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Produced by the CFTPA and the APFTQ, in conjunction with the Department of Canadian Heritage.
Production facts and fi gures prepared by Nordicity Group Ltd.
2 P ro f i l e 2 0 0 8
Nordicity Group Ltd.
Peter Lyman, Senior Partner Dustin Chodorowicz, Director Terry Wills, Manager
Nordicity Group Ltd. (www.nordicity.com) is the pre-eminent Canadian consulting fi rm providing business strategy and policy analysis to the media/entertainment, culture/content and telecommunications sectors. Nordicity consultants provide clients with strategic planning, business case analysis, market assessment and forecasting, economic analysis, fi nancial modelling, evaluation frameworks, and other tools for strategic and operational decision making.
The Department of Canadian Heritage contributed to the funding of this report. Its content represents the opinions of the authors and does not necessarily represent the policies or the views of the Department of Canadian Heritage or of the Government of Canada.
Ottawa
151 Slater Street, Suite 902 Ottawa, ON K1P 5H3
Tel: 800-656-7440 (Canada only)/ 613-233-1444
Fax: 613-233-0073 Email: [email protected] www.cftpa.ca
Toronto
160 John Street, 5th Floor Toronto, ON M5V 2E5
Tel: 800-267-8208 (Canada only)/ 416-304-0280
Fax: 416-304-0499 Email: [email protected]
Vancouver
736 Granville Street, Suite 600 Vancouver, BC V6Z 1G3
Tel: 866-390-7639 (Canada only)/ 604-682-8619
Fax: 604-684-9294 Email: [email protected]
1450 City Councillors, Suite 1030 Montréal, QC H3A 2E6
Tel: 514-397-8600 Fax: 514-392-0232 Email: [email protected] www.apftq.qc.ca Lynn Foran
Manager,
Film and Video Policy and Programs
Lisanne Legros Research Analyst, Film and Video Policy and Programs
At the Department of Canadian Heritage:
15 Eddy Street
Gatineau, QC K1A 0M5
Tel: 866-811-0055/ 819-997-0055 TTY/TDD: 819-997-3123
www.canadianheritage.gc.ca
At the CFTPA:
Guy Mayson President and CEO
Susanne Vaas
Vice-president, Business Affairs
At the APFTQ:
Claire Samson President and CEO
Céline Pelletier
Director of Communications
Profile 2008
is published by the Canadian
Film and Television Production Association.
The report is the result of a collaboration
between the CFTPA, l’Association des
producteurs de films et de télévision du Québec,
An Economic Report on the Canadian Film and Television Production Industry
P ro f i l e 2 0 0 8 33
Contents
1 Introduction 13
2 National Indicators 14
2.1 Volume of Production 15
2.2 GDP 17
2.3 Employment 17
2.4 Export Value 18
2.5 Production by Province 18
3 Canadian Production 20
3.1 Total Canadian Production 21
3.1.1 Volume 21
3.1.2 Employment 22
3.1.3 Language 23
3.1.4 Genres 23
3.1.5 Production by Province 32
3.1.6 Financing 32
3.1.7 Treaty Co-production 33
3.2 Television Production 35
3.2.1 Volume 36
3.2.2 Employment 37
3.2.3 Types 37
3.2.4 Genres 38
3.2.5 Trends in Budgets 40
3.2.6 Language 41
3.2.7 Content Points 44
3.2.8 Production by Province 45
3.2.9 Financing 45
3.2.10 Broadcaster Spending 49
3.2.11 Canadian Television Fund 51
3.2.12 Treaty Co-Production 54
3.2.13 Audiences 56
3.3 Theatrical Production 58
3.3.1 Volume 58
3.3.2 Employment 60
3.3.3 Language 60
3.3.4 Genres 61
3.3.5 Trends in Budgets 62
3.3.6 Production by Province 64
3.3.7 Financing 64
3.3.8 Canada Feature Film Fund 65
3.3.9 Treaty Co-Production 67
3.3.10 National Box Offi ce Trends 68
3.3.11 Box Offi ce Trends of Canadian Films, by Linguistic Market 69 3.3.12 Top Films, by Language of Presentation 71
4 Foreign Location Production 72
4.1 Volume 73
4.2 Employment 74
4.3 Production by Province 74
4.4 Types 76
5 Broadcaster In-House Production 78
5.1 Volume 79
5.2 Segments 79
5.3 Employment 80
5.4 Production by Province 81
4 P ro f i l e 2 0 0 8
Exhibits
Section 2
Exhibit 2 - 1 Total volume of fi lm and television production in Canada 16 Exhibit 2 - 2 Total volume of fi lm and television production in Canada, share by segment, 2006/07 16 Exhibit 2 - 3 Average annual real GDP growth by industry, 1998 to 2006 17 Exhibit 2 - 4 Number of full-time equivalent jobs (FTEs) in fi lm and television production in Canada 17 Exhibit 2 - 5 Export value of fi lm and television production in Canada 18 Exhibit 2 - 6 Volume of fi lm and television production in Canada, by province 19 Exhibit 2 - 7 Share of total volume of production in Canada, by province, 2006/07 19 Exhibit 2 - 8 Total direct and indirect full-time equivalent jobs (FTEs) generated by fi lm and
television production in Canada, by province 19
Section 3
Exhibit 3 - 1 Total volume of Canadian production 22
Exhibit 3 - 2 Number of full-time equivalent jobs (FTEs) in Canadian production 22
Exhibit 3 - 3 Volume of Canadian production, by language 23
Exhibit 3 - 4 Total volume of fi ction production 24
Exhibit 3 - 5 Volume of fi ction production, by language, 2006/07 24 Exhibit 3 - 6 Number and share of fi ction projects, by type, 2006/07 24 Exhibit 3 - 7 Total volume of children’s and youth production 25 Exhibit 3 - 8 Volume of children’s and youth production, by language, 2006/07 26 Exhibit 3 - 9 Volume of children’s and youth production, by language and format 26 Exhibit 3 - 10 Number and share of children’s and youth projects, by type, 2006/07 26 Exhibit 3 - 11 Total volume of Canadian animation production 27 Exhibit 3 - 12 Total number of hours of Canadian animation production 27
Exhibit 3 - 13 Total volume of documentary production 28
Exhibit 3 - 14 Volume of documentary production, by language, 2006/07 29 Exhibit 3 - 15 Number and share of documentary projects, by type, 2006/07 29 Exhibit 3 - 16 Total volume of variety and performing arts production 30 Exhibit 3 - 17 Volume of variety and performing arts production, by language, 2006/07 31 Exhibit 3 - 18 Number and share of variety and performing arts projects, by type, 2006/07 31
