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CBC/Radio-Canada

National Networks

27 television stations
88 radio stations

International Networks

TV5Monde
6 foreign bureaux
SiriumXM Satellite Radio partnership

Online 

www.cbc.radio-canada.ca/en
CBC Player
CBC Listen

CBC/Radio-Canada

Radio | Television | Online

↑2.9%

growth in
revenue since
2018/19

83%

use at least
one service
per month

85%

of Canadians
agree on
role and need
for CBC/R-C

Overview

Updated: February 2021

CBC/Radio-Canada is Canada’s national public broadcaster, comprised of two main networks: the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC – English) and Radio-Canada (French). With 27 television stations and 88 radio stations located across the country to provide dedicated local news coverage region–by–region, CBC/Radio-Canada is one of the world’s largest public broadcasters. Its core values include integrity, creativity, relevance and inclusiveness. 

Operating in one of the world’s most multicultural and diverse populations, CBC/Radio-Canada prides itself on its multilingual services. The public broadcaster also states its commitment “to the needs and reflection of Canada’s Indigenous peoples” and offers programming in eight Indigenous languages via CBC North. Its international service, Radio Canada International (RCI) also provides programming in English, French, Spanish, Arabic and Mandarin. 

CBC/Radio-Canada has several content-sharing partnerships, both domestic and international. The broadcaster joins forces with other francophone public broadcasters around the world to broadcast French–Canadian content internationally via TV5MONDE. During the COVID-19 pandemic, it launched the CBC Creative Relief Fund to provide vital support to Canadian content-makers. 

According to CBC/Radio-Canada’s 2020 Survey, 83% of Canadians believe that it is a trusted source of information and that there is a clear need and role for the public broadcaster in the future. However, like many public broadcasters around the world, CBC/Radio-Canada is faced with political pressure as an ongoing campaign calls to defund CBC’s online news platform and reduce funding for CBC’s English TV channels by half. The corporation’s main source of funding comes from government grants, which is supported by advertising revenue, subscription fees and additional activities. 

In detail

Click on the headings below for more information

The CBC is a Crown corporation – the Government of Canada.

“The Broadcasting Act addresses the independence of the public broadcaster. Freedom of expression and journalistic, creative and programming independence are key to the public broadcaster in the pursuit of its objects and in the exercise of its powers... In a similar vein, while the Corporation is subject to the Access to Information Act and to the Privacy Act, these statutes also provide that it does not apply to any information that relates to its journalistic, creative or programming activities, other than information that relates to its general administration. As a result, a greater arm’s length relationship is maintained between the Government and CBC/Radio-Canada than with most Crown Corporations. The Broadcasting Act also provides that officers and employees employed by the Corporation are not officers or servants of Her Majesty” 

Source: https://site-cbc.radio-canada.ca/documents/vision/governance/privacy-privee/board-directors-governance-guide.pdf 

CBC/Radio-Canada has four sources of direct funding.

A breakdown of CBC/Radio-Canada’s 2019-2020 income:

  • Government funding: $1,209 million
  • Advertising revenue: $253.8 million
  • Subscriber fees: $123.5 million
  • Financing and other income: (includes income from activities such as rental of real estate assets, content sales, leasing of space at transmission sites, host broadcasting sports events and contributions from the Canada Media Fund.) $127.2 million

Total Revenue (total income less funding): $504 million

Radio Canada Revenue: $217 million,

CBC Revenue: $211 million

Source: cbc.radio-canada.ca

  • 83% of Canadians use at least one CBC/Radio-Canada service in a typical month (CBC/R-C)
  • Digital reach of CBC/Radio-Canada: 21.7 million, up 7.4% (CBC/R-C)

CBC News TV and Radio 

  • CBC News Canada English weekly reach of 29% and 19% more than 3 days per week 
  • CBC News Canada French weekly reach of 50% and 36% more than 3 days per week 

CBC News Online 

  • CBC News Canada English weekly users 25% and 18% reach more than 3 days per week 
  • CBC News Canada French weekly users 29% and 20% reach more than 3 days per week 

Source: cbc.radio-canada.ca

CBC/Radio-Canada is “proud to be Canadians’ most-trusted source of news and information, and has made verification and fact-checking a pillar of its coverage”. 

CBC News (Canada English) scored 71% for Brand Trust 

Radio-Canada (Canada French) scored 80% for Brand Trust

Source: http://www.digitalnewsreport.org/survey/2020/canada-2020/

As of March 2020, CBC/R-C employed a total of 7,673 full-time equivalent employees, up 2.9%. (2018-2019: 7,459) 

48.7% women
2.1% Indigenous people
3.2% persons with disabilities
14.1% visible minorities  

Source: cbc.radio-canada.ca

NPR
United States

National Networks

1,012 NPR Member Stations and Associate Stations
17 Domestic Bureaus

International Networks

17 International Bureaus

Online 

https://www.npr.org/

National Public Radio (NPR)

Radio | Online

29.1M

weekly listeners
across all
NPR stations

#1

ranked highest
among major US
news brands for
credibility and honesty

17.8M

weekly
npr.org
unique visitors

Overview

Updated: February 2021

For more than 50 years, NPR has existed as a network compromised of more than 1000 publicly-funded member and affiliate stations. All stations are operated and licenced separately, and all contribute towards informing, educating and entertaining the American public. NPR is one of the leading platforms for providing non-commercial news and entertainment and is ranked the highest among major US news brands for credibility and honesty.

