Numbers released by the CRTC on Wednesday paint a rosy picture for cable, DTH satellite and multipoint distribution systems, which have all seen a boost in revenue for 2007.

Profits for cable distributors such as Rogers, Cogeco, Shaw and Videotron cumulatively surpassed the $7-billion mark for the first time ever, marking an increase of 16.1% compared to 2006. Meanwhile, combined revenues for DTH and MDS companies including Bell ExpressVu and Star Choice soared to a new high of $1.85 billion.

It’s the second year in a row that numbers are up for broadcast distributors. The numbers paint a different picture than that for private conventional broadcasters, which saw unchanged revenues for 2006/07, according to data released earlier this year.

The CRTC says cable enjoyed a 2.3% increase in subscribers, while DTH and MDS saw a tiny 0.1% jump in subscribers.

As far as contributing to Canadian programming goes, broadcast distribution companies shelled out nearly $297 million last year, an increase of 8.4%. More than half of that went to the Canadian Television Fund, while $38.4 million was awarded to independent funds and $103 million to local community stations.