CTV News Shows Signs of Advancing on Global

Posted on May 29, 2023 by hoberfeld

TV ratings in the US are an open book … published regularly for all to see. Not so in Canada, where broadcasters guard their viewership numbers from all but a very select few.

But the Blog has obtained stat pages covering FOUR separate days of TV News program ratings in April and May in Toronto, Edmonton and Vancouver … with some fascinating details, especially for my BC readers.

And it sure looks to me like Global Vancouver News’ transition to too many soft stories, too much government-messenger-like rather than tough political reporting/questioning and too frequent fawning promotional Chinese/East Indian/First Nations “community” pieces …more propaganda than real news … have cost them viewers!

And apparently sending many to CTV.

Remember that, for decades, BCTV’s Newshour regularly outdrew its closest competitor (CTV) with five and six times the number of viewers.

That worked out regularly to 500,000 to 650,000 nightly viewers BC-wide … and TV ratings points of 5.5 to 6.5 … sometimes even higher … while CTV languished around 1 rating point, and CBC at 6 p.m. barely registered on the scale!

(For those interested in technical definitions “Ratings point is a measure of viewership of a particular television programme. One single television ratings point (Rtg or TVR) represents 1% of television households in the surveyed area in a given minute.” Wikipedia)

Those numbers … and the huge gap between BCTV and CTV … was not only great for our egos when I spent 26 years at BCTV, its was very, very good for management, advertisers and station $$$$!

But today, ratings are down, way down from BCTV’s peak, due to the wider variety of channels, so many other media sources etc. … and also, I contend, a DECLINE in the quality of what Global, the successor to BCTV, offers its viewers!

While CTV is doing better.

On May 5, Global scored it’s current “normal” ratings point score of 2.1, but interestingly, CTV was UP … to 1.6 ratings points, closing the formerly double, quadruple or quintuple gap between the two stations significantly.

An anomaly? That could be one way to spin it … except there were also “anomalies” in April, according to the docs I obtained. (And who knows how many other “anomalies” occurred in other days/weeks/months?)

In fact, on April 19, Global Newshour captured 2.7 ratings points, while CTV News at Six scored 1.4; on April 11, Global 2.9; CTV 1.5; and, on April 10, Global 2.9; CTV 1.8 … narrowing the gap.

More anomalies?

On those same dates, CTV 5 p.m. News BEAT Global’s ratings on ALL four occasions: May 5, CTV 1.3, Global 0.3; April 19, CTV 1.7, Global 0.6; April 11, CTV 0.7, Global 0.4; and April 10, CTV 1.3, Global 0.4. Wow!!

And for the Late News, it’s now almost a draw! May 5, CTV 1.3, Global 1.1; April 19, Global 1.3, CTV 1.0; April 11, Global 1.7, CTV 1.3; and April 10, Global 1.6, CTV 1.3.

CTV seems to be closing the gap with Global in BC … something unheard of for decades!

(If Global has more extensive data and would like to make it available to my readers, I’m sure we’d all be happy to see it.)

However, based on these daily readouts, I feel somewhat vindicated.

Readers of this Blog will be well aware of my rants about the decline at my once-mighty alma mater when it comes to hiring standards (ethnicity seems more important than journalistic skills, experience), resulting in my view lower reporting quality, poorer writing quality, almost non-existent tough questioning or hard challenging of those in power, even when they make gaffes or fail to deliver what they promised.

And doing too much with too little is also evident, I believe, in the lesser quality of their video shooting and editing possibilities that used to be so enjoyable for viewers to watch.

The station has lost its edge … the hook that captured hundreds of thousands more loyal nightly viewers when it was BCTV!

I’m glad they don’t call it BCTV anymore. May it Rest in Peace.

CTV News also has some distance to go journalistically, especially in political coverage and its questioning too, but have to admit I’m sometimes happily surprised when I tune in to at least see some interesting stories there that I had not already heard all day long on the radio!

If these figures over four days are indeed an indication of what is happening, clearly Global viewers have also noticed what I have … and are moving away.

You have to wonder if Global management … both local and senior management (back East) … have noticed what has been happening, have been oblivious to it … or are responsible for it, which is even worse.