Exhibit 3 - 19 Volume of Canadian production, by province 32
Exhibit 3 - 20 Sources of fi nancing for Canadian production, 2006/07 33 Exhibit 3 - 21 Total volume of treaty co-production with Canada 34 Exhibit 3 - 22 Total volume of bipartite treaty co-production with Canada, by partner country, 2006 34 Exhibit 3 - 23 Total volume of multipartite treaty co-production with Canada, by partner country, 2006 34 Exhibit 3 - 24 Total volume of Canadian television production 36 Exhibit 3 - 25 Total hours of Canadian television production 36 Exhibit 3 - 26 Number of full-time equivalent jobs (FTEs) in Canadian television production 37
Exhibit 3 - 27 Volume of television production, by type 38
Exhibit 3 - 28 Number of television projects, by type 38
Exhibit 3 - 29 Volume of television production, by genre 39
Exhibit 3 - 30 Total volume of Canadian television production, by genre, share of total volume, 2006/07 39 Exhibit 3 - 31 Number of hours of television production, by genre 39 Exhibit 3 - 32 Trends in budgets of English-language Canadian television production 40 Exhibit 3 - 33 Trends in budgets of French-language Canadian television production 41 Exhibit 3 - 34 Volume of Canadian television production, by language 42 Exhibit 3 - 35 Volume of Canadian television production, by language, 2006/07 share 42 Exhibit 3 - 36 Volume of Canadian television production, by genre and language 43 Exhibit 3 - 37 Animation, volume of Canadian television production, by language 43 Exhibit 3 - 38 Television production, by Canadian content points (excludes international
treaty co-production) 44
Exhibit 3 - 39 Volume of Canadian television production, by province 45 Exhibit 3 - 40 Financing of Canadian television production 46 Exhibit 3 - 41 Financing of Canadian television production, by genre, 2006/07 47 Exhibit 3 - 42 Financing of English-language Canadian television production 47 Exhibit 3 - 43 Financing of French-language Canadian television production 48 Exhibit 3 - 44 Average licence fees paid by Canadian broadcasters for Canadian television
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P ro f i l e 2 0 0 8 5
Exhibit 3 - 45 Expenditures on Canadian independent production by private Canadian broadcasters 49 Exhibit 3 - 46 Expenditures by private Canadian broadcasters on broadcaster-affi liated production 50 Exhibit 3 - 47 Total revenue of private Canadian broadcasters 50 Exhibit 3 - 48 Total profi t before interest and taxes (PBIT) of private Canadian broadcasters 51 Exhibit 3 - 49 Total Canadian television production with CTF contributions 52 Exhibit 3 - 50 Number of full-time equivalent jobs (FTEs) generated by CTF-supported production 53 Exhibit 3 - 51 CTF-supported hours of television production, by genre 53 Exhibit 3 - 52 CTF contributions to television production, by genre 53 Exhibit 3 - 53 Treaty co-production with Canada in the television sector 54 Exhibit 3 - 54 Treaty co-production with Canada in the television sector, by partner country, 2006 and 2007 55 Exhibit 3 - 55 Volume of international treaty co-production for the television market, by genre 55 Exhibit 3 - 56 Television audience share to Canadian programming, English-language market,
September 2005 to May 2006 56
Exhibit 3 - 57 Television audience share to Canadian programming, French-language market,
September 2005 to May 2006 56
Exhibit 3 - 58 Top ten television series in Canada, September 2006 to May 2007 57 Exhibit 3 - 59 Top ten Canadian television series in the French-language market, September 2006
to May 2007 57
Exhibit 3 - 60 Top ten Canadian television series in the English-language market, September 2006
to May 2007 57
Exhibit 3 - 61 Total volume of Canadian theatrical production 59 Exhibit 3 - 62 Number of Canadian theatrical fi lms produced in Canada on an annual basis 59 Exhibit 3 - 63 Number of full-time equivalent jobs (FTEs) in Canadian theatrical production 60 Exhibit 3 - 64 Volume of Canadian theatrical production, by language 61
Exhibit 3 - 65 Number of theatrical fi lms, by language 61
Exhibit 3 - 66 Volume of Canadian theatrical production, by genre 62 Exhibit 3 - 67 Number of Canadian theatrical fi lms, by genre 62 Exhibit 3 - 68 Trends in budgets of theatrical feature fi lms (fi ction genre only) 63 Exhibit 3 - 69 Annual shares of theatrical feature fi lm projects, by budget size 63 Exhibit 3 - 70 Volume of Canadian theatrical production, by province 64
Exhibit 3 - 71 Financing of Canadian theatrical production 65
Exhibit 3 - 72 Total Canadian feature fi lm production activity with CFFF contributions 66 Exhibit 3 - 73 Number of Canadian theatrical-release feature fi lms that received fi nancial support
from the CFFF 66
Exhibit 3 - 74 Treaty co-production with Canada in the theatrical sector 67 Exhibit 3 - 75 Treaty co-production with Canada in the theatrical sector, by partner country, 2006 and 2007 67 Exhibit 3 - 76 Canadian box offi ce revenues, by origin of production 68 Exhibit 3 - 77 Share of Canadian box offi ce revenues, by origin of production 69 Exhibit 3 - 78 Number of fi lms playing in Canadian theatres, by origin of production 69 Exhibit 3 - 79 Canadian box offi ce and market share, by linguistic market 70 Exhibit 3 - 80 Top ten fi lms presented in the English-language market, 2007 71 Exhibit 3 - 81 Top ten fi lms presented in the French-language market, 2007 71 Exhibit 3 - 82 Top ten Canadian-produced fi lms presented in the English-language market, 2007 71 Exhibit 3 - 83 Top ten Canadian-produced fi lms presented in the French-language market, 2007 71
