It’s not the uniqueness of the coverage, but the reach. Out here in rural Saskatchewan, our choice is between CBC radio and one other station that has extremely limited news.
CBC not only has better news, but lots of deep dives, analysis, documentaries, and cultural programming. In that sense, it is unique, at least on radio.
Yes, expensive satellite internet or TV is available, and we have it in our house, but many don’t. Newspapers have never really worked that well out here because picking up a stack of papers once a week when going for mail and groceries doesn’t really work. Any sensible reading schedule means always being a week behind whatever comes in via CBC radio.
On top of that, we can listen to the radio while working in the fields or shop or around the house. That makes it easy to stay on top of things without sitting in front of a screen or with a newspaper for a couple of hours a day, when we should be spending time with our families.
As I said, our household can afford satellite internet, but we still get most of our news via CBC radio, because that is the only source of extensive coverage we can get without sitting around. We’d much rather use that sitting time for a good book or education (we have satellite internet specifically for all the online courses that are available).
If CBC television disappeared, I would barely notice, but CBC radio is how we stay connected to the world. If there is to be serious discussion of killing CBC, it should be TV only that gets killed and the money saved should then be put towards getting something in addition to CBC radio out to the rural and remote regions. One great option would be for CBC radio to broadcast Canadaland and other externally produced programming. CBC already doesn’t produce everything they broadcast, so syndicating additional alternative programming covering other viewpoints would be a spectacular use of the system.