The Potential Of Public Media: A Case Study of Reimagine CBC

In the spring of 2014, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) announced that it will cut 657 positions and get out of the business of airing professional sports, a pillar of its programming for more than 60 years. As part of a plan to confront a $130-million revenue shortfall projected for the 2014-15 broadcast year, the cuts represent about 8 per cent of the broadcaster’s total work force, compensating for lower ratings and an industry-wide slump in the TV ad market (Houpt & Simon, 2014). Viewed by some as a sign of the imminent collapse and possible restructuring of the CBC (Rowland, 2013), the sidelining of the public service mandate (in favor of the commercial mandate for ratings and profit) offers an opportunity to reimagine what public service media means