Section 4
Exhibit 4 - 1 Total volume of foreign location production 73
Exhibit 4 - 2 Number of full-time equivalent jobs (FTEs) in foreign location production 74 Exhibit 4 - 3 Volume of foreign location production, by province 75 Exhibit 4 - 4 Share of total volume of foreign location production, by province, 2006/07 75 Exhibit 4 - 5 Total volume of foreign location production, by type of production 76 Exhibit 4 - 6 Annual number of foreign location projects, by province 77
Section 5
Exhibit 5 - 1 Total volume of broadcaster in-house production 79
Exhibit 5 - 2 Broadcaster in-house production, by segment 80
6 P ro f i l e 2 0 0 8
A Year of Great Transition
Canada’s production industry faced a series of economic
challenges in 2007 – a sharply rising Canadian dollar,
threats to the financing of the Canadian Television Fund
(CTF), and corporate consolidation in the broadcasting
industry. New platforms continued to erode the traditional
base of production, but were not yet mature enough to offset
the traditional market losses with much in the way of new
sources of revenues. However, the industry proved quite
resilient in a year of great transition, and adapted well to
many of these challenges.
An Economic Report on the Canadian Film and Television Production Industry
P ro f i l e 2 0 0 8 7
The threats
Available funding for domestic production came under threat, with Shaw Communications Inc. and Vidéotron ltée’s attempt to withdraw from the CTF. The market saw a reduction in the number of domestic buyers for Canadian programming, as the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) approved the acquisitions of Alliance Atlantis Communications Inc. and CHUM Limited. At the time of writing, the future of the French-language private conventional broadcaster TQS was in jeopardy. And the competitiveness of Canada’s foreign location production (FLP) industry remained under threat in 2007, as it continued to grapple with a rising Canadian dollar.
And while all of these developments unravelled in our domestic market, technological change – as well as consumer and business adaptation to such change – continued apace the world over. Peer-to-peer technology providers, such as Joost, accelerated the potential for broadband to become a more effi cient means of distributing content. Consumers found themselves paying more and more attention to the Internet, mobile phones, and video-game consoles. Advertising dollars followed many of the new communities established by online properties – thus sapping growth for traditional media, and television in particular.
A collaborative response
The crisis over CTF funding was averted…..for the time being at least. The debate is not over, however, just delayed. The impact of broadcaster consolidation may be attenuated by the benefi ts packages put forward by the acquiring broadcasting groups. Some provincial governments responded to the rise in the Canadian dollar by increasing their tax credits. The diversion of advertising revenue away from broadcasters remained a trickle rather than cascading into a torrent.
Despite this tremendous potential disruption, Canada’s production industry has continued to shine with great creative successes. Internationally recognized Little Mosque on the Prairie, Les hauts et les bas de Sophie Paquin, and Emmy-award
winning interactive platform for ReGenesis are but a few examples of such creative excellence.
In 2008, the production industry seeks to secure a sound foundation from which to grow, prosper and innovate across borders and platforms. It will continue to need a strong collaborative effort among all segments and government. Strong and stable CTF and Canada Feature Film Fund (CFFF) funding are imperative; measures to encourage production-company fi nancing that drives slate development and cross-platform innovation are also vital. The fi nancing secured through enhanced domestic and foreign tax credits, and federal and provincial programs – including the CTF – coupled with the chance to work with broadcasters from development to broadcast exhibition, affords producers the opportunity to complete the best product possible.
The CRTC needs to maintain much of the
regulation for broadcasting distribution undertakings (BDUs) that has been in place for decades and has allowed Canadian BDUs and broadcasters to reap fi nancial rewards, while giving Canadians access to Canadian television programming. At the same time, the CRTC should not shy away from developing innovative approaches for the regulation of new platforms that allow this growing segment to also contribute to the goals of Canada’s broadcasting policy. Regulatory decisions that secure access to distribution, and reaffi rm foreign investment limits and Canadian ownership rules will enable the production industry to focus on what it knows how to do best – creating award-winning, world-recognized, and commercially successful content.
Canadian television – improved
success for Canadian productions in
international markets
8 P ro f i l e 2 0 0 8
There were some very promising trends in Canadian television production in 2006/07. The statistics in Profi le 2008 point to a rise of 15% in the volume of Canadian television production in 2006/07. What is more, the increase was fairly broad-based: the three major genres – fi ction, children’s and youth, and documentary – all experienced strong increases. It is important to recognize that the increases in 2006/07 came after eight years of relative stagnation in Canadian television production.
