Numbers released by the CRTC yesterday paint a rosy picture for cable, DTH satellite and multi-point distribution systems, which all saw a boost in revenue in 2007.

Profits for cable distributors such as Rogers, Cogeco, Shaw and Videotron cumulatively surpassed the $7-billion mark for the first time ever, marking an increase of 16.1% compared with 2006. Meanwhile, combined revenues for DTH and MDS companies, including Bell ExpressVu and Star Choice, soared to a new high of $1.85 billion.

It’s the second year in a row that numbers are up for broadcast distributors. The numbers paint a different picture than those for private conventional broadcasters, which saw unchanged revenues for 2006/07, according to data released earlier this year. The CRTC says cable enjoyed a 2.3% increase in subscribers, while DTH and MDS saw a tiny subscription jump of 0.1%.

As for contributing to Canadian programming, broadcast distribution companies shelled out nearly $297 million last year, an increase of 8.4%. More than half of that went to the Canadian Television Fund, while $38.4 million was awarded to independent funds and $103 million to local community stations.

From Playback Daily