If Canada wants to support local broadcasting, it should put its money where its mouth is

In the very near future, the government will be reintroducing amendments to the Broadcasting Act previously known as Bill C-10.

Yes, C-10 had a handful of flaws, but at its core was a critical principle: to make sure internet giants that derive immense profits from Canada be forced to reinvest in Canadian producers. To quote the throne speech, “… ensure web giants pay their fair share for the creation and promotion of Canadian content.”

This is critical for broadcasters in this country, which have seen advertising dollars swiftly siphoned away by Google and Facebook. Just to give you a sense, last year, internet advertising grew by about $900 million to a grand total of almost $10 billion. To put that in perspective, companies spend about $15 billion on advertising in Canada every year. As of now, two-thirds is spent on the internet, and Google and Facebook account for more than 80 per cent of that figure.

There are more than 180 community broadcasters in Canada that have been particularly hit hard. These are the not-for-profit community-operated stations that live and broadcast in your neighbourhood. The broadcasting outlets are the few that still send reporters to city hall, the DJs you went to high school with and the ones who truly understand your community.

On top of the loss of advertising dollars, the broadcasters rely on small- and medium-sized local businesses for advertising — the very same businesses that were hardest hit in the pandemic. Commercial broadcasters have seen national advertising return in a significant way.

But the same cannot be said for community stations, where the majority of Canadian artists get their first chance at being broadcast and where local voices have access to an audience for the first time. Compared to the $1.3 billion in operational support the government gives to the CBC, community radio broadcasters get $0 from the federal government.

Advertising on local stations is not just inexpensive, but it works. A study by Longueuil’s community station, CHAA FM 103.3, found that provincially sponsored pandemic advertising garnered more than 31 million impressions during the pandemic and of those eyeballs, 58 per cent said the ads influenced their behaviour during the pandemic. Anecdotally we hear of similar results across the 37 community stations in Quebec. What is critical to understand is that of all the dollars the province spent on pandemic advertising, 99 per cent went to local media and one per cent went to internet giants. And Quebec’s pandemic response has been among the most successful in Canada.

So, the question must be asked: If the federal government wants to support local broadcasters, why does it spend the majority of its own ad dollars on Google and Facebook? Last year, the federal government spent $2.35 million advertising on both commercial and community radio and in the same year, spent $24.7 million on internet advertising. That’s over 10 times more spent on internet advertising than on radio broadcasters. Furthermore, Facebook and Instagram pulled in about 68 per cent of the dollars spent on social media.

Advertising on local community-based stations is an investment in the neighbourhoods they serve. As not-for-profits (required by their licence), every dollar goes back to the community. They give local businesses access to local markets at a fraction of the price of commercial stations and as a result, they help regrow the local economy.

Just think about the impact the government could have if it advertised on Canadian broadcasters the way it supports Facebook and Google.