Profi le 2008’s statistics also point to a small recovery in the export value of Canadian television production. It was 7% higher compared to 2005/06, and reversed seven years of annual declines. As our market is a small one, the long-term health of the Canadian production industry depends increasingly on the international success of Canadian programs – whether they are original or formats. The success of both our drama and children’s and youth programs abroad demonstrates that it is possible for highly Canadian content to resonate with markets abroad – and reap the fi nancial benefi ts of such resonance. In drama, certain programs have seen success in the U.S. and abroad: ReGenesis airs in over 100 international countries,1 and is in syndication in 75% of U.S.
markets.2 Da Vinci’s Inquest, Degrassi: The Next Generation, and Cold Squad are also in syndication in the U.S.3Minuit, le soir garnered four awards
at the Rencontres Internationales de Télévision de Reims in 2007, while France 2 purchased the fi rst two seasons of Les hauts et les bas de Sophie Paquin in late 2007.4
In children’s and youth television programming, Canadian animation and live-action productions have become staples on children’s broadcasters throughout the world. Life with Derek airs in 100 countries;5Atomic Betty can be seen in
125 countries;6 young viewers in more than 90
countries can enjoy Naturally, Sadie.7
But before any of these television programs could see success internationally, they needed to be supported and promoted by the domestic market. Successful domestic exposure and promotion provides the boost needed for securing international sales.
Canadian theatrical production –
increasing reliance on public funding
Six years into Script to Screen, the Canadian Feature Film Policy’s “in-cinema” results are mixed.
Although higher than before the Policy, Canadian theatrical production was down by 14% in 2006/07 over the previous year – even though the level of CFFF production rose, there was less third-party fi nancing. These results highlight two concerns: fi rst, less and less Canadian theatrical production is actually taking place outside of the CFFF. And second, production that is taking place inside the CFFF is drawing less and less external fi nancing – thereby reducing the leverage of the CFFF investment.
In 2006, Bon Cop Bad Cop and Trailer Park Boys: The Movie gave the industry reason to be hopeful that Canadian fi lms – particularly in the English-language market – could achieve some box-offi ce momentum. David Cronenberg’s Eastern Promises and Sarah Polley’s Away from Her were the bright spots for Canada’s English-language cinema in 2007. However, neither of these fi lms – both recipients of wide international acclaim – represented the type of audience blockbuster required to move the box-offi ce-share needle in any signifi cant way: Canadian fi lms garnered almost 1% of the English-language box offi ce in 2007, consistent with historic levels, but not a breakthrough year for English-language producers.
Canada’s French-language fi lms’ box offi ce essentially moved sideways in 2007. The strong box offi ce runs for Les 3 p’tits cochons, Nitro, and À vos marques… Party! kept Canadian fi lms’ share of the market at just over 16%.
An Economic Report on the Canadian Film and Television Production Industry
P ro f i l e 2 0 0 8 9
Government need to look at ways of encouraging private investments in the production sector and more international fi nancing.
With Script to Screen’s attention to Canadian dramatic cinema, Telefi lm Canada should not lose sight of the future of the Canadian theatrical documentary. In 2007, Telefi lm Canada, along with its partners, Rogers Group of Funds and the National Film Board, extended the feature-documentary pilot program by one year, offering just under $1.9 million for the production and post-production of English- and French-language productions. The documentary genre, however, deserves a long-term feature fi lm fund, still separate from the CFFF.
Many feature-length documentaries are best enjoyed in theatres; today, however, many Canadian documentary fi lms must forego theatrical releases and rely on television fi nancing and windows. In recent years, Canadians have produced such outstanding national and international successes as The Corporation, Les Voleurs d’enfance and Manufactured Landscapes. A stand-alone, long-term fund would go a long way towards furthering Canada’s long tradition of cinematic leadership in the feature-documentary genre and permit the fi lms to secure a theatrical release that will generate interest in subsequent windows.
Foreign location – remaining
competitive even as the dollar climbs
The statistics in Profi le 2008 show a general decrease in Canada’s competitiveness in the FLP market: volume was down by 14% in 2006/07. While Quebec posted a small recovery, British Columbia and Ontario witnessed steep declines. At the time of writing, governments in Nova Scotia, Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia had already responded by raising their FLP tax credit rates; other provinces will likely have to follow suit.
Some form of high-dollar offset is an appropriate policy response. FLP represents a source of knowledge and technical transfer for domestic producers; these transfers help improve producers’ own abilities and international competitiveness.
Treaty co-production – in urgent need
of a new policy
Treaty co-production was at one time a prominent piece of the Canadian production industry. Canada’s co-production policies and treaties must keep pace with the changing global production industry and the rules of national treatment in partner countries. While the level of Canada’s treaty co-production activity was up in 2007, it was still about half the level reached in 2000.
The international success of treaty projects such as Eastern Promises and The Tudors is a testament to the importance of treaty co-production for Canadian producers: co-production represents one of the best avenues for Canadian producers to create and fi nance fi lms and television programs that attract global audiences. The Canadian market is often just too small to singularly fi nance independent feature fi lms or high-impact television dramas.
The slow recovery in Canada’s treaty co-production sector underlines the urgent need for the federal government to implement a new treaty co-production policy. Any policy must be fl exible enough for Canadian producers to attract international fi nancing, without diminishing the contributions from Canadians to the key creative roles. Indeed, a comprehensive fi lm, television and interactive media co-production policy may be required to address the specifi c circumstances of this market. Such a policy, coupled with enhanced domestic tax credits that would help balance any increases to the FLP credits, would help raise co-production levels while allowing Canadian producers to retain and exploit the rights in their projects.
