The CBC is fighting a federal order to reveal how many Canadians actually pay for its $72-a-year Gem streaming service, claiming the numbers are too “commercially sensitive” to disclose.Blacklock's Reporter says in a Federal Court filing, CBC lawyers argued releasing subscriber data could “prejudice the competitive position” of the Crown broadcaster and harm future business negotiations. The corporation asked a judge to overturn an August 20 ruling from the Information Commissioner, who ordered the figures released under the Access to Information Act.“Gem records are commercially sensitive,” CBC lawyers wrote. “Their disclosure could reasonably be expected to prejudice the competitive position of the CBC or interfere with contractual or other negotiations.”The court fight comes after former CEO Catherine Tait repeatedly told MPs that “millions of Canadians” use CBC Gem. Tait, who launched the service in 2019, testified that it now reaches “two million people every week” and ranks second behind Bell Media’s Crave. .She called the platform a “major shift” in how Canadians watch CBC content.But MPs have questioned those claims. Conservative MP Kevin Waugh (Saskatoon South) told the Commons heritage committee that CBC’s refusal to release numbers raises doubts about the service’s success. “They hide the numbers,” he said. “It might be that Gem is useless and should have been torched a long time ago.”Waugh compared CBC’s secrecy to Crave’s openness, noting Bell Media reports 3.8 million subscribers nationwide. He added that in Ontario, just 0.35% of the streaming market uses Gem — “not even 1% of the province.”.Other CBC executives have given more modest estimates. Barbara Williams, then-executive vice-president, told MPs that only about 50,000 people watch The National on Gem.Heritage officials, meanwhile, admitted they don’t know the subscription figures either. Deputy Minister Isabelle Mondou said she had no data on Gem’s performance and suggested MPs direct their questions to CBC management.Despite the claims of “millions” of viewers, the public broadcaster is now spending taxpayer dollars in court to keep those same numbers under wraps.
