The CBC’s Olympic Tar Baby

August 2, 2012: There’s dancing in the streets down at the CBC Broadcasting Centre over the announcement that the public broadcaster has secured rights to the next two Olympic games. But is this really good news? If CBC television is to survive and thrive, it can only be as a commercial-free network. The Olympic deal yokes the corporation to an enormous financial liability—reports estimate it at about $75 million—which must be paid down by advertising revenue. That just makes it more difficult for our public broadcaster to be what it ultimately must become. The modern Olympics, a commercial juggernaut par excellence, has now become the CBC’s tar baby.