, the CBC launched a successor to the CBC Music platform known asCBC Listen,which encompasses the CBC's radio, music, as well aspodcastoutput.

CBC offers feature-length documentary films through thedocumentary Channel[sic], adigital television station.

In February 2023, the CBC indicated for the first time that it has begun preliminary planning toward the prospect that future broadcasting will take place entirely on internet streaming platforms rather than traditional radio or television transmissions, although it has not yet announced a specific target date for any changeover.

Merchandising

Established in 2002,CBC Merchandisingoperates retail locations andCBCshop.ca;its educational sales department, CBC Learning,sells CBC content and media to educational institutions; as well aslicensing brandssuch asHockey Night in Canada(whose branding is still owned by the CBC)andCoronation Street(as a Canadianlicenseeunder arrangement fromITV Studios).

Miscellaneous

CBC Recordsis a Canadianrecord labelthat distributes CBC programming, including live concert performances and album transcripts of news and information programming such as theMassey Lectures,in album format. Music albums on the label, predominantly in the classical and jazz genres, are distributed across Canada in commercial record stores, while albums containing spoken word programming are predominantly distributed by the CBC's own retail merchandising operations.

CBC provides news, business, weather and sports information onAir Canada's inflight entertainment asEnroute Journal.

Unions

Unions representing employees at CBC/Radio-Canada include:

• Canadian Media Guild(CMG)represents on-air, production, technical, administrative and support staff outside of Québec and Moncton.
• Association of Professionals and Supervisors (APS)*
• American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada(AFM)*
• Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists(performers; ACTRA)
• International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees(stagehands; IATSE)
• Writers Guild of Canada(WGC)*
• Association des réalisateurs(AR)
• Syndicat des communications de Radio-Canada(SCRC)
• Société des auteurs de la radio, de la télévision et du cinéma(SARTeC).
• Syndicat Canadien de la fonction publique, Conseil des sections locales, Groupe des employé(e)s de bureau et professionnel(le)s(SCFP).
• Société professionnelle des auteurs-compositeurs du Québec(SPACQ)
• Syndicat des technicien(ne)s et des artisan(e)s du réseau français(STARF).
• Union des artistes(UDA)

Labour issues

During the summer of 1981 there was a major disruption of CBC programming as the technicians union, theNational Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians,went on strike. Local newscasts were cut back to the bare minimum. This had the effect of delaying the debut ofThe Journal,which had to wait until January 1982.

The CBC has been affected by a number of other labour disputes since the late 1990s:

• In early 1999, CBC English- and French-network technicians in all locations outsideQuebecandMoncton,members of theCommunications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada,went on strike.TheCanadian Media Guildwas set to strike as well, but the CBC settled with both unions.
• A similar dispute, again involving all technicians outside Quebec and Moncton, occurred in late 2001 and concluded by the end of the year.
• In spring 2002, on-air staff in Quebec and Moncton (again, on both English and French networks) were locked out by local management, leaving, among other things, NHL playoff games without commentary on French television.

2005 lock-out

On August 15, 2005, 5,500 employees of the CBC (about 90%) werelocked outby CBC CEORobert Rabinovitchin a dispute over future hiring practices. At issue were the rules governing the hiring of contract workers in preference to full-time hires. The locked-out employees were members of theCanadian Media Guild,representing all production, journalistic and on-air personnel outside Quebec and Moncton, including several foreign correspondents. While CBC services continued during the lock-out, they were primarily made up of repeats, with news programming from theBBCand newswires.Major CBC programs such asThe NationalandRoyal Canadian Air Farcewere not produced during the lock-out; some non-CBC-owned programs seen on the network, such asThe Red Green Show,shifted to other studios. Meanwhile, the locked-out employees produced podcasts and websites such asCBCunplugged.com.

After a hiatus, talks re-opened. On September 23,Joe Fontana,the federal minister of labour, called Rabinovitch and Arnold Amber—the president of the CBC branch of theCanadian Media Guild—to his office for talks aimed at ending the dispute. Late in the evening of October 2, 2005, it was announced that the CBC management and staff had reached a tentative deal which resulted in the CBC returning to normal operations on October 11. Some speculated that the looming October 8 start date for the network's most important television property,Hockey Night in Canada,had acted as an additional incentive to resolve the dispute.

