News release

April 12^th, 2005

The CRTC releases financial results for Canadian radio

OTTAWA-GATINEAU — The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has released today its statistical and financial summaries for commercial private radio in Canada, covering the results of the industry for 2000 to 2004. Overall, revenues for the 544 Canadian radio stations increased by 2.5% from 2003 to 2004, reaching $1.2 billion. From 2003 to 2004, their earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) decreased by 1.3%, going from $227 to $224.1 million, while the average annual growth of their EBIT was 7.6% over five years. Notably, from 2003 to 2004, revenues for English-language stations grew by 4%, and that of ethnic and Aboriginal stations by 5.7%, while revenues for French-language stations shrank by 4.6%. EBIT of English-language stations increased by 0.6% and that of French-language stations decreased by 19.3%, while ethnic and Aboriginal stations experienced a strong increase of 67.2%.

English-language AM and FM stations

Revenues for English-language AM radio remained essentially the same, decreasing by a mere 0.1% from 2003 to 2004, to hit $259.5 million in 2004. EBIT saw strong growth of 76.8%, moving from $2.8 to $4.9 million. This growth is in stark contrast to the average annual losses of 21.5% posted between 2000 and 2004. As for FM stations, revenues increased by 5.5%, from $700.3 to $738.7 million in 2004, and EBIT decreased a slight 0.5%, coming in at $192.4 million. In 2004, 164 AM radio stations and 274 FM radio stations were broadcasting in English in Canada.

French-language AM and FM stations

Revenues for French-language AM radio decreased by 13.2%, reaching $22.6 million in 2004, compared with $26 million in 2003. Losses before interest and taxes increased from $2.6 million in 2003 to $4.7 million in 2004. French-language FM radio stations saw their revenues shrink by 3.4%, coming in at $172.5 million in 2004 compared with $178.5 million in 2003. On average, however, their revenues rose by 5.8% per year between 2000 and 2004. Their EBIT decreased by 10.8%, going from $31.2 in 2003 to $27.8 million in 2004. There were 15 AM and 77 FM French-language radio stations in Canada in 2004.

Ethnic and Aboriginal stations

Ethnic and Aboriginal AM stations experienced revenue growth of 4.9% from 2003 to 2004, earning $20.3 million in 2004. There was also a significant increase of 73.1% in their EBIT, which came in at $3.2 million. Revenues for FM stations went from $9.8 to $10.5 million, which represents a growth of 7.3%. Their EBIT of $454,353 in 2004 represents an increase of 35.3% over the last year, significantly exceeding the average annual growth of 3.9% experienced over the last five years. There were 8 AM and 6 FM ethnic and Aboriginal stations in Canada in 2004.

Other data for 2004

• 29 new radio stations entered various Canadian markets.
• The total number of AM stations decreased by 13, through conversion to FM frequencies.
• The Canadian radio industry employed 9,031 people and paid $527.7 million in salaries.

Background

This is one of a series of reports published by the Commission each year to inform all interested parties of the results attained by the broadcasting industry it regulates. In addition to the report on radio being issued today, the Commission also recently published reports on conventional television and on specialty, pay and pay-per-view television services. It will soon be unveiling the financial results on the broadcasting distribution industry and a little later, its Broadcast Monitoring Report.

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission is an independent public authority that regulates and supervises broadcasting and telecommunications in Canada.

Reference document: Commercial Private Radio, Statistical and Financial Summaries 2000-2004 [.htm][.pdf][.xls]

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Media Relations:
   MediaRelations@crtc.gc.ca, Tel: (819) 997-9403, Fax: (819) 997-4245

General Inquiries:
   Tel: (819) 997-0313, TDD: (819) 994-0423, Fax: (819) 994-0218
   Toll-free # 1-877-249-CRTC (2782), eMail: info@crtc.gc.ca
   TDD - Toll-free # 1-877-909-2782

Copies of today’s documents are available through our Internet site (http://www.crtc.gc.ca) or by contacting the public examination room of any CRTC office. These documents are available in alternative format upon request.

Date Modified: 2005-04-12

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