Questions and Answers

1. HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA (HNIC)

  • Can you please provide an update on the negotiations?

    Discussions with the NHL for HNIC are ongoing. While we cannot comment on the specifics for confidentiality reasons, we intend on continuing our long standing partnership with the NHL for many years to come.

    For the past 60 years, Hockey Night in Canada has connected Canadians from coast to coast to coast on a topic we are all passionate about. Our objective is to keep this tradition alive.

    The current agreement between CBC and the NHL ends after the 2013-2014 season.

2. OUR SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE

  • CBC/Radio-Canada is increasingly using social media platforms to engage with Canadians. What would you say are the pros and cons of doing so?

    The topics of change and evolution dominated the discussion at the Annual Public Meeting (APM). With today’s media environment in rapid evolution, CBC/Radio-Canada must be present on social media platforms as it strives to deliver the best possible services to Canadians.

    With that said, there are pros and cons of being on social media platforms. For CBC/Radio-Canada, they present an opportunity to connect with audiences in real time and to get to know them better. We can engage and participate in conversations in support of numerous topics. Being active on these platforms also provides an opportunity for Canadians to learn more about CBC/Radio-Canada, who we are, what we do, and how we do it.

    While social media increases transparency, it can also expose you to criticism and reputation management issues. This is a risk that needs to be managed. For CBC/Radio-Canada, participating in activities on social media allow us to correct misinformation, promote our services, learn more about perceptions and use some of the information gathered to improve our offer to Canadians.

3. CHILDREN’S AND YOUTH PROGRAMMING

  • What does CBC/Radio-Canada offer in terms of programming for kids? Is content available on radio as well?

    Young Canadians are important to CBC/Radio-Canada. We strive to offer programming that reflects who they are, that is of interest to them and that is available on all our platforms.

    We are proud to broadcast 15 hours of youth programming (for children under 12 years old) on both networks every week. This content (so all 15 hours....) is also made available across all our platforms, consistent with our commitment to becoming increasingly digital.

    In today’s world, the Internet is clearly the best medium for reaching young audiences, which is why Radio-Canada has opted to invest in its highly interactive kids’ section called Zone Jeunesse. CBC also has a website that features games, videos and other interactive content for kids of all ages called Kids’ CBC.

    We are constantly looking for new ways to reach this audience. To that end, CBC/Radio-Canada recently launched Canada’s largest Canadian educational content portal, called Curio. The new web portal allows instructors at all levels – elementary, secondary and postsecondary – to stream highly useful video and audio content in classrooms to support their teaching. Click here to learn more about Curio.ca.

4. REPEAT PROGRAMMING

  • There seems to be a lot of repeat programs on TV and radio. How are repeats chosen and are they avoidable?

    This situation can be attributed to our limited resources. Given the reduction to our operating budget, we have no choice but to air more repeats on both television and radio. However, we are trying to offer varied content and to strategically program repeat broadcasts in order to reach a wider audience.

    When scheduling repeats, we take into consideration listening patterns to minimize the likelihood of someone hearing the same program twice. For example, we know the audience listening to “Q”, hosted by Jian Ghomeshi on Radio One, from 10:00 -11:30 am is significantly different than the audience listening at 10 pm at night when it replays.

    Likewise, when we schedule repeats of a show from the weekend, we take into account the percentage of the audience that tuned in during the first broadcast.

    Radio-Canada uses the same approach and repeats its current affairs magazines on weekend afternoons. Generally speaking, our goal is to keep the duplicated audience as low as possible.

5. CBC/RADIO-CANADA’S FINANCIAL SITUATION

  • CBC/Radio-Canada’s budget has recently been reduced. What is your current financial situation and can you explain how the cuts have affected your services?

    The most recent information on our financial situation was presented by Suzanne Morris, CBC/Radio-Canada Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer, during the Annual Public Meeting held on October 23. Please review her speaking notes. Overall, through sound budgetary management we achieved a modest increase in net results for 2012–2013.

    You may also want to consult our 2012-2013 annual report for more information.

6. ADVERTISING ON RADIO 2 AND ESPACE MUSIQUE

  • Why has advertising been introduced on Radio 2 and Espace musique? Do you intend to introduce it on Radio One and ICI Radio-Canada Première?

    With last year’s budget cut and accompanying financial pressures, we regrettably had to proceed with this scenario and it is now our new reality. That said, Canadians will continue to get world-class content across all of our services, including Espace musique and Radio 2.

    CBC Radio 2 and Espace musique remain deeply committed to supporting and showcasing the best in Canadian music across a broad range of genres, so that they can continue to be a point of discovery for Canadian music fans – with more multi‐platform music content than any other broadcaster in Canada.

