Bell Media is fighting back against a recent CRTC decision eliminating simultaneous substitution – “simsub” – of the Super Bowl beginning in 2017 using a common tactic: A public opinion poll.
While the CRTC’s January decision opens the door for Canadian viewers to watch highly touted U.S. Super Bowl commercials, it has drawn criticism from Canadian media executives, who have described it as a “loose-cannon” decision that eliminates the year’s most-watched program – this year’s game attracted an average audience of 9.2 million viewers on CTV and RDS – from advertising inventory.
Bell today announced the findings of a new survey it commissioned from Nanos, which found only 20% of Canadians feel the ability to watch U.S. Super Bowl commercials trumps supporting Canadian broadcasters that have paid for the broadcast rights. They survey results were released the same day Bell filed a motion with the Federal Court of Appeal seeking leave to appeal.
Attitudes toward U.S. Super Bowl advertising varies by region, with only 11.1% of Atlantic Canada residents saying it is important to watch U.S. commercials, compared with 24.2% of respondents in the Prairie provinces and 19.1% in Ontario.
Attitudes also vary by age, with 28.2% of people aged 30-39 saying it is important to watch U.S. commercials during the Super Bowl, compared with 11.8% of people 60+ and 21.8% of people 18-29.
Nearly three quarters (72%) of respondents agreed with the statement that our broadcast policy should keep advertising dollars in the Canadian market (an additional 18% of respondents somewhat agreed), while 72% also agreed the policy should support Canadian companies’ ability to advertise to Canadians.
The survey also addressed the widespread availability of U.S. Super Bowl ads beyond the telecast, with 62% of respondents indicating they are aware that U.S. commercials are available online before, during and after the Super Bowl.
It also noted the CRTC only received 100 complaints from Canadians about not being able to watch U.S. commercials during the Super Bowl. Asked to indicate how many complaints should warrant a change in policy similar to that implemented by the CRTC, 19% of respondents said 100,000 or more, while 28% said 500,000 or more.
In announcing the decision, the CRTC itself acknowledged that simsub is deeply intertwined with the Canadian broadcast system, contributing as much as $250 million in annual revenue. The federal regulator said it has no plans to eliminate the practice entirely.
The Nanos study found 64% of respondents believe broadcast policies be applied consistently, while 28% said exceptions could be made and 8% said they were unsure.
The findings are based on a telephone survey of 1,000 Canadians conducted between Feb. 24 and Mar. 1, and are considered accurate within plus or minus 3.1% 19 times out of 20.