While all labour disputes resulted in cut-back programming and numerous repeat airings, the 2005 lock-out may have been the most damaging to CBC. All local programming in the affected regions was cancelled and replaced by abbreviated national newscasts and national radio morning shows.BBC World(television) andWorld Service(radio), as well asBroadcast Newsfeeds, were used to provide the remainder of original news content, and the CBC website consisted mainly of rewritten wire copy. Some BBC staff protested against their material being used during the CBC lock-out. "TheNUJandBECTUwill not tolerate their members' work being used against colleagues in Canada ", said a joint statement by BBC unions. The CMG questioned whether, with its limited Canadian news content, the CBC was meeting its legal requirements under theBroadcasting Actand its CRTC licences.

Galaxie(which CBC owned at the time) supplied some music content for the radio networks. Tapes of aired or produced documentaries, interviews and entertainment programs were also aired widely. Selected television sports coverage, including that of theCanadian Football League,continued, but without commentary.

As before, French-language staff outside of Quebec were also affected by the 2005 lock-out, although with Quebec producing the bulk of the French networks' programming, those networks were not as visibly affected by the dispute apart from local programs.

International broadcasts

AQSL cardfrom 1956 promoting CBC Radio-Canada's international service

CBC Television,Ici Radio-Canada Télé,CBC News Network,and all other CBC channels can be received through cable and satellite TV channel providers across Canada, such asBell Satellite TV,TelusOptik TV,Rogers Cable,Videotron,Cogeco,and other smaller TV providers. The CBC and Radio-Canada channel signals can also be obtained free of charge,over-the-air,through antenna receivers in Canada's largest markets as well as in some border states along theCanada–U.S. border;however, CBC is not obtainable as a "free-to-air"(FTA) channel on FTA satellites.

Caribbean

SeveralCaribbean Countriescarry feeds of CBC TV, including in:

• Bahamas,on the coral wave (Cable Bahamas) television system in the Northern Bahamas (Channel 8).
• Barbados,
  • on theCaribbean Broadcasting Corporation-owned cable systemMulti-Choice TV(Channel 703); and
  • on theColumbus Communications-owned cable systemFLOW Barbados(Channel 132).
• Bermuda,on the CableVision digital cable service.
• Grenada,carried onColumbus Communications-owned cable systemFLOWGrenada.
• Jamaica,distributed in areas served byFLOW Jamaica.
• Trinidad and Tobago,on theColumbus CommunicationsTrinidad Ltd. (CCTL) television system.

United States

CBC radio and television stations can be receivedover-the-airand have a significant audience inU.S. bordercommunities such asBellinghamandSeattle,Washington;Buffalo, New York;Detroit, Michigan;andBurlington, Vermont.Farther from the border, some American fans of the network have acquired CanadianIP addressesto stream its sports broadcasts.Some CBC programming is alsorebroadcaston local public radio, such asNew Hampshire Public Radio,Vermont Public Radioand theMaine Public Broadcasting Network.CBC television channels are available on cable systems located near the Canada–U.S. border. For example,CBETWindsoris available on cable systems in the Detroit, Michigan, andToledo, Ohio,areas; much of the rest of the state of Michigan receivesCBMT Montrealon cable.CBUTVancouveris broadcast onComcastin the Seattle area. At night, the AM radio transmissions of both CBC and Radio-Canada services can be received over much of the northern portion of the United States, from stations such asCBWinWinnipeg,CBKinSaskatchewan,andCJBCinToronto.

On September 11, 2001, several American broadcasters without their own news operations, includingC-SPAN,carried the CBC's coverage of theSeptember 11 attacksin New York City andWashington, D.C.In the days after September 11, C-SPAN carried CBC's nightly newscast,The National,anchored byPeter Mansbridge.The quality of this coverage was recognised specifically by theCanadian Journalism Foundation;editor-in-chiefTony Burmanlater accepted the Excellence in Journalism Award (2004), for "rigorous professional practice, accuracy, originality and public accountability", on behalf of the service.

C-SPAN has also carried CBC's coverage of major events affecting Canadians, including:Canadian federal elections,key proceedings inParliament of Canada,Six days in September 2000 that marked thedeath and state funeral of Pierre Elliott Trudeau,thepower outage crisisin summer 2003,U.S. presidential elections(e.g. in2004,C-SPAN picked upThe Nationalthe day after the election for the view from Canadians), state visits and official visits ofAmerican presidentsto Canada, andBarack Obama inaugurationin 2009.

