Happy Birthday CBC – maybe it’s time for retirement?

Ah - memories of the CBC:

Barbra Frum - the self-confident, folksy, astute interviewer.

Don Harron - the Leacock wannabee. And he came close.

That guy who played "out-there" music at a late hour, when listenership was low. I heard some gems!

Where are they now? (I know some of the answers, so it's just a rhetorical question, and I am not suggesting it be answered.)

So, what's happening on CBC now that's worth preserving?

I just want to say I LOVE listening to CBC radio, they have amazing insightful programming and no irritating adds. I have conversations with random people on planes about how much we love it and how much less rich our lives would be with out it.

PS Yahoo you suck that I have to sign up to your service to post this.

Rather than the CBC, why not slash Canada's Senate?

If they are public funded, how come they don't have to provide records of how they spend our money?

The CBC used to have the best news department in North America which gave it a shot at being the best in the world. The last good thing they did was "The 10 000 Day War". Factual and unbiased, it covered the history of the war in Viet Nam. It was made in the early 1980's. Since then the "wheels" at CBC have chosen to spend money on manipulating the public by decreasing popular and visible items over administrative cuts. Once they cut late movies, but that backfired. People who watched them tuned out earlier in the evening.

There seems to be an interesting myth circulating among conservatives that very few people watch the CBC at all.

So let's look at those ratings. And let's be specific.

Only between 10 to 30% of Canadians watch the CBC, depending on the exact show. This number represents some of the highest domestic ratings in the entire country. Many CBC (non-hockey, non-National) shows regularly pull in over two million viewers. Shows are in danger of being axed if they fall below a million viewers.

The highest-rated program ever in Canada -- on any station -- was the most recent Stanley Cup game 7 (the one which ended in the riot): at 8.76 million viewers.

By comparison: Sun News reaches an average of 12,900 viewers. Its highest ever viewership was 89,000, during an August showing of Byline.

To be perfectly honest, most Canadians don't watch Canadian networks at all. The highest rating ever reached in domestic television is roughly where the United States network ratings begin. No Canadian network, neither CBC nor any of the private networks, even comes close.

Peladeau is a whiner. He is htge one who wants to take over the management of a new hockkey rink inn Quebec City without putting in his own money, and on top of that, has the Quebec Government pass a law that no one can take legal action against what is essentially and illegal act.
Corruption in the contructionindustry?? Maybe one should look at Quebecor and the Quebec Government. as the saying goes, me thinks thou doth protest too much. The ones who make the most noise are trying to cover up something

Would you believe it! Rob Ford went complaining to his good friend Harper that he was attacked by Mary Walsh and now the minister of Heritage Canada is saying on tv that Mary Walsh was a disgrace! He completely forgot to mention that Ford was an even bigger disgrace. The whole situation was even turned into a joke in the US.

News is too important a tool for democracy to be left in the hands of a few wealthy individuals.

News should not be run like any other business, showing the most sensationalist stories possible to get more viewing (and conveniently omitting some that are an inconvenience to the owners).

News should be about getting important information that will affect all our lives out there in an informative way that will include enough context information to make sense of what is happening.

I love public radio! I don't wanna have to listen to Adele 14 times a day, let alone Beyonce!

hahaha... People watch CBC because of its informative and educational value programming which is none existent on other private network like the SunCrapNews.

Last I heard 70% of Canadians supported the CBC, enough said.

I think news/information should not have to rely on a private/commercial model because I fear the bias of MONEY controling the content.
CBC is a target because it cant be infuenced by big buisiness.

Yahoo is using Ezra Levant, a right wing hypocrite as worthy information? Might as well get George W. to give us his opinon on Canada's legal & financial system too!
Idiots!

Andy Radia your article is bias and lacks professionalism. Keep you opinions for the dinner table.

Public television is a pillar of democracy. All of the comments from the private right are advocating in the name unfettered capitalism, which is bad enough. But the truth is they don't want a dissenting voice when popular opinion - like a rush into war as happened in the US in the run-up to the Iraqi war. It is an opposition voice that they want to eliminate.

I find it ironic that public radio was pushed in by capitalistic interest so has to not have more private stations competing for ad revenues and now the capitalist are fighting for its demise for the same reason. Ironic, except it's really an assault on a democracy.

If CBC radio disappears, I'm giving up on radio entirely. It's the only refuge from commercials about shit I don't care to hear about. I haven't seen or heard an advertisement for anything I give a hoot for in years. Ditched cable tv three years ago because I couldn't find enough worth watching to make it worth the price tag.

The dream of the neo-conservative Asper family was always to destroy the CBC. Now Murdoch's rag of lies has taken up the same mantle to destroy the only democratic news voice left in Canada. Will the TRUE democratic grass roots movement of this country allow this to happen? The CBC is a binding mechanism of this country. Destroy the CBC and it will be the end of Canada as we know it.

The CBC needs to be restructured, everyone agrees. I believe that its public funding should be accountable to the citizen, and not a tax generated revenue, in a similar function as PBS south of the border. Perhaps it should be operated through grants, and donations. I think if our national broadcaster had more accountability to its viewership, and the executive directors were compelled to be resourceful with their funding, Canadians as a whole would benefit.

I am thoroughly disappointed that the CBC has lost most of its ideological content. If I were to suggest a mandate for the CBC it would be 12 hours of informational and educational programming per day. It would not be 4 separate channels, rather one effective television channel that educated our children in the morning, and after school. It would teach Canadians about Canada, Canadian geography, Canadian history, Canadian culture, Canadian politics, and Canadian interests. It wouldn't be irrelevant. I would prefer to see the CBC partnered with the National Film Board to give talented film makers an opportunity to share their lenses with Canadians. This should be a clear mandate of the CBC instead
of hit or miss script writing.... I miss the days when the CBC aired profound documentaries on its main channnel.

I definitely would like to have a much more direct say in the operation of the CBC, and I think relying on public donations (which could be guaranteed in some manner by the government in turn) with some private sector contributions would be a good direction for the CBC, as well as becoming commercial free TV...

I really appreciate the informative nature of CBC Radio and Radio-Canada, and I wish to have a truly national voice to represent me as a Canadian. I don't think the CBC is expendable, governments have a vested interest in broadcasting, it is a fundamental source of communication with the population, but certainly I think the CBC needs to become
accountable, to all of us.

Fan of Hinterland's Whos Who, and National Film Board Vignettes, and Canadian patriot.

Greetings and salutations.

If Yahoo is treating Sun media as a credible source for news and public opinion then perhaps Yahoo should be retired. Judging from the comments, clearly Canadians as a whole are passionate supporters of the CBC and Radia has missed the mark.