Helping CBC Part II: Making money through cable channels

Last week, we ran Part I on how the CBC can improve its financial situation.

With the limitations on the over-the-air channel to make money, the logical place to turn is to petition the CRTC to allow for cable channels to make more money to subsidize the mothership.

Petitioning the CRTC and getting approval are difficult tasks. But in case the green light does go on, we have a few possible cable channels ideas based on the strengths of the CBC and potential TV audiences.

Get a cable channel or two

CBC's foray into cable was CBC Country Canada that later became Bold. The channel went from serving rural interests to an arts and sports channel. In a round of budget cuts, CBC sold the cable channel to Blue Ant Media and is now known as Cottage Life.

Selling a cable channel is like selling a cow when you're hungry: short-term money but a financial loss in the long run.

The CRTC rules make switching formats quite difficult, so the CBC would be better off establishing new channels.

Also, the CBC could run programs on the cable channel and repeat them on the OTA channel, giving the network programming for no additional cost and a chance to cross-promote the cable channel on CBC.

Previous coverage:

Helping CBC Part I: Show more Canadian content

Here are a few options in going the cable route:

• Kids' CBC

CBC runs children's programming from 7a-11a weekdays. Expanding the mission to a 24-hour channel that subscribers would pay for would be easy money. The question is whether that channel would complement the OTA programming or allow the CBC to open up morning programming to shows where they can charge ads.

Families might object to the CBC giving up kids programming on the OTA channel. With digital TV and a loss of analog transmitters throughout Canada, most of Canada that can get CBC via an antenna live in major cities. Windsor is more of an anomaly than ever before thanks to digital TV.

Having a 4-hour block that is commercial-free helps justify other moves to not run ads (i.e., run Canadian films uncut and complete). But opening up a 4-hour block can make the CBC more money.

• CBC Retro

Comedies, dramas, and sports events are in a CBC library, and get little to no airing. One way to make Canadians appreciate Canadian programming is to show how wonderful the programs used to be.

Rights could be an issue for some popular programs (e.g., Kids in the Hall), but the CBC library is extensive. Imagine a run on previous Grey Cup games leading up to the Grey Cup each year. Unlike the kids channel, CBC Retro would get money from cable subscribers and through advertising. Since the CBC owns rights to much of the programming, CBC would need little investment to make quite a bit of money.

• CBC Nickelodeon model

If CBC is limited to one channel, a mixture of kids programming and retro programming through the rest of the day would be an homage to the early days of the Nickelodeon cable channel in the States.

• CBC Classic Sports

A variation of CBC Retro but devoted to sports. The CBC sports library is ridiculously extensive. Might not be strong enough to stand on its own as a cable channel. When the CBC had the NHL contact, this would have been a great outlet for excessive regular season and playoff games. Imagine a Saturday night where the Leafs would air on CBC outside Quebec and CBC Classic Sports in Quebec, and the Habs would run on CBC Classic Sports outside Quebec and CBC in Quebec. Or substitute the Sens or Jets depending on the region or schedule. CBC having 2 playoff games at the same time: one on the regular channel, the other on CBC Classic Sports.

• CBC Arts

Perhaps what Bold could have been but arts programming is undervalued on the main CBC channel.

Run classic shows

A CBC Retro channel on cable would be the ideal option. Show older CBC programs and run commercials and make money to subsidize the CBC. True, other Canadian outlets might have rights to shows (e.g., Kids in the Hall), but there are a lot of CBC shows that could get a second life. And remind naysayers that the CBC did some good.

Click here for a Wikipedia page that features shows aired previously on the CBC.

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We'll have Part III coming soon.

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photo credit: CBC

Comments

[Tim]

CBC America?

[Chad]

A clever name for sure. I'd like to see a cross-section of Canadian shows in that type of a channel. Quite frankly, the CBC would account for most of that programming.

You're right. A Canadian channel in the U.S. would provide more revenue for the CBC.