Cogeco withdraws its advertising investments from Meta platforms

MONTREAL, July 5, 2023 /CNW/ - The news of the past few days has revealed to Canadians the flip side of Bill C-18, which now requires web giants to negotiate with Canadian news publishers to pay royalties for the journalistic content they broadcast on their platforms.

Following the adoption of Bill C-18, Meta (Facebook/Instagram) approached the office of the Minister of Canadian Heritage to try to make fundamental changes to the act, even though the legislative process had been completed. In their negotiations with the minister, the web giants threatened to block access to Canadian news.

Meta's threats are an attempt to force Canada to abandon a fair negotiating regime with companies whose news content is shared on its platforms. Despite its public statements, Meta's main concern is to limit the royalties it will have to pay to companies responsible for making credible news content available.

The challenge of continuing to provide quality journalism is immense for news and media companies. The continued weakening of Canadian news outlets to the benefit of foreign search and social media giants will only exacerbate the challenges related to misinformation.

In support of this legislation and the regulatory process that will soon be launched for its implementation, Cogeco, along with many other industry members, has decided to withdraw its advertising investments from Meta platforms.

Cogeco also calls on all levels of government to follow suit and temporarily stop investing in advertising on Meta platforms. In the case of the federal government, $11 million is spent each year, while only $10 million from those same budgets is invested in all Canadian broadcasters. It is time to regroup and show consistency by increasing advertising spending in Canadian media rather than favouring web giants.

About Cogeco Media

Cogeco's subsidiary, Cogeco Media, owns and operates twenty-one talk and music radio stations across the province of Quebec: 98.5 in Montreal, 106.9 in Mauricie, 107.7 in the Eastern Townships, 104.7 in Outaouais, FM93 in Quebec City and KYK 95.7 in Saguenay; the Rythme stations: 105.7 in Montreal, 102.9 in Quebec City, 100.1 in Mauricie, 98.3 in Saguenay and 93.7 in the Eastern Townships; and CIME 103.9 in the Laurentians, 96.9 CKOI, The Beat 92.5, the four Planète stations in Lac-Saint-Jean and Radio Circulation 730 AM in Montreal. Leaders in their respective markets, Cogeco Media stations reach nearly five million listeners each week by offering varied and relevant programming intended for a wide audience. It also owns Cogeco Nouvelles, the largest private radio news agency in Quebec.

SOURCE Cogeco Média