The CBC hired one of our industry's brightest rep firms to sell this time.  The challenge is that when one is a bottom-feeder in ratings-sensitive markets, instead of relying on ratings-driven agency demand, the focus needs to be on a sales thrust that creates documented results.  Both CBC executive sales management and the rep firm rejected this approach, believing their own ideas would produce better fruit.  

Given the way that radio revenue is essentially flat-lining year after year, in a media world ever-increasingly bent on measurement of outcomes, where those players that provide such are the ones outpacing others in revenue and profit, why our industry does not change focus for the benefit of the clients escapes me.  

"I heard it on the radio" just doesn't cut it any more.  To see the smiles on national and local advertisers' faces when they can measure their results to the penny is one of the best rewards of working in this industry - you know you're making a difference.

From the CBC's website:

CRTC rejects CBC application to continue ads on Radio 2, ICI Musique

So essentially, the CRTC is saying they made money on the spots - although far less than expected - and then didn't use the money to invest in its own radio programming, which was ostensibly the reason for the three year experiment.

If that's the case, as a taxpayer (who gets no say in contributing to the Corp.), I would very much like to know: what did the money earned from those spots go to?