The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has granted a request from CBC to limit the impact of the 2024 Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games on its programming spend requirements.

The pubcaster issued a request to the CRTC last June to exclude the expenditures from its coverage of the Olympic and Paralympic Games from the calculation of its Canadian programming expenditure (CPE) and programs of national interest (PNI) requirements.

The request was on the basis that the increased spending would lead to an increase in CPE and PNI requirements the following year, with CBC arguing that it could lead to a reduced spend on non-PNI programming in order to comply.

The pubcaster also said that its coverage of the Olympics and Paralympics does not provide significant value to afford the increased requirements, since the cost of production offsets any increased revenue earnings from ads and sponsorships.

The CRTC granted the application on Tuesday (July 23) on the basis that it would help CBC maintain its level of CPE and PNI spend and provide stability for the independent production sector.

There were a number of interventions to the application, with intervenors such as the Directors Guild of Canada warning that the exemption might have the reverse effect of reducing CBC’s PNI requirements for the following year. There were similar concerns from organizations such as the Writers Guild of Canada and the Canadian Media Producers Association.

The CRTC said it had previously granted relief in the context of the Olympics and Paralympics, based on Canadian programming exhibition requirements, which have since been removed as of CBC’s most recent broadcast licence renewal in place of expenditure requirements.

The decision was sent back to the CRTC by the Governor in Council in 2022 for reconsideration following a number of industry petitions. The petitioners argued that the CRTC had exceeded its mandate by removing a condition of licence to require CBC to work with independent producers, instead making it an expectation. A new decision had not been issued by the CRTC at press time.

Intervenors questioned whether it was appropriate to rule on the exemption while the broadcast licence decision was still under reconsideration, but the CRTC said there wasn’t sufficient evidence to defer the decision since the reconsideration order was not relevant to CBC’s CPE and PNI requirements.

A spokesperson for CBC told Playback Daily that the CRTC decision “will allow us to continue providing Canadians with extensive coverage of our Olympic and Paralympic athletes, and a wide range of award-winning Canadian shows.”

The Paris Olympics Games begin on Friday (July 26) and run until Aug. 11, while the Paralympic Games run from Aug. 28 to Sept. 8.

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