CBC Digital Archives - Cultural Significance

Cultural Significance

Since the 1970s, the CBC has not maintained the dominance in broadcasting it formerly had, but it still plays an important role. The CBC’s cultural influence, like that of many public broadcasters, has waned in recent decades. This is partly due to severe budget cuts by the Canadian federal government, which began in the late 1980s and levelled off in the late 1990s. It is also due to industry-wide fragmentation of television audiences (the decline of network television generally, due to the rise in specialty channel viewership, as well as the increase of non-television entertainment options such as video games, the Internet, etc.). Private networks in Canada face the same competition, but their viewership is declining more slowly than CBC Television’s.

In English-speaking Canada, the decline in CBC viewership can be partly attributed to popularity of private television networks' rebroadcast of American programming with substituted Canadian advertising. American programs appear to attract higher audiences than do much of the made-in-Canada programming that is a CBC specialty.

Viewership on the CBC’s French television network has also declined, mostly because of stiff competition from private French-language networks. Audience fragmentation is another issue. However, in contrast to the anglophone audience, French Canadians prefer home-grown television programming, a vibrant Quebec star system is in place, and little American or foreign content airs on French-language networks, public or private. And the CBC’s French-language radio channel is sometimes the top-rated network.

In the case of breaking news, including federal elections, CBC Television may obtain the largest number of viewers. For instance, after election night 2006, CBC Television took out full-page newspaper ads claiming that 2.2 million Canadians watched their coverage, more than any other broadcaster. However, in similar ads, CTV also claimed to be number one, stating there was a CBC audience of only 1.2 million. In both cases, the methodologies were not clear from the ads, such as time periods and whether simulcasts on one or both of the networks’ news channels (Newsworld for CBC, Newsnet for CTV) were counted.

The CBC was the only television network broadcasting in Canada until the creation of ITO, a short-lived predecessor of today’s CTV, in 1960; even then, large parts of Canada did not receive CTV service until the late 1960s or early 1970s. The CBC also had the only national radio network. Its cultural impact was therefore significant since many Canadians had little or no choice for their information and entertainment other than from these two powerful media outlets.

Even after the introduction of commercial television and radio, the CBC has remained one of the main elements in Canadian popular culture through its obligation to produce Canadian television and radio programming. The CBC has made programs for mass audiences and for smaller audiences interested in drama, performance arts, documentaries, current affairs, entertainment and sport.

The 1950s saw the CBC providing hands-on training and employment for actors, writers, and directors in the developing field of its television dramatic services, and later saw much of the talent heading south to seek fame and fortune in New York and Hollywood.

Competition from private broadcasters like CTV, Global, and other broadcast television stations and specialty channels has lessened the CBC’s reach, but nevertheless it remains a major influence on Canadian popular culture. According to the corporation’s research, 92% of Canadians consider the CBC an essential service.