Developments in 360 content and
new-platform distribution
10 P ro f i l e 2 0 0 8
shared their Emmy with another Canadian producer, Zinc Roe Design, for its interactive children’s program, Zimmer Twins. The online animation shorts comprising Les têtes à claques turned into a runaway success in Quebec in 2007. By the end of the year, this web-based compilation of puppet-animation shorts was a hit in France, pulling in over 200,000 visitors per day to the web site; it was also one of the top-selling DVDs in Canada.9
More success stories like these are going to become vital to the continued health of the Canadian production community and its ability to engage Canadian and international audiences. During the past twelve months, the distribution of television-style content over the Internet took, arguably, a great leap forward. Up until recently, Internet TV had been plagued by defi ciencies in download speed and picture quality. Last year, however, the same peer-to-peer gurus who brought us Kazaa and Skype entered into the Internet-TV fray with the launch of Joost.
Joost applies peer-to-peer technology to the legal distribution of TV content over the Internet, and… it earns revenues from advertising sales. Joost is far from the only online player in Internet television; there are countless other sites popping up daily to offer television-style content. Some content is exclusive to the Internet; but much of what is available is comprised of pieces or complete episodes of licensed television content.
Apple’s iTunes Store has also taken-up TV content. Territory by territory, Apple’s iTunes Stores are starting to add downloadable television content to their libraries. CBC/Radio-Canada and CTV have now joined iTunes.ca’s family of content providers. For around $1.99 per episode, Canadians can now download their favourite episodes of Little Mosque on the Prairie or Corner Gas – presumably after they air on conventional television. Canadians cannot – as of yet – download simulcast American network programs that dominate the prime-time schedules of Canada’s English-language conventional broadcasters10 – further evidence that
borders do exist in cyberspace.
A review of developments in new-platform
distribution in 2007 would not be complete without a mention of Facebook. Facebook demonstrated that the social-networking site could be another
“killer app” on the Internet – just as e-mail was a decade ago. Indeed, Canadians proved to be some of the most avid users of Facebook and social networking sites. Solutions Research Group reports that nearly eight million Canadians use social networking sites – more than any other country except the United States.11 Social
networking sites may prove to be more than just “stay-in-touch” tools; they may become important portals for distributing television content, as well.
At this juncture in the development of Internet TV, we see a diversity of business models out there. Some are based entirely on advertising revenues and so are very similar to conventional television. Other Internet TV services – such as iTunes – are gravitating to on-demand models. Regardless of which revenue models persist, one can expect advertising dollars to migrate to Internet TV as audiences migrate. And while the migration will probably not be a deluge of any sort, such a future scenario obviously has policy implications for the Canadian broadcasting system that relies to a great extent on advertising revenues to further the goals of Canada’s broadcasting policy.
Investing in new content
To successfully incorporate new platforms into Canadian broadcasting and cultural policy, government and stakeholders must take a number of steps. First and foremost is a renewed
investment in Canadian content production. As Canadian audiovisual content competes more directly with international fare through new
platforms, it will have to be of higher quality. Given this, industry stakeholders should be looking at enhancing the CTF rather than reducing or even eliminating it. The CTF is an effective tool for supporting Canadian audiovisual production and many of the television programs that it supports are successful in Canada and elsewhere.
An Economic Report on the Canadian Film and Television Production Industry
P ro f i l e 2 0 0 8 11
to contribute to the CTF or a similar fund. As Canadians increasingly turn to the Internet for broadcasting content, ISPs stand to benefi t from the monthly rental of more and more bandwidth.
The CTF itself – and other support measures – will have to be fl exible enough to support the new fi nancing and business models that come with new-platform content. New guidelines and policies for the CTF are likely going to be required for the multi-platform world. The policies will have to recognize that Internet or mobile releases may precede television distribution in some cases.
Renewed content investment also requires the involvement of the public broadcaster. CBC/Radio-Canada’s resources must be restored to a level at which it can operate with limited commercial infl uence.
Multi-platform rights: new business
models
Multi-platform business models are built around rights – distribution, exhibition, advertising placement, and so on. A good rights environment begins with appropriate and effective copyright legislation – legislation that protects producers’ right to earn economic benefi ts from their works. The enactment of reforms to Canada’s Copyright Act should be a priority for the federal government; the new provisions should bring Canada’s copyright regime in line with international treaties and provide much-needed property protections against piracy.
The Canadian Film and Television Production Association has been quite clear about the need for mandatory Terms of Trade between Canadian broadcasters and producers. To date, the CRTC has only made Terms of Trade an “expectation” of Canadian broadcasters.
The corporate consolidation within Canada’s private broadcasting sector in 2007 has only further tilted the economic leverage within the sector towards broadcasters: the control of domestic outlets and revenues is more concentrated than Canadian audiences and producers ever envisioned. Mandatory Terms of Trade is a step towards mitigating the potential strengthening of buyer power in the content-licensing market.
In the United Kingdom (U.K.), a mandatory Terms of Trade regime has introduced transparency and fairness into the production sector. As a result, the U.K. has witnessed improved fi nancial health and rapid capitalization in its production sector, which is now in a better position to fulfi l the U.K. government’s public policy goals.12 Not surprisingly
the producers and broadcasters in the U.K. are moving very aggressively into new-platform production and distribution.
Canadian Terms of Trade agreements should also provide a fair and transparent framework within which producers and broadcasters can negotiate licensing agreements. It should establish clear minimums for the television broadcasters’ licensing fees for Canadian programming. It should also recognize that online, mobile and on-demand windows are distinct from scheduled broadcast windows, and offer broadcasters the potential for incremental revenue. Terms of Trade should also provide an effective mechanism for grievance arbitration and dispute resolution for both parties, monitored by – and accountable to – the CRTC.
