Canada Has the Worst Media Ownership Concentration of any G8 Country

By: Kuljit Grewal  |   August 22nd, 2012   |   News

A recent study put on by Boston-based firm Analysis Group has revealed that Canada has the highest concentration of TV industry ownership among the G8 nations at 81.4 per cent along with the second highest rate of TV audience concentration at 28.6 per cent.

 

According to the Huffington Post, the study was conducted in order to quantify the impact of the potential Bell-Astral merger right here at home (TQ was on it). A higher concentration means that the companies that create the content are also the ones that broadcast and distribute the content. This type of situation can lead to higher rates for cable services as well as the monopolization of views due to a few major players having too much control. Such companies are the Bells and Rogers of Canada, companies that are vertically integrated.

 

All in all, Canada’s ownership concentration of 81.4 per cent is far and away the highest among G8 nations, with Japan representing the second highest nation at a modest 37.5 per cent. For comparative purposes, ownership concentration is 23.1 per cent in the U.S.

 

The most amazing thing about Canada’s numbers is the fact that the percentage of industry concentration has increased exponentially since 2009, when 40 per cent of distributed content was created by the same parties.

 

The data collected in the study has been used by a coalition of TV distributers who are opposing the deal between Bell and Astral, citing the new level of viewership concentration would be too high. If the deal were to be approved, Bell would service 37.6 per cent of Canada’s TV viewers, more than one in three.

 

According to Bell, viewers will benefit from the potential merger, benefitting from economies of scale and cost savings that will be spread to end users. We will have to see where the deal goes however it is important for Canadians to understand how concentrated their TV experience is.