The combined weekly listenership across all NPR stations is nearing 30 million. A recent, collaborative project focused on several of NPR’s member stations launching the first localised podcast, providing listeners in or near 10 regions across the US with national and local news coverage.

However, as with many PSBs worldwide, the COVID-19 pandemic has brought both challenges and opportunities for NPR. While the number of podcast downloads and unique visitors to the npr.org website has increased rapidly, the network has recorded a significant decline in listening figures as a result of fewer commuters listening to on-air broadcasts.

In detail

Click on the headings below for more information

Owned by its member stations 

A 23-member Board of Directors is responsible for the governance of NPR through setting NPR’s policies, managing NPR’s performance and overseeing NPR’s budget and overall finances. The Board is comprised of the NPR President, the chairman of the NPR Foundation, 12 station managers of NPR’s members and nine members of the public, which are selected by station managers and the Board. 

NPR is mainly funded through fees and dues paid by Member stations and underwriting from corporate sponsors. Additional sources of revenue include individual contributions, grants and fees paid by users of the Public Radio Satellite System (PRSS).

Breakdown of NPR’s 2018-19 funding:

Station dues, programming and digital fees: $89,020,136 (2018: $85,474,802 up 4%)

Corporate sponsorships: $111,271,829 (2018: $97,071,058 up 14.5%)

Public Radio Satellite System contract: $8,033,762 (2018: $5,798,637 up 38.5%)

Satellite interconnection and distribution: $8,609,794 (2018: $9,576,404 down 10%)

Commissions: $4,596,082 (2018: $6,009,382 down 23.5%)

Other: $9,304,092 (2018: $8,177,792 up 14%)

  • Revenue from gains and other support: $52,704,227 (2018: $46,718,374 up 13%)

Total revenue: $283,539,922 (2018: $258,826,449 up 9.5%)

 

Source: NPR Consolidated Financial Statements 2019

  • 60 million weekly audience across platforms.
  • 23 million weekly on-air listeners. 98.5% of the U.S. population lives within the listening area of a station carrying NPR programming.

Online and digital services

  • 18.3 million weekly website visitors
  • 2.6 million monthly app users
  • Weekly Visits to NPR Digital Properties 46.7 million (Google Analytics June 2020)
  • Weekly Unique Users of NPR Podcasts 14.4 million (Splunk, NPR Podcast Logs, June 2020)

A record number of people are have turned to NPR for news and other content during the COVID-19 pandemic. More than 57 million people now consume the network’s offering each week, whether on radio or its various digital platforms. That’s a rise of nearly 10% from 2019, despite the severe drop in the broadcast audiences.

Podcast downloads and the usage of NPR’s listening apps are up nearly a quarter, and there is a 76% increase in users of NPR.org as more people access the network’s content from home.

Source: https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/07/15/891404076/npr-radio-ratings-collapse-as-pandemic-kills-listeners-commutes

Number of Employees: 1,029 (as of April 2020)

News Division Staff: 440 (as of April 2020)

Source: https://media.npr.org/documents/about/press/NPR_Fact_Sheet.pdf

PBS members
United States

National network

More than 330 member stations
serve all 50 states as well as
Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands,
Guam and American Samoa.

Online 

https://www.pbs.org/

http://pbskids.org/

Public Broadcasting Service (PBS)

Television | Radio | Online

200+M

PBS is watched by
86% of TV
households
(200+ million)

81%

agree that PBS
KIDS is the
most trusted & safe
source for children

7th

most watched
television network
in primetime

Overview

Updated: April 2021

For over half a century, PBS has contributed to and shaped American society, playing a crucial role in informing, educating and entertaining the American public. Having ranked #1 in terms of public trust for 18 consecutive years, the public broadcaster continues to engage audiences across the USA via 350 member stations. 

From Sesame Street and Masterpiece Theater to Frontline’s award-winning investigative journalism, PBS continues to offer a vital source of diverse content for all audiences, especially those lacking access to cable and internet services.

PBS is also especially well known for its focus on producing content for children and is referred to as America’s “largest classroom”, upholding a mandate to “educate, inform and inspire”. PBS Kids was launched in 1994 as a platform to both educate and entertain children, and expanded its offerings during the COVID-19 pandemic amid school closures, catering for audiences with and without internet access.

