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A shrinking CBC television audience has left the CBC with plunging advertising revenues, according to Blacklock’s Reporter.

In the first six months of 2019, the CBC generated advertising revenues of $90.9 million, according to the public broadcaster’s second-quarter financial report. That is slightly less than the $92.8 million the broadcaster collected in ad revenue during the same time frame in 2017.

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However, the amount the CBC collected from ad sales plunged 53% during the last five years. The Crown corporation raked in $192.2 million in the first six months of 2014.

The CBC revealed its local suppertime TV newscasts nationwide have seen a sharp decline, dropping 14% last year to an average of just 269,000 viewers.

Michel Bissonnette, executive vice-president of the network’s Radio Canada French-language service, testified at the Commons heritage committee in May that managing the CBC “requires visionary talent” when revenues decline while juggling their mandate to serve all Canadians.

“I often joke it is easier to manage growth than downsizing,” Bissonnette said at the hearing. “Unfortunately we are in a downsizing environment, and we have to maintain our services for all Canadians.”

The broadcaster announced 35 jobs were cut at its Toronto headquarters last month.

The corporation receives $1.2 billion annually from the Canadian government.