Without some type of Terms of Trade agreements, there is a grave risk that producers will be
compelled by the licensing marketplace to steal from Peter to pay Paul. The creation of webisodes and mobisodes cost money to produce – money that could go into the production of the core property – the property that really drives audiences. Without some framework for allowing producers to seek remuneration for these ancillary properties, production companies simply will not have the resources to develop and produce quality content.
Building healthy production
companies
12 P ro f i l e 2 0 0 8
fi nancing to Canadian audiovisual production and giving Canadian producers the maximum fl exibility to attract international fi nancing.
The various initiatives discussed in this essay would encourage an environment where Canadian audiovisual content can be more internationally competitive and fi nancially healthy, and would help redress the economic imbalances that have existed within the Canadian broadcasting system for decades.
The production industry, itself, may also need to consider changing the way it does business. More corporate consolidation may help the industry form some national leaders: companies with the size and resources to better negotiate rights and build libraries. The improved economic position of the Canadian production community would permit it to make the investments in storytelling, format development, audience engagement, interactivity and HD that are necessary in the multi-platform world. This could lead to a virtuous cycle whereby the Canadian production industry improves to the point of being a world leader in digital production.
The Canadian production industry has had a strong year. The industry has once again shown that it can achieve signifi cant audiences when given the opportunity to compete. As Canada’s independent production industry continues to develop, invest and compete, one thing will be constant: Canadian producers will continue to offer stories and perspectives for audiences around the world to enjoy for years to come.
1 Mark Dillon, “Producers excel in the face of uncertainty,” Playback,
November 26, 2007.
2 Playback Staff, “Sold!, ”Playback, July 9, 2007.
3 Michael Shepard, “Making sense of syndication,” Playback, November 26,
2007.
4 Richard Therrien, “Sophie Paquin à la conquête des Français,” Le Soleil,
October 18, 2007.
5 Mark Dillon, “Producers excel in the face of uncertainty,” Playback,
November 26, 2007.
6 “Atomic Betty,” Breakthrough Films & Television, downloaded January 7,
2008, http://www.breakthroughfi lms.com/production_showlistings_show_ microsite_default.asp?sid=75.
7 Gary Rusak, “Sadie travels the world,” Playback, July 3, 2007. 8 Marise Strauss, “ReGenesis, Zimmer Twins sites share Emmy win,” Playback, April 19, 2007.
9 Matthew Hays, “Online smash to launch in English,” Playback, December
17, 2007.
10 Sean Davidson, “CBC, CTV jump on iTunes bandwagon. Finally,” Playback,
December 12, 2007.
11 Chris Sorenson, “1 in 4 Canadians on Facebook,” Toronto Star, December
10, 2007.
An Economic Report on the Canadian Film and Television Production Industry
P ro f i l e 2 0 0 8 13
1. Introduction
The Canadian Film and Television Production Association
(CFTPA), the Association des producteurs de films et de
télévision du Québec (APFTQ), the Department of Canadian
Heritage, and Nordicity Group Ltd. have once again
collaborated to prepare
Profile 2008
.
Profi le 2008 provides an analysis of economic activity in the Canadian fi lm and television
production industry from April 1, 2006 to March 31, 2007.
Profi le 2008 includes several new production indicators that provide readers with additional insights into the historical trends and current composition of fi lm and television production in Canada. In relation to Profi le 2007, the authors have removed the section on international treaty co-production and integrated these data into parts of Section 3, Canadian Production, which includes an overview of Canadian production, followed by more detailed statistics on both Canadian television and Canadian theatrical production.
In terms of new statistical indicators, Profi le 2008 includes:
• Detailed statistics on the volume of Canadian television production in each genre by language;
• A breakdown of the sources of fi nancing for English-language and French-language Canadian television production;
• A breakdown by language of Canadian television in each genre;
• Statistics for international treaty co-production for both the television and theatrical feature fi lm sectors, as well as a listing of all treaty co-production partners in these sectors; and,
• Key statistics on the Canadian fi lm and television market.
Taken together, the existing and new
statistical indicators will give readers the most comprehensive look yet at fi lm and television production activity in Canada.
14 P ro f i l e 2 0 0 8
2. National Indicators
The Canadian film and television production industry has,
for the last several years, been a major source of economic
activity and jobs for Canadians right across the country. In this
chapter, we review the overall national activity in the film and
television production industry. In subsequent chapters, we
examine activity in each of the major segments of Canadian
industry: Canadian production, foreign location production,
and broadcaster in-house production.
An Economic Report on the Canadian Film and Television Production Industry
P ro f i l e 2 0 0 8 15
2.1 Total Volume of Production
The total volume of production in the Canadian fi lm and television industry increased slightly to just under $5 billion in 2006/07. After experiencing a 9% drop in 2004/05, the fi lm and television production industry in Canada posted two
consecutive annual increases – 7% in 2005/06 and 2% in 2006/07.
The expansion in the total volume of production (ie., the total dollar amount of expenditures on fi lm and television production in Canada) was driven by increased volumes in two sectors – Canadian television production and broadcaster in-house production. The other two sectors of the production industry in Canada – foreign location production and Canadian theatrical production – experienced decreases in production volume.
The Canadian television production sector was
the largest sector of the Canadian industry in 2006/07: it accounted for 42% of total production with a volume of $2.1 billion. Canadian television production experienced a staggering annual increase of 15% in 2006/07, as it climbed from $1.8 billion in 2005/06.
The signifi cant expansion in Canadian television production can be traced back to increased production volumes in the fi ction, children’s and youth, and documentary genres. The children’s and youth genre, in particular, staged a dramatic jump in production volume in 2006/07.
