The main question many are asking is: what is the CBC trying to hide, if anything? 

It's a logical query for critics, after Canada's Information Commissioner ordered the national broadcaster to release subscriber numbers for its Gem streaming service. But the Corp. has refused and has now gone to court to prevent those figures from being made public. 

CBC's new president says the numbers are being kept quiet as a matter of competitiveness, while the former head honcho, Catherine Tait, originally claimed the streaming service had "millions of subscribers" at $72 a year. (The site does not actually require a subscription and you can watch much of what's offered there for free by simply signing up.)

A University of Ottawa assistant professor filed a Freedom of Information request for the actual figures just to see what they'd say and because public money is being spent, and the Info Commissioner decided he would uphold that demand.

But the CBC has refused and is now going to court to block any revelations. That's led some to question the reasons they're so desperate to keep the figures from going public, with critics suggesting the numbers hinted at by the CBC are vastly overinflated and that in fact, the service is far from the success they claim it to be. 

There's no word on when the court might issue its ruling and until then, the total number of actual Gem subscribers remains under wraps. 

CBC launches court fight to keep Gem subscriber numbers confidential