CBC execs tell CRTC it can no longer afford to be free

Canadians are already paying for the CBC through their taxes. It was never, ever, "free".

And if I were asked to pay again for it, I'd most certainly decline.

CBC execs whine to CRTC that taxpayers should pay twice for the privilege of having crap programming.

CBC exec should get a grip and find a way to generate income, like any other business.

The CBC has been irrelevant for years. This is just another step into oblivion.

-J.

Didn't they just get their budget cut, or something? Maybe this is just another way to whine.

The CBC gets paid by us to provide this programming for free across the Country.

If they can't afford to do that, make it work. You might want to start with that massive building in the heart of Toronto as an example as to why you need to downsize.

Perhaps they should start by providing programming that people actually WANT to watch. I used to be big on the CBC years ago when they had quality programming. The last decade or so has been garbage. The only thing I watch on CBC these days is HNIC. Nothing else anymore.

-J.

heard a good line on the most recent broadcast of The Debaters(a good program actually) on CBC radio, ironically enough.

CBC is not about providing Canadian programming, it's about programming Canadians.

If that's the case, then isn't the CBC also programming Canadians with conservative values in addition to liberal or progressive ones? After all, bear in mind that the likes of Rex Murphy, Don Cherry, Tom Flanagan, Andrew Coyne, Kate McMillan and Kevin O'Leary have also been accepting our federal tax dollars for years. They've also been paid with private advertising dollars the same way regular TV networks do, with the CBC running commercials on its regular broadcasts and its online episode archives.

One thing I like about the CBC is how it covers things that don't necessarily make the mainstream news and provide a voice for Canadians who don't otherwise have easy media access. More than that, it continues to provide quality broadcasts on lots of interesting topics and keeps the government on its toes. Watching Royal Canadian Air Farce back in the day, and seeing what Rick Mercer has been writing more recently, I've noticed that they didn't pull their punches when it came to the Liberals, either.

Does the CBC need to change and keep up with the times? Sure. Does it have journalistic fuck-ups, like Mary Walsh harassing Rob Ford at his house? You bet. Do its attempts to showcase alternate voices risk becoming too focused on certain "insiders" the way that funding for the arts can? Sometimes, yes. However, given the CBC's other merits I don't think its problems justify throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Along with that, half the reason it has the problems it does is because the current government keeps cutting funding from it to compensate for said government's own financial incompetence.

The CBC should be made to cover its own costs and shouldn't depend on half a billion dollars of taxpayer money to operate.

If it was a private, for-profit broadcaster, then yes I would agree. However, I think that the CBC plays an important role as a public broadcaster that provides programming to every part of Canada and different parts of the population, even when it might not be profitable. How many local news bureaus have been closed over the years by the private media chains because they are no longer profitable? How much coverage would somebody like me in Alberta get of election coverage or other events in some place like Atlantic Canada or the territories?

The CBC has a responsibility to keep its operating costs as low as possible, and it's done so with various layoffs and accepting private advertising. It also has a responsibility to make sure as many different voices can contribute as possible, which is why I would be just fine with them giving Ezra Levant airtime, even if I don't particularly like him.

If anything, I think it's the attitude expressed by some of its staff and supporters, such as Heather Mallick, that really sour people on the CBC, as if they should be the ones with exclusive rights to decide what gets shown on it and demonize anyone who dares to disagree with them. I don't think that justifies throwing the baby out with the bathwater, though.

It's the same problem you see in progressive politics generally-people who might be more inclined to sympathize with the environmental movement, gay rights, or whatever become turned off by the language, and even more so the attitude, of some of their advocates. That's what irritates me about Ezra Levant-I actually agree with his views on things like the Human Rights Commissions and the values of Canadian oil over various foreign sources...but I find him to be just as smug and condescending as anyone on the left, which meant that other conservatives were the ones who convinced me of many of the things he talks about.

CBC execs tell CRTC it can no longer afford to be free

Time to start locking them up then, eh?

A whole 331 million in advertising revenue last year. For a national broadcaster that sucks . Producing biased left wing politically correct crap doesn't have much of a market for advertisers. How many stories filled with crappy FN actors do you think the public can stomach.

De-fund the LPC network.

They're sure going to hit the skids without Hockey Night in Canada. That loss is a major disaster for the CBC.