CBC contributes $3.7 billion to economy: study

The Canadian Press:

Ottawa - Faced with that uneasy feeling of budget cuts on the horizon, the CBC released a study Wednesday that pegs their gross impact on the Canadian economy last year at $3.7 billion.

The analysis by consultants Deloitte and Touche LLP was commissioned by the public broadcaster in connection with their latest five-year strategic plan.

"(It's to) ensure that when we talk about the broadcaster that we have real facts in hand, and we go beyond the anecdotal evidence or the stories or numbers that have been drawn on the corner of a napkin," CBC president Hubert Lacroix said in a conference call.

"Now we have robust conclusions as to what we also bring to Canadians. ... We believe in the concept of a return on investment.

"Canadians give us on average $34 per head. They should hear from us how we use those dollars and whether there's a return for them and to the Canadian economy. That's why we have that report."

Deloitte said that based on CBC expenditures of $1.7 billion in 2010, the gross value added to the Canadian economy was $3.7 billion.

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