Harv Oberfeld

(Follow @harveyoberfeld on Twitter for FREE First Alerts to new postings on this BC-based Blog. No spam … just First Alerts t new topics up for discussion.)

Posted in British Columbia, Media | 18 Comments

BC’s Embarrassing Health FAIL Could Point the Way to Long-term Solution Across Canada.

Posted on May 22, 2023 by hoberfeld

Luckily, that was only egg on the face of Health Minister Adrian Dix as the NDP government announced it would be sending BC cancer patients to the US for treatment.

Because if Dix was suffering anything more serious than embarrassment and humiliation … he might have had to endure those Emergency Room long, long waits or temporary total closures many other British Columbians regularly do … or he might even have found it impossible to find a regular family doctor to treat him.

Health care in BC is in a mess … and what could be more an admission of FAILURE than an NDP government sending up to 10,000 BC cancer patients, in a bid to save their lives to two Washington State Health Care Centres … including one that is private FOR-PROFIT facility

In February, the government acknowledged how serious the shortfall in cancer care in BC had become, announcing a 10-year plan “to better prevent, detect, and treat cancers now and in the future”, the Vancouver Sun reported.

“The plan says it will put more money into research, technology, and innovation. It is also adding new cancer centres — work is underway for new cancer centres in Burnaby and Surrey. It is also adding new diagnostic equipment and hiring new physicians and clinical support staff.”

Clearly too little, too late!

The NDP has been in power in BC, in its latest manifestation, since July 2017: they knew and they saw the province’s population was burgeoning; they knew and they saw the baby boomers were all ageing; they knew and they saw the number of cancer cases/patients was rising exponentially.

The previous Liberal government was warned: https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/b-c-was-warned-a-decade-ago-to-prepare-for-cancer-case-influx-former-b-c-cancer-head.

John Horgan’s new NDP government was well aware early on what BC was facing, yet the NDP waited until just weeks ago, in February, to announce a 10-year plan to substantially improve cancer detection/treatment/care.

By the time that begins showing results, many of those now stricken with cancer will be dead. Just think how many could have been saved if the Liberal government had acted when it was warned or the NDP government made it a priority after taking office!

Instead, now we have seen what must be the most embarrassing moment in the life of the current NDP government: announcing it will spend $78 million over the next two years to buy cancer care treatments in the US for British Columbians.

According to the Vancouver Sun, at TRIPLE the cost of providing treatment here: “$12,277 for a patient receiving five fractions of radiation therapy compared to $3,854 here in B.C., according to the Health Ministry.”

Add to that: travel and hotel costs, which BC taxpayers will also pick up … and just imagine the added stress of distant travel, dealing with the border etc.

However, the current BC government is not alone in sending patients out of province for health care: the Liberals reportedly sent many needing health care to Alberta and the US as well; and other Canadian provinces have also sent patients out of province and/or to the US for care.

Let’s keep it real: Canada’ ‘s public health care system, set up in the 1960s, simply can no longer handle on its own our growing population and rapidly ageing patient load, requiring increasingly complex and costly treatments.

The system needs help … but paying American for-profit hospitals huge prices to provide it is not a good solution.

Just think of the hundreds of millions of dollars various federal and provincial governments have spent on lawyers and Courts fighting against private health care services … and how many people could have been treated … or even saved … if that money had gone into health care!

The federal government and the provinces have to rethink their opposition to having private for-profit health care centres in this country relieve some of the public burden, by doing publicly-paid for cancer treatments, MRIs etc. and even minor surgeries.

As part of our health care system … not in competition to it.

It will be decades before the public system alone will be able to catch up to demand … if ever.

Having private facilities provide public health services in Canada, paid for under the Medical Services Plan, would cost less than sending so many to the US.

And would be a much better solution that just telling so many they will have to suffer for many more months, or years before getting treatment … or die, waiting their turn.

Harv Oberfeld

(Follow @harveyoberfeld on Twitter for FREE First Alerts to new topics posted and up for public discussion.)

Posted in British Columbia, International, National | 25 Comments