FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Toronto - On the eve of the federal budget a new Nanos survey has found a majority of Canadians support or somewhat support the position staked out by Heritage Minister James Moore one day after the election that the Conservative government will maintain or increase CBC funding.

Six-in-ten respondents (59%) to the survey support or somewhat support Moore's May 3^rd statement that "We have said that we will maintain or increase support for the CBC. That is our platform and we have said that before and we will commit to that."  One-in-four (24%) somewhat oppose or  oppose this statement.

"Even though there is a strong appetite among Canadians to get the deficit under control, our survey found that Canadians also prefer funding to the CBC should be maintained[1] ," said Nik Nanos, President of Nanos Research.

There is wide speculation that the Harper government will target the CBC for cuts that are greater than those imposed on other departments and agencies because of the strong ideological opposition to public broadcasting that is present in the Conservative caucus.

"The results are very clear.  Citizens hold the CBC in high regard.  They know funding cuts will have a negative impact on local and national news and Canadian content, and they do not want their national public broadcaster targeted for punishing cuts," said Ian Morrison, spokesperson for the watchdog group Friends of Canadian Broadcasting which commissioned the poll.

The survey found that CBC services are well used by Canadians and that these services have achieved high levels of satisfaction among their audiences:

• More than eight in ten Canadians said they either regularly (27%) or occasionally (59%) watch CBC Television and are satisfied (28%) or somewhat satisfied (52%) with the programs broadcast.
• More than four in ten said they regularly (12%) or occasionally (33%) listen to CBC Radio, while half (53%) never listen to CBC Radio. Of those who listen to CBC radio, more than eight in ten are satisfied (34%) or somewhat satisfied (48%) with programs broadcast.
• Nearly six in ten Canadians (58%) said they have never visited the CBC.ca website, while about four in ten said they either regularly (7%) or occasionally (33%) visit the website. Overall, those who have visited the website are satisfied (32%) or somewhat satisfied (48%) with the content available.

The results presented here are based on a representative online survey of 1,004 Canadians conducted between March 9th and 12th, 2012. The data has been weighted using the latest Census results to ensure that the final sample group is representative of the Canadian populace..

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For information: Jim Thompson 613-447-9592

 [1]The report said that Canadians are more likely to support maintaining current funding compared to a cut or increase

Related Documents:

March 23, 2012 - Opinion Poll - Canadians on the CBC by Nanos Research
New opinion research shows Canadians are generally satisfied with the programs and content provided by the CBC and believe that possible cuts would likely have a negative impact in terms of Canadian content, local news and national news.