Variant of NAICS 1997 - Labour Force Survey (LFS) Industries

7 - Services-Producing Sector

15 - Information, Culture and Recreation

51 - Information and Cultural Industries

This sector comprises establishments primarily engaged in creating and disseminating (except by wholesale and retail methods) information and cultural products, such as written works, musical works or recorded performances, recorded dramatic performances, software and information databases, or providing the means to disseminate them. Establishments that provide access to equipment and expertise to process information are also included.

The unique characteristics of information and cultural products, and of the processes involved in their production and distribution, distinguish this sector from the goods-producing and services-producing sectors. In particular,

*the value of these products lies in their information, educational, cultural or entertainment content, not in the format in which they are distributed. Most of these products are protected from unlawful reproduction by copyright laws. Only those possessing the rights to these works are authorized to reproduce, alter, improve and distribute them. Acquiring and using these rights often involves significant costs.

*the intangible nature of the content of information and cultural products allows for their distribution in various forms. For example, a movie can be shown at a movie theatre, on a television broadcast, through video on demand, or rented at a local video store; a sound recording can be aired on radio, embedded in multi-media products or sold at a record store; software can be bought at retail outlets or downloaded from an electronic bulletin board; a newspaper can be purchased at a newsstand or received on-line. In addition, improvements in information technology are revolutionizing the distribution of these products. The inclusion in this sector of telecommunications carriers and Internet access providers reflects the increasingly important role these establishments play in making these products accessible to the public.

The main components of this sector are the publishing industries, including software publishing, the motion picture and sound recording industries, the broadcasting and telecommunications industries, and the information services and data processing industries. There are establishments engaged in culture-related activities that are classified in other sectors of NAICS. The most important are listed below.

• Exclusion(s):

  Establishments primarily engaged in:

  • duplicating information or cultural products in print form, or in the form of optical or magnetic media(31-33)
  • wholesaling information and cultural products such as newspapers, books, software, videocasettes and sound recordings (See 41 Wholesale Trade)
  • retailing information and cultural products such as newspapers, books, software and sound recordings(44-45)
  • design activities (See 54 Professional, Scientific and Technical Services)
  • preserving and exhibiting objects, sites, and natural wonders of historical, cultural and/or educational value (See 71 Arts, Entertainment and Recreation)
  • producing live presentations that involve the performances of actors and actresses, singers, dancers, musical groups and artists, and other performing artists (See 71 Arts, Entertainment and Recreation)
  • performing in artistic productions, and in creating artistic and cultural works or productions as independent individuals (See 71 Arts, Entertainment and Recreation)

513 - Broadcasting and Telecommunications

This subsector comprises establishments primarily engaged in operating radio and television broadcasting studios and facilities, or in operating telecommunications networks. Resellers of telecommunications services are also included.

5132 - Pay TV, Specialty TV and Program Distribution

This industry group comprises establishments primarily engaged in broadcasting television programs, in a defined and limited format, via operators of cable and satellite distribution systems, and establishments primarily engaged in the delivery of programs, to subscribers, by cable or satellite.

51321 - Pay and Specialty Television

This industry comprises establishments primarily engaged in broadcasting television programs, in a defined and limited format, such as family and youth-oriented, news, feature films, music, health, sports, religion, weather, travel and educational programming. These establishments may produce programs in their own broadcasting studios or they may acquire programming from external sources. The programming is delivered to subscribers by operators of cable or satellite distribution systems.

• Exclusion(s):

  Establishments primarily engaged in:

  • producing programs for television without broadcasting (See 51211 Motion Picture and Video Production)
  • delivering programs to subscribers by cable or satellite systems (See 51322 Cable and Other Program Distribution)

513210 - Pay and Specialty Television

This Canadian industry comprises establishments primarily engaged in broadcasting television programs, in a defined and limited format, such as family and youth-oriented, news, feature films, music, health, sports, religion, weather, travel and educational programming. These establishments may produce programs in their own broadcasting studios or they may acquire programming from external sources. The programming is delivered to subscribers by operators of cable or satellite distribution systems.

• Example Activities:

  • Cable broadcasting networks
  • Cable program broadcasting
  • Cable television network
  • Pay television
  • Satellite television networks
  • Specialty cable television (e.g., music, sports, news) networks
  • Subscription television, network