The TV industry in Canada is still strong, with official data indicating that operating revenues in 2020 reached 6.39 billion Canadian dollars. That being said, this figure has decreased from 7.01 billion in 2010, showing a gradual decline in revenue over the last decade.
In 2020, the Canadian radio industry reported operating revenues of 1.59 billion dollars, in line with the small but consistent reductions in revenue since 2011. Conversely, the amount of radio stations recorded in 2021 was 961, the highest number recorded by the data source.
Print media, including newspapers and magazines, experienced a decline in popularity, most commonly due to favorability of digital versions. Magazine revenues based on newsstand sales decreased by 2.3 million U.S. dollars between the final quarters of 2015 and 2016. In regard to newspapers, data shows that Canadian interest in this medium is also declining – it is expected that by the end of 2018 consumers will spend an average of just 13 minutes daily reading newspapers, a drop in daily consumption of 5.6 minutes over the last eight years.
All in all, digital media consumption is on the rise, with weekly internet television viewing hours in Canada increasing from 2.4 hours in 2015 to 3.9 hours in 2020. Also, online radio streaming has increased slightly over the past years, more so among francophone listeners, with 23 percent of consumers in this group having streamed AM/FM radio from the internet in 2018, a nine percent increase over a five year period.
On-demand digital music audio streaming is growing in popularity in Canada, with over 8.8 billion subscription-based music streams recorded in the final quarter of 2017, and over 2.3 billion ad-supported music streams. However, in the same period, just 2.87 billion music videos were streamed in Canada, demonstrating a clear preference among consumers for audio streaming.
As in many other parts of the world, the media landscape in Canada is largely characterized by the decline of print and growth of digital media. Whilst growth in Canada remains steady and has been somewhat slower than in other world regions, the trend to move away from traditional media and pursue more modern alternatives is prevalent, despite hopes that print media may recover. On a more positive note, the increase in radio stations and keen consumer interest in audio streaming suggest that Canada’s media industry will continue to grow, particularly if Canadian consumers embrace digital media and are not afraid to experiment with new technologies as they appear in the market.
