CBC/Radio-Canada to cut 600 jobs & $29m content spend amid rising costs & digital competition

Catherine Tait

Canadian public broadcaster CBC/Radio-Canada has announced plans to cut around 600 jobs and reduce its commissioning and acquisitions budget by around $40m (US$29.5m).

The company said it is implementing these cuts in order to tackle around $125m in “budget pressures” forecast for the 2024-2025 fiscal year. “These pressures are a result of the same structural factors affecting all media companies in Canada, including rising production costs, declining television advertising revenue and fierce competition from the digital giants,” said the pubcaster in a statement.

CBC/Radio-Canada said it is also preparing for a forecasted reduction to its parliamentary funding beginning in the next fiscal year, including the end of the program integrity funding of $21m it has received annually since 2021.

The corporation will be cutting 600 union and non-union jobs across the whole organsiation, with roughly 250 each coming from CBC and Radio/Canada, and the rest from technology & infrastructure and other corporate divisions.

Each division will begin cutting roles based upon its business plans and operational requirements, with some staff to be laid-off immediately, while most will take place over the coming 12 months. The company has also identified around 200 currently vacant positions that it will eliminate.

Budgets for both English and French-speaking programming will also be cut, including around $40 million in independent production commissions and program acquisitions.

CBC/Radio-Canada said that this will result in reduced renewals and acquisitions, fewer new television series and episodes of existing shows, as well as fewer digital original series.

It also said that the reductions are being done in a way that “maximizes the corporation’s flexibility, should its financial situation change next year, and minimizes the effects on our employees and the programs and services we provide to Canadians.”

Catherine Tait, president and CEO of CBC/Radio-Canada, said: “CBC/Radio-Canada is not immune to the upheaval facing the Canadian media industry. We’ve successfully managed serious structural declines in our business for many years, but we no longer have the flexibility to do so without reductions.

“We understand how concerning this is to the people affected and to the Canadians who depend on our programs and services. We will have more details in the months ahead, but we are doing everything we can to minimize the impact of these measures.”

The lay-offs at the Canadian pubcaster come just a month after similar cuts at Montreal-based TVA Group, which announced the elimination of 547 jobs and the closure of its in-house production unit, as it grapples with mounting financial challenges and claims “unfair competition” and “anti-competitive practices” from CBC and its other local rival Bell Media.