The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) today released, for an eighth consecutive year, its Broadcasting Policy Monitoring Report. The report reveals that this industry is continuing to expand and that new media are becoming an increasingly important part of Canadians’ lives.
In 2006, Canadians were able to enjoy 1,252 different radio services, compared with 1,223 stations in 2005, including 929 English-language services, 286 French-language services, and 37 third-language services. On average, Canadians listened to 18.6 hours of radio per week in 2006, which is a little less than in 2005, when they listened to 19.1 hours. Private commercial radio stations captured slightly more than 80% of total radio tuning; the CBC, 11.6%, satellite radio, 1%, and the Internet, 0.3%.
Canadians have access to 662 television services, including 445 English-language services, 104 French-language services, and 113 third-language services. In 2006, Canadians watched on average 27.6 hours of television per week, slightly under the 28.1 hours in 2005.Canadian television services captured 78.7% of total viewership in 2006.
70% of Canadian households subscribed to the Internet in 2006, which is 6% more than in 2005. The percentage of Canadian households with high speed Internet subscriptions also continued to increase, from 51% in 2005 to 60% in 2006. 22% of Canadians listened to radio over the Internet in 2006 and 6% watched television
(Source: R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)