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TORONTO – Canada’s public broadcaster is to cut another $28 million next year to absorb the loss of a key public subsidy.
CBC/Radio Canada CEO Hubert Lacroix in an internal note to nationwide staff sent out Thursday said the latest budget chop for the 2013/14 fiscal year was required after the CRTC said it will phase out the Local Programming Improvement Fund over three years.
Last year, CBC/Radio-Canada drew $47 million from the industry fund, which receives contributions from domestic cable and satellite TV operators, and used the coin to subsidize local news-gathering in 20 markets.
Now those small market stations will see plans for four new local radio stations cancelled, fewer original productions, and reduced contributions from regional CBC/Radio-Canada operations to non-news programming.
The public broadcaster earlier began to slash jobs and original programming after Ottawa cut $115 million from its annual parliamentary appropriation over three years.
The CBC is also going into license renewal hearings in November with a request to the CRTC to run ads and sponsorship on its English language CBC Radio Two signal, and on its Radio-Canada equivalent, Espace Musique.
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