SeveralPBSstations also air some CBC programming. However, these programs are syndicated by independent distributors, and are not governed by the PBS "common carriage" policy. Other American broadcast networks sometimes air CBC reports, especially for Canadian events of international significance. For example, in the early hours after theSwissair Flight 111disaster,CNNaired CBC's live coverage of the event. Also in the late 1990s,CNN Headline Newsaired a few CBC reports of events that were not significant outside Canada.

Newsworld International and Trio

From 1994 to 2000, the CBC, in a venture withPower Broadcasting(former owner ofCKWSinKingston), jointly owned two networks:

1. Newsworld International(NWI), an American cable channel that rebroadcast much of the programming of CBC Newsworld (now known asCBC News Network).
2. Trio,an arts and entertainment channel.

In 2000, the CBC and Power Broadcasting sold these channels toBarry Diller'sUSA Networks.Diller's company was later acquired byVivendi Universal,which in turn was partially acquired byNBCto formNBCUniversal.NBCUniversal still owns the Trio brand, which no longer has any association with the CBC (and became an Internet-only broadband channel which was later folded intoBravo.) The channel was shut down and was replaced with the NBCUniversal channel Sleuth (later known asCloo).

However, the CBC continued to program NWI, with much of its programming simulcast on the domestic Newsworld service. In late 2004, as a result of a further change in NWI's ownership to theINdTVconsortium (includingJoel Hyattand formerU.S. Vice PresidentAl Gore), NWI ceased airing CBC programming on August 1, 2005, when it becameCurrent TV.Current later folded and becameAl Jazeera Americaon August 20, 2013.

International broadcast of radio programs

Some CBC Radio One programs, such asDefinitely Not the Opera,WireTap,Q,andAs It Happens,also air on some stations associated withAmerican Public MediaorPublic Radio International.CBC Radio One (with a special feed that exclusively contains CBC-produced content and no regional programs) and Ici Radio-Canada Première (a simulcast of its Montreal flagshipCBF-FM) are available toSiriusXMsubscribers in the United States.

Controversies

Allegations of bias

See also:CBC News § Bias allegations

Several outlets and politicians over many years have accusedCBC Newsof bias.Surveys have found the Canadian public perceives a centre-left/Liberal Party bias in CBC News coverage.

Falun Gong andBeyond the Red Wall

In November 2007, the CBC replaced its documentary aboutpersecution of Falun Gongmembers in China,Beyond the Red Wall: Persecution of Falun Gong,at the last minute with a rerun episode regarding PresidentPervez Musharrafin Pakistan. The broadcaster had said to the press that "the crisis in Pakistan was considered more urgent and much more newsworthy", but sources from within the network itself had stated that the Chinese government had called theCanadian Embassyand demanded repeatedly that the program be taken off the air. The documentary in question was to air on Tuesday, November 6, 2007, onCBC Newsworld,but was replaced.The documentary aired two weeks later on November 20, 2007,after editing.

CBC President's comparison of Netflix's influence to colonialism

In January 2019 CBC PresidentCatherine Taitcame under fire for comparingNetflixto colonialimperialisminIndiaand parts ofAfrica.Tait did not offer an apology andHeather Mallickdefended her comparison.Tait's comments made American headlines with J.J. McCullough ofThe Washington Postsuggesting that "the state-sponsored" corporation shielded her from criticism and that the Canadian industry "was built in part as a bulwark against American influence".Canadian TV criticJohn Doyle,who has long criticized what he perceives as the low standards of Canadian programming, claimed that CBC had a problem of complacency rather than imperialism.

Closed captioning

CBC Televisionwas an early leader in broadcasting programming withclosed captioningfor thehearing impaired,airing its first captioned programming in 1981.Captioned programming in Canada began with the airing ofClown Whitein English-language and French-language versions on CBC Television and Radio-Canada, respectively. Most sources list that event as occurring in 1981,while others list the year as 1982.

In 1997, Henry Vlug, a deaf lawyer in Vancouver, filed a complaint with theCanadian Human Rights Commission(CHRC) alleging that an absence of captioning on some programming on CBC Television andNewsworldinfringed on his rights as a person with a disability. A ruling in 2000 by theCanadian Human Rights Tribunal,which later heard the case, sided with Vlug and found that an absence of captioning constituteddiscrimination on the basis of disability.The Tribunal ordered CBC Television and Newsworld to caption the entirety of their broadcast days, "including television shows, commercials, promos, and unscheduled news flashes, from sign-on until sign off".

