CBC will defend its refusal to reveal Gem subscriber numbers in court

CBC/Radio-Canada is going to court to defend its refusal to disclose subscriber numbers for its Gem streaming service.

A spokesperson says the public broadcaster will make its case in Federal Court, after the information commissioner ordered CBC to make available the number of paid subscribers to Gem.

Matt Malone, an assistant professor at the University of Ottawa, first asked for the information in an access-to-information request.

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When CBC refused, citing exemptions for programming activities and information that could harm its competitive position, Malone appealed to the federal information commissioner.

The information commissioner disagreed with the CBC, and in July ordered the public broadcaster to disclose the numbers.

CBC launched the streaming service, which has paid and free versions, in 2018.