Canadians spent more time online, while watching slightly less TV last year, according to the CRTC’s second annual Communications Monitoring Report.

Canucks watched a weekly average of 26.6 hours of television for the year ending Aug. 31, 2008, a slight decline from 26.8 hours the previous year. In contrast, time spent online went up: to 13.8 hours per week among anglophones, a slight increase, while francophones jumped to 11.1 hours from 9.8.

However, we’re watching more TV programming online, increasing 29% for anglophones and 23% for francophones.

‘Canadians are benefiting from the widespread availability of broadband services,’ notes the report. It’s no wonder, then, that spending on Internet advertising between 2004 and 2008 increased 56% – to reach the same level as radio.

Aside from perhaps private, over-the-air broadcasters – which saw their revenues decrease by 1.5% to $2.14 billion – the communications industry looks relatively healthy. The sector generated $54 billion, up 6% from the year before. Broadcasting made up $14 billion, or 26% of the total. In contrast, telecommunications revenues rose 6% to $40 billion.

Canada’s 707 television services generated about $5.5 billion in 2008.

CBC/Radio-Canada also fared well. Conventional TV at the pubcaster had the ‘highest revenue growth,’ increasing 16% to $412 million in 2008.

Among TV distributors, revenues rose to $7 billion from $6.3 billion in just one year. The 8.4 million Canadian cable subscribers and 2.7 million satellite customers paid on average $3.57 more per month in 2008 – up because of higher pricing, a greater consumption of PPV services, and upgrades to digital or high definition.