The ruling recognized that "there will inevitably be glitches with respect to the delivery of captioning", but that "the rule should be full captioning". In a negotiated settlement to avoid appealing the ruling to theFederal Court of Canada,the CBC agreed to commence 100% captioning on CBC Television and Newsworld beginning November 1, 2002.CBC Television and Newsworld are the only broadcasters in the world required to caption the entire broadcast day. However, published evidence asserts that CBC is not providing the 100% captioning ordered by the Tribunal.

In 2004, Canadian retired senatorJean-Robert Gauthier,a hard-of-hearing person, filed a complaint with the CHRC against Radio-Canada concerning captioning, particularly the absence of real-time captioning on newscasts and other live programming. As part of the settlement process, Radio-Canada agreed to submit a report on the state of captioning, especially real-time captioning, on Radio-Canada andRDI.The report, which was the subject of some criticism, proposed an arrangement withCité Collégiale,a college in Ottawa, to train more French-language real-time captioners.

English-languagespecialty networksowned or co-owned by CBC, includingdocumentary,have the lower captioning requirements typical of larger Canadian broadcasters (90% of the broadcast day by the end of both networks' licence terms).ARTV,the French-language specialty network co-owned by CBC, has a minimum captioning requirement of 53%.

2013 Radio-Canada rebranding

On June 5, 2013, the CBC announced that it would be phasing out the Radio-Canada brand from its French-language broadcast properties, and unifying them under names prefixed with "Ici"('this is' or literally 'here'). For instance, the CBC planned to re-brandTélévision de Radio-Canadaas "Ici Télé",Première Chaîneas "Ici Première",and move its French-language website fromRadio-Canada.catoici.ca.Radio-Canada vice-presidentLouis Lalandestated that the new name complemented its multi-platform operations, while also serving as an homage to the broadcaster's historicstation identificationslogan since the 1930s, "ici Radio-Canada"('this is Radio-Canada').

Logo forIci Radio-Canada Première,the corporation's French-language radio network

The announcement was criticized by politicians (such asMinister of Canadian HeritageJames Moore), who felt that the new "Ici" brand was too confusing, and that the CBC was diminishing the value of the Radio-Canada name through its plans to downplay it. The re-branding was also criticized for being unnecessary spending, reportedly costing $400,000, in the midst of budget cuts at the CBC.On June 10, in response to the criticism,Hubert Lacroixapologized for the decision and announced that the new brands for its main radio and television networks would be revised to restore the Radio-Canada name alongside Ici, such as "Ici Radio-Canada Première".

In March 2013, the CBC also filed atrademarklawsuit against Sam Norouzi, founder ofCFHD-DT—a new multicultural station in Montreal—seeking to have Norouzi's registration on the name "ICI" (as an abbreviation of "International Channel/Canal International" ) cancelled because it was too similar to its own "Ici" -related trademarks. Despite Norouzi's trademark having been registered prior to the registration of CBC's, the corporation argued that Norouzi's application contained incorrect information surrounding his first use of the name in commerce, and also asserted the long-time use of "Ici Radio-Canada" as part of its imaging. Norouzi stated that he planned to fight the CBC in court.

Suspension of local newscasts during the COVID-19 pandemic

On March 18, 2020, in the wake of theCOVID-19 pandemic,CBC News suspended all of its English-languagelocal newscasts(excluding those carried byCBC North,which include an English-language newscast and a second inInuktitut), replacing them in their time slots withsimulcastsofCBC News Network.The CBC stated that this was done in order to pool its local resources to CBC News Network as a "core news offering".An employee memo suggested that a lack of staff at theCanadian Broadcasting Centreand "much stricter newsgathering protocols" were another factor in the decision.CBC News editor-in-chief Brodie Fenlon similarly stated that the broadcaster had decided to consolidate news production because their outbreak had "place[d] incredible demands on our staff and our infrastructure", and not all jobs associated with television production were capable of being done remotely.These consolidations only affect news programming on CBC Television;CBC RadioandIci Radio-Canada Téléhave continued to carry local content.

