Media Credit: Tero Vesalainen / iStock
If you’re living in Canada, it’s probably no surprise to you that 2024 has been labeled the year of the “Media Apocalypse.” There’s been a dramatic collapse of revenue sustaining the mainstream media.
The CBC, for one, faced a $125 million shortfall at the beginning of the year and was poised to lay off up to 800 people before the federal government stepped in with some extra cash.
The private sector has not been so lucky. In February, BCE Inc., the owner of Bell Media, announced 4,800 layoffs, including 9% of its media division’s workforce. Bell moved to sell off 45 of its 103 regional television stations and canceled multiple newscasts. Layoffs at Bell’s CTV Television Network, Canada’s highest-rated network, were extensive. They even closed down the network’s famous newsmagazine program W5, which had been on the air since 1966.
But it’s worse at Corus Entertainment Inc., which owns the Global Television Network and dozens of television and radio stations across Canada. Corus is spiraling toward insolvency, weighed down by more than $1 billion of debt and collapsing revenue. In the company's third-quarter earnings call, it was announced that Corus expects to have chopped its full-time workforce by 25%, or nearly 800 jobs, by the end of this summer. Indeed, by the end of May, Corus had already cut about 500 employees and stopped operating AM radio stations in Vancouver, Edmonton and Hamilton.
Canada’s newspaper industry is faring no better. Last year, Nordstar, the company that owns the Toronto Star and other newspapers, announced it was seeking bankruptcy protection for one of its units, which owns more than 70 local newspapers, axing more than 600 jobs. The Star itself has been losing money for years.
Postmedia, Canada’s largest newspaper chain, is a shadow of its former self. Last year, it announced an 11% cut to its workforce and racked up net losses of $74 million. Revenues continued to decline, and losses mounted throughout this year.
What’s also complicating the landscape in Canada is Bill C-18, otherwise known as The Online News Act, which was passed by the Trudeau government last year and is designed to pressure the Big Tech companies to compensate media organizations if they want to continue to host Canadian news content on their platforms.
Both Google and Meta, the latter of which owns Facebook and Instagram, responded by blocking Canadian news from their platforms. Eventually, Google relented, but the ban on Canadian news items on Meta remains in place. “Canadian news organizations lost an enormous amount of their online viewership,” said Aengus Bridgman, director of the Media Ecosystem Observatory in a recent interview. “They’ve been heavily relying on the distribution channels of Google and part Meta to get their work out there.”
It’s no mystery why this “Media Apocalypse” is upon us. The traditional mainstream media of linear television, newspapers, magazines and radio no longer attracts advertising dollars, readers, listeners and viewers.
But that doesn’t mean advertising has gone away. As Canadians have transferred their attention, online advertising has followed suit. In 2018, digital advertising became the dominant advertising medium, accounting for over half of global advertising spending. Advertising online in Canada has never been stronger and continues to grow at a healthy pace. This year, digital advertising was slated to hit $16 billion, up from $13.6 billion in 2022, and may reach $21.5 billion by 2028.
Yet this has not necessarily meant advertisers are happy with the online environment. They are now trying to figure out how to get a guaranteed return on investment (ROI) in the vast offerings of the internet. Where do you place your advertising dollars safely? How is AI going to impact things? These are just two major questions in play.
So, how are advertisers feeling about the digital advertising market? According to a survey conducted this past winter by Narcity Media Group, a Montreal-based online media company, 56% of respondents cited reduced visibility of significant platforms as a primary concern. Additionally, 44% struggle with measuring return on investment for top-of-the-funnel campaigns, and 43% indicate difficulties in targeting niche audiences effectively.
The survey also found advertisers are divided on the value proposition of media organizations compared to direct collaborations with content creators. “This division indicates a competitive landscape where media organizations need to differentiate themselves, possibly by emphasizing the unique strengths in reach, credibility and audience insights,” the survey noted.
Retail consultant Liza Amlani has observed the digital environment is proving ideal for the development of direct-to-consumer (DTC) brand strategies. “There are a few different factors that are driving brands to invest more into their DTC strategies,” Amlani has said. “Most notably, however, much of the work currently being done in this area is through the lens of getting closer to the consumer.”
Yet consumers are only somewhat satisfied with all the online ads. In a recent survey by Statista, when Canadian respondents were asked about their attitudes towards online advertising, 44% indicated they were “often annoyed” by it.
Advertisers are increasingly discovering that what’s most compelling is having helpful content for consumers as part of their marketing campaigns. According to Forbes, 90% of marketing campaigns now contain content, while the content marketing industry has grown to a staggering (US) $600-billion market.
“This high adoption rate, as indicated by Demand Metric, reflects content marketing’s essential role in connecting with audiences, building brand identity and enhancing online visibility,” notes Forbes magazine in a recent article. “This approach goes beyond traditional advertising; it involves creating valuable, relevant content to attract and retain a defined audience—ultimately, to drive profitable customer action.”
So, although the apocalypse is unfolding within the mainstream media, people who wish to reach audiences online can do so. They just may have to think innovatively and outside the box to achieve maximum reach.
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