The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has renewed CBC/Radio-Canada’s (SRC) broadcast licenses, but is asking the public broadcaster to invest more in its content from Indigenous, racialized, disability and who identify as LGBTQ+.
The CRTC is dropping the requirement for CBC/Radio-Canada to meet minimum local programming thresholds in urban markets, where Canadians have multiple options for getting informed, but is keeping them in rural parts of the country.
In its decision, the CRTC points out that the media landscape has changed profoundly since the last renewal of the public broadcaster’s licenses in 2013. It therefore considers that it must make changes to Radio-Canada’s mandate to better reflect the new reality.
The CRTC is also putting in place new rules to ensure that the difference between news and information programming and “branded content,” or advertising, is made clear.
The CBC will have to submit new reports to the CRTC on a range of topics, including the diversity of its employees, privacy issues, perception and public consultation.
Licenses for radio, television and cross-platform content in English and French are valid until August 2027.
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