In recent years, the Trump administration has threatened to cut federal funding for PBS and NPR.

In detail

Click on the headings below for more information

Owned by its member public television stations. 

The 27-member Board of Directors manages PBS’ affairs, while also governing and setting PBS’ policies. The Board is made up of 14 station managers, 12 general directors and the PBS President, and serve a term of up to three years. Along with committees, the Board meets four times a year, some of which is open to the public. 

PBS adheres to robust editorial guidelines that align with key principles of public media, including editorial independence, accuracy, accountability, and transparency.  

https://www.cpb.org/faq#:~:text=PBS%20is%20a%20private%2C%20nonprofit,member%20stations%2C%20distribution%20and%20underwriting 

https://www.pbs.org/about/about-pbs/board-directors/  

https://www.pbs.org/about/producing-pbs/editorial-standards/  

A large proportion of PBS’ revenue is acquired from member assessments, grants and contributions and donated broadcast rights and distributions, and supplemented by investment returns and other additional streams.

Total income: $589,783,000 (2018: $674,166, down 12.52%)

Breakdown:

Imputed Value of Donated Broadcast Rights: $148,914,000 (2018: $177,712,000, down 16.2%)

Member Assessments: $197,985,000 (2018: $197,552,000, up 0.22%)

Grants & Contributions: $55,477,000 (2018: $105,167,000, down 47.25%)

Distribution: $168,873,000 (2018: $174,789,000, down 3.38%)

Satellite Services: $113,000 (2018: $137,000, down 17.52%)

Investment Returns: net $9,985,000 (2018: $1,845,000, down 7.93%)

Other: $8,436,000 (2018: $7,964,000, up 5.93%)

 

Source: https://www.pbs.org/about/about-pbs/financials/

Each month, PBS reaches over 126 million people through television and 26 million people online

Television

PBS is watched by 86% of TV households (over 200 million people)

63.7 million PBS primetime viewers each month (Nielsen NPOWER Live+7, 2018-2019, Avg Monthly Schedule, All PBS Stations M-Su 8p-11p)

7th most-watched television network in primetime (Nielsen Npower Primetime)

Each month, over 109 million people watch their local PBS stations

 

Digital

Each month, Americans watch an average of 298 million videos across all of PBS’ web, mobile and connected device platforms.

Each month, more than 28 million viewers watch video on PBS’s site and apps

14 million unique monthly PBS.org visitors (Google Analytics 2019)

PBS averages 309 million monthly video streams across all of PBS’s web, OTT, and mobile devices  (Source: Google Analytics Jan – Dec 2019)

PBS Digital Studios produces original content exclusively for digital platforms. PBS Digital Studios averages more than 48 million views per month on YouTub

PBS KIDS mobile apps have been downloaded 71.4 million times  (Source: AppFigures Mar 2011-Sep 2019)

PBS KIDS averages 11.1 million monthly users and 286 million monthly streams across digital platforms.

(Source: Google Analytics Oct ’18 – Sep ’19) 

 

Sources: https://www.pbs.org/about/about-pbs/blogs/news/for-17th-consecutive-year-americans-name-pbs-and-member-stations-as-most-trusted-institution/

https://www.pbs.org/value/

http://about.lunchbox.pbs.org/about/about-pbs/overview/

https://www.sgptv.org/working-with-pbs/pbs-by-the-numbers/

1,266 (As of January 2020)

PBS Representation:

As of 7/31/2020, PBS staff is comprised of:

  • Women: 55%
  • BIPOC*: 40%

In Fiscal Year 2020 (July 1, 2019 to June 30, 2020), our New Hires were comprised of:

  • Women: 58%
  • BIPOC: 48%
*Black, Indigenous, People of Color

https://www.pbs.org/about/careers/life-culture-pbs/

https://craft.co/pbs

As part of its 50th anniversary celebrations, PBS launched a national and digital-first storytelling project, An American Portrait, which depicts the stories of American citizens to reflect the reality of American society, through triumph and tragedy.

PBS recorded an increase in viewing figures in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. It recorded a 19% growth on broadcast households compared to the 6 weeks prior to the shut-down (Nielsen Npower Primetime ALL PBS Stations 3/16-4/5/20 vs. 3/18-4/7/19 Households) and a 39% increase in weekly streaming (Google Analytics PBS owned platforms 3/16-4/5/20 vs. 3/18-4/7/19).

In the first eight weeks of the COVID-related shutdown, PBS TV stations reached over 72 million adults in primetime, and more than 24 million monthly users engaged with PBS general audience content via owned digital platforms.

http://about.lunchbox.pbs.org/about/about-pbs/overview/
https://www.pbs.org/sponsorship/

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Header Image: Toronto, On, Canada – May 16, 2020: Entrance to Canadian Broadcasting Centre in Toronto, headquarters of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). Credit: JHVEPhoto/iStock