CRTC releases 2011 financial results for specialty, pay and pay-per-view television services and video-on-demand services

OTTAWA-GATINEAU, May 1, 2012 /CNW/ - Today, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) released statistical and financial summaries for Canadian specialty, pay, pay-per-view (PPV) and video-on-demand (VOD) television services. During the past five years, this sector of the broadcasting industry increased its revenues by 36.7%, while profits before interest and taxes margins hovered between 22% and 25%, reflecting a strong demand for these services.

Profitability
In 2011, these services generated revenues of $3.7 billion, representing an increase of 7.9% above the $3.5 billion earned the previous year.  This is a result of a 10.9% growth in advertising revenues totaling $1.2 billion and a 7% increase in subscriber revenues that exceeded $2.4 billion.  Expenses grew from $2.5 billion in 2010 to $2.7 billion in 2011.

As a result, profits before interest and taxes (PBIT) improved to $930.5 million, with a PBIT margin of 24.9%, up from $873.9 million in 2010 when the PBIT margin was 25.3%.

Sources of revenues
The total revenues of $3.7 billion were generated from the following sources:

• $1.7 billion from terrestrial subscribers
• $698.9 million from direct-to-home satellite subscribers
• $1.2 billion from national advertising
• $30.2 million from local advertising, and
• $94.4 million from other sources.

English-language and bilingual services earned $3.1 billion of the total revenues, while French-language services brought in $587.2 million.

Revenue by sectors
Specialty television services captured the largest share of the total revenues, $2.9 billion in 2011, representing a PBIT margin of 27.5%, which included:

• $2.4 billion from 49 analog services, and
• $479.8 million from 113 digital services

In 2010, total revenues for specialty television services were $2.7 billion for a PBIT margin of 27.8%.

Pay, pay-per-view and VOD services saw their revenues increase by 7.2%, going from $798.6 million in 2010, with a PBIT margin of 16.7%, to $855.6 million in 2011 when the PBIT margin was 16.4%.

Canadian programming
In 2011, these services spent $1.3 billion on Canadian programming, representing an 8.5% increase over the previous year. Spending on Canadian programming by specialty services included $187 million for news programs, $241 million for programs of national interests (drama series, long-form documentaries, and Canadian award shows), $397 million for sports programming, $96 million for human-interest programming, and $241 million for other types of programming.

Investments in non-Canadian programming increased slightly to $278 million in 2011 from $252 million in 2010.

Employment
In 2011, these sectors of the broadcasting industry employed 5,900 people and paid a total of $461 million in salaries. In comparison, they employed 5,495 people and paid $415 million in salaries the previous year.

CRTC reports
Each year, the CRTC compiles financial data on the Canadian broadcasting and telecommunications industries.  The data compiled in this report issued today were drawn from the annual reports of specialty, pay and pay-per-view television services, as well as video-on-demand services.

The CRTC recently released the financial results for cable and satellite companies and conventional television stations. It will publish the financial results for AM and FM radio stations in the coming weeks. Following the publication of these reports, the CRTC will issue its annual Communications Monitoring Report.

These annual reports allow interested parties to stay informed about the state of the Canadian broadcasting industry.

Pay Television, Pay-Per-View, Video-On-Demand and Specialty Services - Statistical and Financial Summaries 2007-2011
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/publications/reports/branalysis/psp2011/psp2011.htm

The CRTC
The CRTC is an independent public authority that regulates and supervises broadcasting and telecommunications in Canada.

These documents are available in alternative format upon request.

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