September 2015
Perspectives on the Reform of CBC, the Public Service Broadcaster in Canada
Atsushi Shibata
In June 2014, Canada’s public service broadcaster, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), or CBC/Radio Canada, announced its five-year strategy for the period from 2015 to 2020 “A Space for Us All.” The most notable characteristics of the plan is the transformation of its core services from “broadcasting” centering on television and radio to “digital and mobile.” Motives behind this decision were two common problems shared by public service broadcasters around the world: “people becoming less interested in television due to the proliferation of digital media” and “diminishing revenue sources.”
Canada is the second largest country in the world by land area, has dual official languages of English and French, and consists of diverse ethnic groups with a large number of immigrants and ethnic minorities. In a country with these features, CBC has long played a major role in nurturing Canadian “identity.” The public broadcaster has also served as the “fortress protecting the Canadian culture” from a vast inflow of American-made programs from the neighboring big power, the United States.
In “A Space for Us All,” CBC makes it clear that the broadcaster aims to make itself more necessary for the public in five years’ time with the five key objectives: 1) delivering content with more emphasis on digital services, especially mobile, 2) expanding its local presence and roles, 3) deploying more external independent producers/creators, 4) lightening infrastructure (facilities and equipment), and 5) optimizing the size of human resources. CBC president Hubert Lacroix says that there are no other alternatives for the company’s future and is no room for failure. Featuring interviews with CBC executives and introducing innovative approaches taken by the Halifax station, CBC’s major local station, the author envisions the future of CBC’s reform.