The CBC's decision faced criticism for its lack of clear justification, and resulting reduction of local news coverage during a major news event—especially in markets where CBC's local newscasts are the only news programming specific to the region (such asPrince Edward Island,which resulted in criticism of the move byPremierDennis King).TheCanadian Media Guildstated that the decision "flies in the face of past experience which has proven time and again that in times of significant events, Canadians trust and rely on CBC news coverage, particularly for its widespread coverage of regional and local impact, something no other Canadian network can match".Montreal Gazettemedia writer Steve Faguy questioned whether this change was in compliance with the individual stations' CRTC licences, as all CBC stations are required to produce local newscasts daily, and a minimum amount of local programming per-week.

In an editorial forThe Globe and Mail,former CTV News presidentRobert Hurststated that it was unusual for a journalistic operation to cut back on its operations during a crisis, and suggested that decision was the culmination of "decades of CBC News mismanagement" and low ratings in comparison to competitors (such as CTV, Global, and Citytv) in most markets.TheToronto Starsimilarly wrote that the CBC had "decided to bail on local communities across the country".

On March 24, the CBC announced that it would introduce "an expanded 30-minute local news segment on CBC News Network" beginning March 25, and would "make every effort to have all of the dedicated local shows back up on the main network".

CBC Tandem and branded content

Since 2016, the CBC has utilizedbranded content,publishing advertisements that are designed to look, read or sound similarly to news produced by the CBC itself.In 2020 the CBC formally launched a division called Tandem that focused its branded content marketing efforts, promising corporate clients they can "leverage" the CBC's reputation by aligning their message with the "trust Canadians have in our brand". Over 500 current and former employees called on CBC management to end Tandem, saying "in an era of 'fake news', where misinformation is already rife, it undermines trust... what's worse, it uses [Canadians'] tax dollars to do it."In November 2020 former employees requested that theCanadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commissioninvestigate Tandem as part of the public broadcaster's upcoming licence renewal, concerned the content blurs the lines between advertising and news, adding that "Canadians have a right to a national public broadcaster that puts their news and information needs ahead of the desires of corporate clients."

Private sector media criticized the CBC's ability to dominate the Canadian advertising market, using tax-funded subsidies to unfairly compete with local newspapers and broadcasters, driving them out of business.

CBC President and CEO Catherine Tait states that the CBC has since put "guardrails" in place that will ensure there is no confusion between CBC journalism and commercial advertising.

The CRTC integrated its investigation of Tandem into its hearings on the renewal of CBC's federal broadcast licences, ultimately renewing the CBC's licence from 2022 to 2027 and approving the Tandem program. The CRTC required that the CBC must establish, maintain, and publicize their guidelines on branded content as well as measure whether branded content is confusing to Canadians.

The CRTC decision has been criticized as allowing the CBC to disregard its mandate as a public broadcaster, transforming into a "publicly funded commercial broadcaster".

Kenneth Muzik verdict

On December 15, 2021, Manitoba Bench Justice Herbert Rempel ordered the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation to pay investment advisor Kenneth Wayne Muzik nearly $1.7 million in damages for a story it had aired in June 2012 featuring a former client, William Worthington, who complained about the performance of his investment portfolio. Muzik was represented by William Gange of Gange Collins Holloway.In March 2022, Rempel ordered CBC to pay nearly $300 thousand to cover Muzik's legal fees..

In 2023, the Manitoba court of appeal overturned Rempel's decision, stating that the CBC acted in the public interest when reporting on the investment adviser.

"Given the public interest aspect of the story, the CBC performed a satisfactory investigation into the status and reliability of its main source, the Worthingtons," the appeal court decision says.

"For the trial judge to dismiss the plaintiff's conduct and his regulatory problems in his assessment of the reputation the plaintiff held at the time of the publication is a failure to give proper effect to relevant evidence,"the appeal court's decision said regarding Justice Rempel's assessment of Muzik's history as an advisor.

While the appeal court agreed that the stories were defamatory, it found that the trial judge erred by failing to appreciate that there was a public interest element to the stories, given that they dealt with risks to investors and the regulation of financial planners.

WE Charity v. CBC

On February 8, 2022,WE Charity'sNew York-based affiliate filed a lawsuit against the CBC for defamation.The 230-page complaint was filed in theUnited States District Court for the District of Columbia,where the case was assigned todistrict judgeRandolph D. Moss.

The lawsuit alleges that, in an hour-long piece for its seriesThe Fifth Estate,the CBC broadcast claims by reporters Mark Kelly and Harvey Cashore that the CBC knew to be false, including that WE Charity had exaggerated the number of schoolhouses it had built inKenyaand deceived donors about how their money had been spent. WE Charity accused the CBC of fabricating quotes and using misleading editing to support what WE called a "preconceived narrative".