    We have no plans to put advertising on CBC Radio One and ICI Radio-Canada Première.

7. OUR COMMITMENT TO ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT COVERAGE

  • What are CBC/Radio-Canada’s intentions for including arts and culture in television programming?

    CBC/Radio-Canada is proud of its arts programming across all platforms. We give Canadians comprehensive coverage and provide a platform for new and established artists. We remain deeply committed to supporting and showcasing the best in Canadian music across a broad range of genres.

    For instance, CBC Music gives Canadians access to 40 web radio stations; 12 genre-based music communities plus CBC Radio 2 and CBC Radio 3; the most up to date music news by Canada's top music journalists; hundreds of concerts; playlists and more. The CBC Music App is available for free from the App Store on iPad, iPhone and iPod touch.

    On the other hand, Espace Musique is the largest selection of French-language music on the Web, in Canada and across the francophonie. The streaming music site lets listeners personalize their experience by selecting web radio services – more and more are being added each month — founded on seven musical genres, to suit their mood and chosen time of day.

    In addition, all of Radio-Canada’s regional Téléjournal newscasts devote substantial airtime to the arts. In Montreal, Tanya Lapointe does an excellent job on the arts beat. Daily programs, such as Pour le plaisir and Cap sur l’été, deliver extensive arts and entertainment news. RDI provides daily arts commentary on RDI matin, airs vignettes throughout the day and artist profiles every Friday. And of course, Radio-Canada created the ARTV channel especially for arts and entertainment.

    At the CBC, from CBC Music to Canada Reads, Writers and Company to daily arts reports on television, our commitment to the arts is unwavering and, going forward, will likely increase.

8. REGIONAL PRESENCE ON NETWORKS

  • How do you ensure there is a regional presence in national newscasts and other network programming?

    CBC/Radio-Canada made the regions a clear priority in its 2015 strategy Everyone, Every way. In fact, expanding our regional presence is one of the pillars of our five-year plan, along with investing in digital platforms and providing more original Canadian content.

    Regarding newscasts, we work every day to offer Canadians coverage that reflects our journalistic principles of accuracy, fairness, balance, integrity and impartiality, which we practice at all times, across all our platforms, be it TV, radio or the web. We don’t believe in imposing quotas on newscasts based on the territory, subject matter or any other non-journalistic criteria.

    Our editorial staff and journalists have a special responsibility to reflect regional and cultural diversity, as well as fostering respect and understanding across regions.

    The public broadcaster also ensures that the regions are well reflected on its national networks. It’s an essential component of our programming. For instance, Radio-Canada’s Un air de famille welcomes families from across the country as contestants. Furthermore, CBC Television’s Rick Mercer Report travels all over Canada to film episode segments.

9. REGIONAL RESOURCES

  • How do you plan to enhance resources dedicated to the regions?

    Regional presence remains a priority for CBC/Radio-Canada, as indicated in our 2015 strategy. Despite financial pressures, our investment in regional centres has remained higher than ever.

    We have modernized our facilities and our work methods have evolved. For example, Radio-Canada has expanded its news offering to seven days a week on all of its regional stations with local Téléjournal newscasts on Saturdays and Sundays. Radio-Canada has also opened modern, fully functional facilities in Sherbrooke, Rimouski, and Matane, with Moncton to follow soon.

    Moreover, Radio-Canada devotes at least 5 hours per week to programming produced in Atlantic Canada, Ontario, western and northern Canada, as well as Quebec (excluding Montreal).

    CBC Television has also increased local programming to 14 hours a week in six markets (Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal), with an expanded 11 p.m. Sunday newscast (now a full 30 minutes) and the addition of one hour of local non-news programming that will run Saturday, Sunday and Monday in those markets.

    We’ve improved the quality and quantity of our regional services. Since 2011, we’ve opened seven new regional stations. This is one tangible result of the commitment we made in our 2015 strategy Everyone, Every way, which has now reached its midway point.

10. EDITORIAL DECISIONS

  • How is the content for newscasts chosen?

    Content decisions for newscasts are guided by CBC/Radio-Canada’s Journalistic Standards and Practices. In making such decisions, our teams must also consider what market they are serving and ensure that the content is relevant to them. We air content that reflects Canada’s regional and cultural diversity, while also providing a Canadian perspective on international events.

    Our mission is to inform, to reveal, to contribute to the understanding of issues of public interest, and to encourage citizens to participate in our free and democratic society. We therefore strive to reflect Canadians’ viewpoints; our news must be relevant in their eyes.

    CBC/Radio-Canada’s editorial independence is enshrined in the Broadcasting Act.

    For more information on our Journalistic Standards and Practices, please click here.

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