CRTC releases 2013 financial results for specialty, pay, pay-per-view and video-on-demand television services

OTTAWA/GATINEAU, April 30, 2014 /CNW/ - The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) today released statistical and financial summaries for Canadian specialty, pay, pay-per-view (PPV) and video-on-demand (VOD) television services for the broadcast year that ended August 31, 2013.

Revenues for these television services surpassed $4 billion for the first time in 2013, and have climbed by an annual average of 7% over the past five years. In 2013, specialty, pay, PPV and VOD services invested $1.3 billion in the creation of new television programs made by Canadians and employed 6,120 people.

Each year, the CRTC compiles financial data on the Canadian broadcasting and telecommunications sectors. The data compiled in the reports issued today were drawn from the annual returns of specialty, pay, PPV and VOD television services.

In the coming weeks, the CRTC will publish the financial results for conventional television stations, cable and satellite companies, and AM and FM radio stations. Following the publication of these reports, the CRTC will issue its annual Communications Monitoring Report.

These annual reports help interested parties to stay informed about the state of the Canadian communication industry and to participate in the CRTC's public consultations.

Quick facts

• Specialty services invested $1.3 billion on programs made by Canadians, including: $224 million for news programs; $256 million for drama series; long-form documentaries and Canadian awards shows; $412 million for sports; $77 million for human-interest shows; and $263 million for other types of programs.
• As part of these investments, specialty television services paid $379 million to Canadian independent producers.
• Spending on non-Canadian programs increased from $293 million in 2012 to $340 million in 2013.
• In 2013, Canadian specialty, pay, PPV and VOD television services generated revenues of $4.09 billion, an increase of 3.1% over the $3.97 billion earned the previous year. National advertising revenues increased to $1.27 billion, representing 2.8% growth over 2012. In addition, subscriber revenues exceeded $2.7 billion.
• The total revenues were generated from the following sources: $2 billion from cable subscribers; $740.2 million from satellite subscribers; $1.3 billion from national advertising; $29.3 million from local advertising; and $69 million from other sources.
• While revenues continued to climb, expenses decreased from $2.93 billion in 2012 to $2.92 billion in 2013. As a result, profits before interest and taxes (PBIT) increased from $913.2 million to $1.08 billion, and the PBIT margin improved from 23% to 26.5%.
• Total revenues for English-language and bilingual services were $3.3 billion, while French-language services brought in $687.1 million.
• Specialty television services continued to capture the largest share of the total revenues at $3.3 billion. Their PBIT margin increased from 26.2% to 29.8%.
• Pay services saw their revenues decrease by 2.8% going from $457.8 million in 2012 to $444.8 million in 2013. Nonetheless, their PBIT margin remained relatively unchanged, going from 22.2% to 22.3%.
• On-demand services (PPV and VOD) also saw a drop in revenues from $379.7 million to $354.2 million. Their PBIT margin, however, improved from -2.2% to 0.5%.

Related links

Pay Television, Pay-Per-View, Video-On-Demand and Specialty Services – Statistical and Financial Summaries 2009-2013

Individual pay, pay-per-view, video-on-demand and specialty services

SOURCE: Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission

Contacts: Follow us on Twitter: @CRTCeng; Media Relations: Media Relations, Tel: [phone], Fax: [phone]; General Inquiries: Tel: [phone], TDD: 819-994-0423, Fax: [phone], Toll-free # 1-877-249-CRTC (2782), TDD - Toll-free # 1-877-909-CRTC (2782); Ask a question or make a complaint; This document is available in alternative format upon request.