The expansion of this genre and the other genres is largely domestic. The increased production volume is being fi nanced from Canadian sources. Foreign pre-sale demand did recover slightly in 2006/07, but not to a great extent, and certainly not to a level that made it the driver of this sector’s expansion.
After staging a signifi cant recovery in 2005/06,
Canadian theatrical production dropped 14%
to $282 million in 2006/07. This sector accounted for 6% of total production volume in 2006/07. In part, falling foreign fi nancing put downward pressure on the volume of activity.
Foreign location production (FLP) was the second
largest sector of the Canadian industry with $1.4 billion in production volume in 2006/07, accounting for 29% of the national total. FLP was down by 14%, as Canada started to feel the effects of a stronger domestic currency and competition from other jurisdictions with concerted efforts to attract Hollywood studios’ location production. Canada’s two largest centres for FLP – British Columbia and Ontario – both experienced decreases in production volume in 2006/07.
Broadcaster in-houseproduction also increased,
largely due to the resumption of NHL hockey; broadcaster in-house production increased 11% to reach just over $1.1 billion. This sector accounted for 23% of total production activity in Canada in 2006/07.
• The total volume of fi lm and television production in Canada increased 3% to just under $5 billion in 2006/07. The increase was largely due to strong growth in Canadian television production and broadcaster in-house production.
• The Canadian television production segment was the largest single sector of the industry in 2006/07, accounting for 42% of total production.
• Film and television production generated 126,900 full-time equivalent jobs (FTEs) in Canada in 2006/07, including 48,800 FTEs directly in fi lm and television production activities. The number of FTEs was up by less than 1% compared to 2005/06.
16 P ro f i l e 2 0 0 8
Exhibit 2 - 1: Total volume of film and television production in Canada
0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 6,000
96/97 97/98 98/99 99/00 00/01 01/02 02/03 03/04 04/05 05/06 06/07 Canadian Television
Canadian Theatrical Foreign Location Broadcaster In-House
Source: Estimates based on data collected from CAVCO, CRTC, CBC/SRC, the Association of Provincial Funding Agencies and the Department of Canadian Heritage. Some totals may not add due to rounding.
Note: The figures for volume of production contain a variety of sources with different reporting periods. All data sources are reported on a 12-month basis for each fiscal year, but the reporting periods overlap. For example, in 2006/07 the bulk of data sources were for the government fiscal year (April 2006 to March 2007). However, some data sources that reported results on a fiscal-year period ending in August 2006 are included in the fiscal year.
2,983
790 1,239
186
768
2,925
743 1,114
249
819
3,844
760 1,787
201
1,096
4,452
850 1,870
226
1,506
4,631
885 1,757
227
1,762
4,736
963 1,785
228
1,760
4,995
997 1,805
279
1,914
5,011
1,043 1,723
342
1,904
4,550
1,094 1,816
177
1,463
4,856
1,032 1,829
329
1,666
4,973
1,144 2,112
282
1,435
$ m
ill
io
ns
Exhibit 2 - 2: Total volume of film and television production in Canada,
share by segment, 2006/07
Canadian Television, 42% Broadcaster In-House, 23%
Foreign Location, 29% Canadian Theatrical, 6%
Source: Estimates based on data collected from CAVCO, CRTC, CBC/SRC, and the Association of Provincial Funding Agencies.
An Economic Report on the Canadian Film and Television Production Industry
P ro f i l e 2 0 0 8 17
2.2 GDP
Real gross domestic product (GDP) in the Motion Picture and Video Production, Distribution and Post-Production industry grew by an average annual rate of 1.5% between 1998 and 2006, trailing the growth in the overall economy by 1.8 percentage points.
2.3 Employment
Film and television production continued to be a major source of job creation in Canada in 2006/07. Film and television production activity in Canada led to the creation of an estimated 126,900 full-time equivalent jobs (FTEs). Production activity generated 48,800 FTEs directly within the fi lm and television production industry, and an additional 78,100 FTEs in other parts of the Canadian economy. The number of FTEs generated by fi lm and television production rose for the second consecutive year, increasing by less than 1%, from 126,200. Production industry FTEs (direct jobs) also rose by less than 1% in 2006/07.
Exhibit 2 - 3: Average annual real GDP
growth by industry, 1998 to 2006
Source: Calculations based on data from Statistics Canada * Based on the North American Industry Classification System.
Information and Cultural Industries includes publishing industries (except Internet), motion picture and sound recording industries, broadcasting (except Internet), Internet publishing and broadcasting, telecommunications, Internet service providers, Web-search portals, data-processing services and other information services. Motion Picture and Video Production, Distribution and Post-Production Industry
comprises establishments primarily engaged in producing and/or distributing motion pictures, videos, television programs or commercials; exhibiting motion pictures or providing post-production and related services.
0 2 4 6
Radio and TV Broadcasting + Pay TV, Specialty TV and Program Distribution Information and Cultural Industries* Service-Producing Industries Goods-Producing Industries
Motion Picture and Video Production, Distribution and Post-Production Industry* All Industries
2.4%
3.7%
3.9%
1.5% 3.3%
5.3%
Exhibit 2 - 4: Number of full-time equivalent jobs (FTEs) in film and television
production in Canada
96/97 97/98 98/99 99/00 00/01 01/02 02/03 03/04 04/05 05/06 06/07 Indirect Jobs
Direct Jobs
Source: Estimates based on data collected from CAVCO, Statistics Canada, CRTC, CBC/SRC, the Association of Provincial Funding Agencies and the Department of Canadian Heritage.
Note: Estimates of direct FTEs take into account annual changes in average wages.
