Net makes more gains on TV and beats radio

Candians are watching more TV programs online than ever - a jump of 30% - according to the second annual CRTC Communicaiton Monitoring Report, but they still keep their eyes on the tube nearly as much as the previous year.

Canadians spent more time online, while watching slightly less TV than the previous year, according to the CRTC’s second annual Communications Monitoring Report.

Canucks watched a weekly average of 26.6 hours of television for the year ending Aug. 31, 2008, a slight decline from 26.8 hours the previous year. In contrast, time spent online went up: to 13.8 hours per week among anglophones, a slight increase, while francophones jumped to 11.1 hours from 9.8.

However, we’re watching more TV programming online, increasing 29% for anglophones and 23% for francophones.

‘Canadians are benefiting from the wide-spread availability of broadband services,’ notes the report. It’s no wonder, then, that spending on Internet advertising between 2004 and 2008 increased 56%. In fact, a release issued July 28 by the Interactive Advertising Bureau of Canada (IAB) announced that Canadian online ad revenues grew by 29% to just over $1.6 billion in 2008 (more than quadrupling over the past five years), surpassing 2008 radio revenues of $1.55 billion in the process.

Aside from perhaps private, over-the-air broadcasters, which saw their revenues decrease by 1.5% to $2.14 billion, the communications industry looks relatively healthy. The sector generated $54 billion, up 6% from the year before. Broadcasting made up $14 billion, or 26% of the total. In contrast, telecommunications revenues rose 6% to $40 billion.

Canada’s 707 television services generated about $5.5 billion in 2008.

CBC/Radio-Canada also fared well. Conventional television at the pubcaster had the ‘highest revenue growth,’ increasing 16% to $412 million in 2008.

Among TV distributors, revenues rose to $7 billion from $6.3 billion in just one year. The 8.4 million Canadian cable subscribers and 2.7 million satellite customers paid on average $3.57 more per month in 2008 – up because of higher pricing, a greater consumption of PPV services and upgrades to digital or high definition.

From Playback Daily.