Radio and Television Broadcasting Survey (RTBS)

Detailed information for 2023

Status:

Active

Frequency:

Annual

Record number:

2724

This survey collects financial and operating data for radio, television stations and networks and discretionary and on-demand services.

Data release - May 23, 2024

Description

Information collected by the annual Radio and Television Broadcasting Survey serves the following broad objectives: to measure the financial performance of radio and television broadcasters and the economic contribution of this sector to the Canadian economy. The principal outputs of the survey are revenue, expense and operating statistics at the establishment level (individual radio or television undertaking). The level of detail collected varies with the size (revenues) of the undertaking.

Data from this survey are used by:

a) Statistics Canada to construct industry accounts;
b) the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to monitor the industry's performance and adherence to regulations;
c) industry associations, provincial governments, Canadian Heritage and industry analysts to conduct economic studies and to analyse and develop policy;
d) industry consultants and other interested parties to prepare reports submitted to bodies such as the CRTC and the Copyright Board.

In order to avoid duplication of effort and undue response burden, the survey is conducted by Statistics Canada in cooperation with the CRTC. It is collected under the authority of both the Statistics Act and the Broadcasting Act.

Statistical activity

The broadcasting statistics program is a component of a broader program on science and technology indicators.

The purpose of the broader program is to develop indicators that measure and explain the social and economic impacts of S&T activity based on a framework that ties them together in a coherent picture.

The attached document gives a short description of the main components of the broader program as well as a link to survey documentation for the last reference period for which data were released.

Reference period: Broadcasting fiscal year (September 1st to August 31st)

Subjects

  • Business, consumer and property services
  • Business performance and ownership
  • Information and communications technology
  • Television and radio industries

Data sources and methodology

Target population

The survey targets all organizations licensed by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission to operate private, public and non-commercial radio or television programming undertakings. In terms of industrial classification, this survey's target population is covered under the following North American Industrial Classification System Canada 2017 codes: Radio and television broadcasting (5151) and Pay and specialty television (51521).

Instrument design

The annual Radio and Television Broadcasting Survey essentially collects financial information from and for organizations licensed to operate radio and television broadcasting undertakings. It was originally designed in collaboration with the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission and Canadian Heritage. This partnership ensured that the needs of the policy maker and the regulator were met and that respondents could supply the requested information without undue response burden. To the extent possible, generally accepted accounting standards and standards generally adhered to by the industry formed the basis of the survey content.

An annual review of the survey content is done with the same partners.

Sampling

This survey is a census with a cross-sectional design.

The annual Radio and Television Broadcasting Survey essentially collects financial information from and for organizations licensed to operate radio and television broadcasting undertakings.

Data sources

Data collection for this reference period: 2023-10-16 to 2023-11-30

Responding to this survey is mandatory.

Data are collected directly from survey respondents, extracted from administrative files and derived from other Statistics Canada surveys and/or other sources.

Enterprises are asked for detailed information through an on-line data collection system managed by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission.

The survey is launched in the first half of October of each year.

The respondent has until November 30th to submit the data through the online collection system. A telephone contact is made with non-reporting enterprises in December and January to discuss reporting delinquency and possible special arrangements.

Canada Revenue Agency T2 and PD7 forms.

To enhance the data from this survey, Statistics Canada may combine it with information from other surveys or from administrative sources.

View the Questionnaire(s) and reporting guide(s).

Error detection

In order to identify, minimize and correct errors, the data are subjected to the following quality control measures:
- The data are first the object of an audit to ensure that its coverage is as anticipated and that a complete response has been provided. Follow-up is initiated at this stage if deemed necessary.
- The data are then subjected to computerized edits designed to ensure accuracy and internal consistency.
- For larger enterprises, the reported data are compared to audited financial information and major discrepancies are investigated.
- For larger enterprises, a year over year comparison is made to identify any radical or unexplained changes in output or input structures. Follow-up is initiated if deemed necessary.
- A number of analytical ratios looking at output and input structures are computed to identify outliers.

All unusual occurrences are queried for confirmation and clarified with the respondents concerned. However, most financial data collected are derived from audited financial statements resulting in minimal errors and inconsistencies.

Imputation

One of three methods is used to impute for missing, invalid or inconsistent response:
- Data submitted by a respondent (with or without adjustments) for a previous period are used to impute data for the current period.
- Imputation for partial or total non-response by a respondent are made on the basis of a full response by a respondent with similar characteristics.
- Total industry or sub-industry weights or averages are used to impute missing variables.

Estimation

No estimation is done for lack of coverage, concealment or the undervaluation of permits issued.

Quality evaluation

As the last step of the data quality control process, the analyst responsible for the survey undertakes a critical assessment of the main facts portrayed by the aggregated data. The assessment includes a systematic review of historical trends, a coherence check based on analytical ratios, a comparison with other data sources and a confrontation with independent sector analysis. If this process leads to concerns about the quality of survey results, a series of steps to identify and eliminate potential errors in the microdata are repeated.

At this stage in the process, the evaluation of quality depends to a large extent on the expertise of the analyst responsible for the survey. The expertise is developed over time in a number of ways including networking with other analysts in the public and private sectors, participation in conferences and by reading relevant material.

Disclosure control

Statistics Canada is prohibited by law from releasing any information it collects which could identify any person, business, or organization, unless consent has been given by the respondent or as permitted by the Statistics Act. Various confidentiality rules are applied to all data that are released or published to prevent the publication or disclosure of any information deemed confidential. If necessary, data are suppressed to prevent direct or residual disclosure of identifiable data.

Data for a specific industry or variable may be suppressed (along with that of a second industry or variable) if the number of enterprises in the population is too low.

Revisions and seasonal adjustment

Revisions are usually the result of late receipt of information, of re-filing by respondents of previously submitted data, or of detection of errors after publication of data. They typically do not have a material impact on the preliminary results. Past revisions generally accounted for less than 1% of the value for key variables such as total revenues, salaries and wages and number of employees.

Data accuracy

The response rate is 100%.

Non-sampling errors, however, may occur. There are potentially four sources of non-sampling error that can be identified in any given survey: coverage error, response error, non-response error and processing error.

Coverage error results from inadequate representation of the intended population. This error may occur during selection of the survey population, or during data collection and processing. In order to avoid such errors, a number of sources describing the population of the industry are used and compared. However, given the relatively small population and high concentration of the target population and the registration requirements in this sector, the coverage error has no material impact on the results of this survey.

Response error may be due to many factors, including faulty design of the questionnaire, respondents' misinterpretation of questions, or respondents' faulty reporting. Frequent changes in company personnel may also lead to response error. Responses are compared from year to year and any significant deviations are queried by analysts to ensure their accuracy. However, even with these checks, the quality of data depends on the respondent's willingness to consult their records.

Non-response errors occur because not all respondents cooperate fully. This is not a major concern with this survey. All major service providers generally participate fully in the survey. There are circumstances where individual respondents are unable to participate fully. To alleviate the impact on the survey, respondents are usually asked to provide key variables and the others are estimated. Publicly available information is also used when available.
Measurements such as response rate (total number of completed questionnaires as a percentage of the total active, in-scope survey sample) and response fraction (the proportion of the estimate based upon reported data) can be useful as indicators of the possible extent of non-sampling errors.

Imputations made for total and partial non-response are subject to errors but imputations are generally limited to details for which the respondent supplies a control total. Imputations are more frequent in the case of small service providers, and these imputations account for a larger proportion of values.

Processing errors may also occur during coding, data entry, editing and tabulation of the data. In this survey, procedures for quality control are used during the processing of data to keep such errors to a minimum.

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