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August 8, 2008
Business Up North
I was interviewed on Tuesday by Amanda Lang, anchor woman for the Squeeze Play show on Business News Network in Canada. Click here to view the segment. Here is what I learned about the network in the course of my pre-interview make-up session (must admit it is fun asking journalists a few questions about their employers, even while the pancake and eye-liner is being applied):
1) CTV, the largest network in Canada, began Business News Network in 1999 to compete with CNBC. It was initially a joint venture with CNN, now completely owned by CTV. At present BNN’s ratings in Canada average about 20,000 viewers during the day and 40,000 viewers during prime time. Most of the major financial institutions will have both BNN and CNBC playing on the trading floor.
2) The web site, BNN.ca, is an important adjunct to the broadcast network, with 60,000 unique visitors a day. There is live streaming content on the site. For off premise events, the BNN team relies on its CTV partner to supply the satellite link for immediate access; for less important content, there is a 30 minute delay until the tape is returned to studio.
3) The content of BNN programming is 80% international news and 20% Canadian news. The network offers 13 hours a day of live programming and 11 hours of repeat programming.
4) Ms. Lang’s show encompasses business and politics, though the politics tends to be about taxes, trade and other business issues.
5) The Canadian economy is really the tale of two countries (with apologies to Charles Dickens). The economy is flying in Alberta, British Columbia, Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, with energy and timber prices at high levels. Meanwhile, the “old economy” industrial parts of the country, Quebec, Ontario and Manitoba are weak and teetering on recession.
6) Canadian exporters are finding the new level of the Canadian dollar to be problematic, especially in selling to the United States. Now at 95 cents to the US dollar, the exchange rate has been approaching parity with the recent drop in oil prices.
7) The Canadian Government’s financial picture is considerably healthier than the American Government’s, ready to cope with an economic slowdown if necessary. Former Prime Minister Chretien receives most of the credit for “putting the Government’s house in order by cutting our deficit in the late 90s,” Ms. Lang said.
8) Foreign capital is pouring into Canada, especially into commodities such as oil and lumber. This is reflected in the share prices of commodity companies such as Barrick Gold, which now has a market capitalization of $40 billion. Compare that to GM, which has a market capitalization of $6 billion.
Toronto seemed very prosperous and bustling with shoppers and tourists alike. The Pearson Airport upgrade, the new apartment complexes adjacent to the downtown (two bedroom condominiums selling in the over $1 million range), and the very busy Queens’ Quay shopping center all indicate an economy benefiting from the new world order of high commodity prices. But Canada uniquely has a foot in both the commodity and industrialized camps, with a sophisticated technology sector and well developed services industry. It is Edelman’s third largest market in terms of revenue; even with the rise of China and India, I would expect it to continue to be in our top five markets for the long term. I would appreciate your comments as always.
Posted by Edelman at August 8, 2008 11:11 AM
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Comments
Hi Richard,
It's nice to hear you visited our city. Your timing seems to have coincided with the good weather after a wet July. Your observations are most accurate and I would add the incredible diversity as another distinct feature of Toronto and Canada. Roughly half of the Toronto population is foreign born and 20% of the total population of Canada report a mother-tongue that is neither English or French. The diversity of languages, culture and people makes Toronto one of the most interesting cities in the world. It's also an exciting aspect for marketing and recruiting in the agency business.
Come back soon!
Bruce MacLellan
Posted by: Bruce MacLellan at August 19, 2008 3:00 PM