financial sustainability
year in review – our results
OPERATING EXPENSES
| For the year ended March 31 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 2017 | % change | |
| Television, radio and digital services costs | |||
| English Services | 982,189 | 922,338 | 6.5 |
| French Services | 747,870 | 701,063 | 6.7 |
| 1,730,059 | 1,623,401 | 6.6 | |
| Other operating expenses | |||
| Transmission, distribution and collection | 68,165 | 67,879 | 0.4 |
| Corporate management | 9,690 | 9,964 | (2.7) |
| Payments to private stations | 167 | 623 | (73.2) |
| Finance costs | 22,815 | 25,907 | (11.9) |
| Share of results in associate | - | (3,363) | 100.0 |
| 100,837 | 101,010 | (0.2) | |
| TOTAL | 1,830,896 | 1,724,411 | 6.2 |
Our total operating expenses increased by $106.5 million (6.2%) compared to last year, with the main variances noted below.
TELEVISION , RADIO AND DIGITAL SERVICES COSTS (￪ 6.6%)
Television, radio and digital services costs depend on the different events of importance we cover throughout the year and on our ongoing programming schedule. They represent the costs we incur in relation to the production of our programs, including the cost of our technical labour and facilities.
The 6.6% ($106.7 million) increase in Television, radio and digital services costs resulted from:
EVENTS
Event-related expenses were lower by 3.1% despite both years including programming rights and production costs to broadcast Olympic Games. This decrease in expenses was driven by various costs reduction initiatives.
ONGOING ACTIVITIES
Our ongoing operating costs increased this year, primarily as we used the additional government funding received to continue investing in original content and further our digital capabilities.
- Programming – additional costs as we broadcast more original content this year, mostly related to Canada 150 and Montreal’s 375th across our various platforms. We also incurred additional expenses for host broadcasting sports activities.
- Technical capabilities – we continued to invest in our digital infrastructure as we digitize our archives and support new initiatives throughout the year.
- Local services –higher expenses across our platforms, particularly in relation to Canada 150. Costs were also incurred this year to preserve CBC North’s historic Indigenous programs and to launch the London station.
- Other – additional costs incurred to promote Canada 150 and Montreal’s 375th programming activities and to support various initiatives such as the creation of a Values and Ethics office.
OTHER OPERATING EXPENSES (￬ 0.2%)
Other operating expenses include costs related to the broadcasting of the Corporation’s programs (“transmission, distribution and collection” and “payments to private stations”), corporate management costs, finance costs and the recognition of our share in the results of SiriusXM.
Other operating expenses decreased by $0.2 million (0.2%), mostly as a result of lower finance costs by $3.1 million (11.9%) consistent with our expectations, and reduced costs in different areas of the business. Partly offsetting these decreases was the absence of income from our share of results in associate. Refer to Other Gains and Losses on the next page for more details.
