Revenue and profits were up again last year among specialty, pay and VOD channels, according to the latest stats from the CRTC. Profits continue to soar in the sector, though the growth rate was not as high as the previous year’s.

The industry continued to see strong growth in 2007, with total revenues hitting $2.7 billion, up 9.1% from $2.5 billion in ’06. Profits before interest and taxes rose 13% to $647.1 million.

The total revenue breaks down into:

• $1.2 billion from subscribers of cable distribution services;
• $574.8 million from subscribers of direct-to-home satellite services;
• $928.8 million from national advertising;
• $19.8 million from local advertising; and
• $44.3 million from other revenues.

The amount spent by specialty and pay-TV services on Canadian programming also increased, by 3.3% to $917.9 million. That spending included $148 million for news programs, $210.2 million for other information programs, $230.6 million for sports programs, $168.3 million for drama, $45.6 million for musical and variety shows, and $67 million for general-interest programming.

The services spent $323.2 million on foreign programming, which represented a 10% increase from ’06.

In 2007, Canadian specialty, pay, pay-per-view television and VOD services employed 5,490 people, up from 5,264, and paid a total of $407.8 million in salaries, up from $374.6 million.

From Media in Canada