Joe Patrice of theAbove the Lawwebsite, which covers legal news, reviewed the details of the lawsuit and called it a "mirror image" ofDominion Voting Systems v. Fox News Network.Dominion Voting Systems,originally a Canadian company, choose to sueFox News Networkin the United States, ultimately settling for $787.5 million.Similarly, WE Charity, whose American operations are incorporated inWilliamsville, New York,sued the CBC in the United States, in both instances despite the hurdle of the "actual malice" standard established inNew York Times Co. v. Sullivan,which is unique to American law and requires that the defendant either knew that or did not care if its representations were false.Pattrice writes, "The CBC produced segments claiming that the charity misappropriated donor money… it did not."

On May 4, the CBC's attorneys filed a motion to dismiss the case perforum non conveniens,saying that it would be more appropriately heard before a Canadian court.WE Charity replied on June 10, countering that the CBC's allegations had hindered its fundraising efforts in the United States, where many of its donors are located.On June 27, Judge Moss denied the CBC's motion, ruling that the case would proceed in the District Court.Moss rejected the CBC's assertion that travel from Canada to the United States was unduly burdensome, and held that the relative ease of modern electronic discovery and document transfer between jurisdictions made the existence of documentary evidence in Canada a negligible hurdle to litigation in the United States.Patrice suggests that, even ten years prior, the CBC's motion might have succeeded, and sees the decision as an example of how the rise of digital media is revolutionizing the legal profession.

Twitter label controversy

On April 17, 2023, the main CBC account onTwitterwas labeled as "government-funded media". In response, CBC announced they would cease its usage of Twitter, similarly toNPRafter the initialcontroversysurroundingElon Musk's decisions as Twitter CEO.Later, Elon Musk tweeted that in response to CBC's claim that they were "less than 70% government-funded", Twitter was changing the label to "69% government-funded media".According to the CBC annual revenue report, 70.6% of revenue came from parliamentary spending in 2019–2020, while 65.6% of revenue came in 2021–2022, and 66.7% came in 2023.

On May 9, 2023, the CBC announced that it would resume partial activity on some of its Twitter accounts.

See also

• CBC Museum
• Concentration of media ownership
• List of assets owned by Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
• List of public broadcasters by country
• List of public service radio stations
• Media in Canada
• Public Francophone Radios
• Réseau de l'information

Further reading

• Allen, Gene, and Daniel J. Robinson, eds.Communicating in Canada's Past: Essays in Media History(University of Toronto Press, 2009)
• Graham, Sean. "A Canadian Network? The CBC and Television, 1936–1939".Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television(2014) pp: 1–19.
• Ménard, Marion.CBC/Radio-Canada: Overview and Key Issues(Library of Parliament publication No. 2013-92; 2013)online;11 pages
• Murray, Gil.Nothing on but the radio: a look back at radio in Canada and how it changed the world(Dundurn, 2003); Popular history
• Peers, Frank W.The politics of Canadian broadcasting, 1920–1951(University of Toronto Press, 1969)
• Taras, David.Digital Mosaic: Media, Power, and Identity in Canada(University of Toronto Press, 2015)
• Teer-Tomaselli, Ruth. "Empire and broadcasting in the interwar years: towards a consideration of public broadcasting in the British dominions".Critical Arts(2015) 29#1 pp: 77–93.
• Weir, Earnest Austin.The struggle for national broadcasting in Canada(McClelland and Stewart, 1965)

Primary sources

• Bird, Roger, ed. (1988).Documents of Canadian Broadcasting.MQUP.ISBN9780773580893.

In French

• Bergeron, Raymonde, and Marcelle Ouellette.Voix, visages et legends: Radio-Canada 1936–1986.Montreal, Que.: Entreprises Radio-Canada, 1986.N.B.: The subtitle appears on front cover. 256 p., ill. with b&w ports.ISBN0-88794-328-4
• Witmer, Glenn Edward, and Jacques Chaput, eds.50 [i.e. Cinquante] ans de radio: Radio-Canada, 1936–1986.Montreal, Que.: Entreprises Radio-Canada, 1986. 47 p., amply ill., chiefly with b&w photos.

External links

• Official website
• CBC News site
• CBC Channels and Frequencies