The CRTC has released its latest state of broadcasting in Canada report

The CRTC loves gathering statistics on how broadcasting in Canada–as they should, since it is the governing and regulatory body. This new report on the state of Canadian broadcasting, which covers the 2023-24 broadcast year, offers some interesting insights.

• Most broadcast revenue comes from “online undertakings” with about &7 billion. Traditional commercial radio and TV brought in just over $1 billion each.
• Commercial radio’s revenue has been mostly flat to slightly lower (around -1%) since 2021. TV has taken a bigger hit. Margins of both are down.
• Revenue from online audio services has increased by 34% since 2021. That translates into about $1.7 billion.
• Radio listening is fairly steady at between seven and eight hours a week. Online listening is bigger, but growth has stalled at around 10 hours.
• Streaming is the biggest source for music (a little over six hours a week), but growth has stalled. Radio listening is largely static while podcasts have seen marginal gains since 2020.
• Cable companies are seeing more cord cutting. Nearly 30% have either changed or cancelled their services in 2024.
• The biggest ad-supported television viewing source is social media.
• Teens spend almost eight hours a week watching YouTube. They spend slightly less on traditional TV.
• People 18-24 get most of their news from social media, followed by Canadian news apps and websites, TV, radio, and little bit from newspapers.
• People 24-35 get the majority of their news from Canadian websites with social media in second place. Then comes TV, radio, and newspapers.
• People 35-49 see a virtual tie when it comes to news between TV and websites.
• People 50-64 are overwhelmingly about TV news followed by websites then radio.
• Finally, those 65+ get their news from TV, then radio, followed closely by Canadian websites. They’re also the biggest newspaper readers.

Read the whole report here.