CBC needs more regional programming: survey

TORONTO – Canadians want the CBC to do a better job of reflecting the country's regions, says a new national poll.

Commissioned by the group, Friends of Canadian Broadcasting, the survey asked 1,100 Canadians their views on the performance of CBC Radio and Television.

CBC gets high marks for information and entertainment, according to the poll.

Of those surveyed, 81 per cent say the French and English services of CBC Radio and Television do a good to excellent job of promoting the national identity.

But the corporation gets lower marks in other areas.

Ian Morrison, spokesperson for the Friends of Canadian Broadcasting, said parts of the country feel overlooked.

"There is a sense the CBC is no longer capable of reflecting a non-Toronto-Ottawa point of view across the country and they want to see that addressed," said Morrison.

The poll results support a move made by the Friends of Canadian Broadcasting in July. They sent a letter to Finance Minister John Manley asking him to instruct the CBC to increase regional programming.

More spending needed

The public broadcaster wants to do more work with the regions, says CBC President Robert Rabinovitch.

"It costs a lot of money and we are constrained by our budget by the amount of money we can actually put into regional programming," said Rabinovich.

The CBC receives $800 million a year in government funding. But Morrison said the survey shows Canadians would support an increase in government funding.

"Eighty-three per cent agree with the statement we should build a new CBC capable of providing high quality Canadian programming with strong regional content throughout Canada," said Morrison.

He estimated it would cost an additional $250 million a year to fulfill its mandate of reflecting all regions of Canada to Canadians.

Ipsos-Reid polled 1,100 adult Canadians from August 6-11. It is considered accurate to within three percentage points, 95 per cent of the time.

© Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

See also

CBC Radio report by Sandra Abma (RealAudio format)