0 50,000 100,000 150,000
93,100 91,100
117,800
135,100 137,000 135,900 139,100 136,700
121,100
126,200 126,900
35,800 35,000
45,300 52,000 52,700 52,300 53,500 52,600 46,600 48,500 48,800
57,300 56,100 72,500
83,100 84,300 83,600 85,600 84,100
74,500 77,700 78,100
FTEs
18 P ro f i l e 2 0 0 8
2.5 Production by Province
Ontario maintained its position as the leading province for fi lm and television production in Canada in 2006/07: it accounted for $1.7 billion in production volume, or 34% of the national total. With a 29% share, British Columbia was Canada’s second-largest production centre, with fi lm and television production activity rising to just over $1.4 billion. British Columbia was followed closely by
Quebec, where the volume of production increased 12% to just under $1.3 billion – a 25% share of the national total.
British Columbia, Quebec, Alberta, Nova Scotia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island all experienced increased production levels in 2006/07, while production dipped in Ontario, and Newfoundland and Labrador.
18
Exhibit 2 - 5: Export value of film and television production in Canada
Canadian Television Canadian Theatrical Foreign Location
Source: Estimates based on data collected from CAVCO, the Association of Provincial Funding Agencies and the Department of Canadian Heritage. Some totals may not add due to rounding.
$ m ill io ns 0 500 1,000 1,500 2,000 2,500 96/97 768 1,312 63 481 97/98 1,247 78 350 819 98/99 1,704 68 540 1,096 99/00 2,177 71 600 1,506 00/01 2,319 80 478 1,762 01/02 2,271 69 442 1,760 02/03 2,371 78 380 1,914 03/04 2,321 104 314 1,904 04/05 1,767 27 277 1,463 05/06 1,955 75 214 1,666 06/07 1,684 19 230 1,435
2.4 Export Value
Export value tracks the value of international fi nancial participation in the fi lm and television production industry in Canada. Export value includes foreign presales and distribution advances for all projects certifi ed by the Canadian Audio-Visual Certifi cation Offi ce (CAVCO)1; estimates
of presales and distribution advances for non-CAVCO-certifi ed productions; and the total value of foreign location production in Canada. Export value as opposed to just exports better refl ects the nature of fi lm and television production in Canada. It acknowledges that fi lm and television productions are intangible products and portions of the copyright can be exported to foreign countries. It also accounts for the budgets of productions shot in Canada, even when the copyright is held by a foreign entity.
The export value of fi lm and television production in Canada totalled $1.7 billion in 2006/07 – a decrease of 14% from 2005/06. The drop in export value can be attributed to a decrease of $231 million in FLP, as well as a drop of $56 million in the export value of Canadian theatrical production, from $75 million in 2005/06 to $19 million in 2006/07.
Despite the overall decrease in the export value of fi lm and television production in Canada, the Canadian television sector showed signs of recovery in its export performance in 2006/07. The export value of Canadian television production increased 9%, from $214 million to $230 million, reversing a trend of six consecutive annual declines.
1 “CAVCO certifi ed” refers to productions certifi ed as “Canadian” by the
Canadian Audio-Visual Certifi cation Offi ce (CAVCO) for the purpose of utilizing the Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit (CPTC). It does not include foreign productions that use the Film or Video Production Services Tax Credit
An Economic Report on the Canadian Film and Television Production Industry
P ro f i l e 2 0 0 8 19
Exhibit 2 - 6: Volume of film and television production in Canada, by province
Source: Estimates based on data collected from CAVCO, CRTC, CBC/SRC, the Association of Provincial Funding Agencies and the Department of Canadian Heritage. Note: Various provincial film agencies in Canada also publish statistics for film and television production activity using tax and marketing data in each province. Their statistics may differ from those in Profile 2008 due to such differences as data collection periods (fiscal vs. calendar year) and production activity reported on the basis of location of spend. Some totals may not add due to rounding.
* Figures for film and television production in the Territories (Nunavut, Yukon, Northwest Territories) have been combined with figures for British Columbia. ( $ millions ) 96/97 97/98 98/99 99/00 00/01 01/02 02/03 03/04 04/05 05/06 06/07
Ontario 1,330 1,214 1,506 1,717 1,825 1,943 1,917 1,820 1,940 1,941 1,710
British Columbia* 560 583 843 1,079 1,166 1,165 1,156 1,548 929 1,339 1,429
Quebec 835 872 1,092 1,172 1,180 1,201 1,385 1,209 1,243 1,132 1,266
Alberta 124 105 133 237 180 153 199 117 119 134 182
Nova Scotia 64 63 124 135 119 129 138 130 116 133 150
Manitoba 35 36 64 44 70 74 85 112 95 80 122
Saskatchewan 21 36 50 37 41 32 83 45 71 55 78
New Brunswick 7 11 21 15 32 17 17 16 28 19 23
Prince Edward Island 1 1 2 8 6 8 10 5 2 1 7
Newfoundland and Labrador 5 4 9 7 12 15 6 8 7 22 6
Total 2,983 2,925 3,884 4,452 4,631 4,736 4,995 5,011 4,550 4,856 4,973
Exhibit 2 - 8: Total direct and indirect full-time equivalent jobs (FTEs) generated by
film and television production in Canada, by province
96/97 97/98 98/99 99/00 00/01 01/02 02/03 03/04 04/05 05/06 06/07 Ontario 41,600 37,700 46,300 52,000 54,100 55,600 53,300 49,700 51,700 50,400 43,500 British Columbia* 17,400 18,200 25,700 32,800 34,600 33,300 32,200 42,100 24,700 34,800 36,300 Quebec 26,000 27,000 33,500 35,600 34,800 34,300 38,500 33,000 33,000 29,400 32,200 Alberta 3,900 3,400 4,200 7,300 5,200 4,400 5,500 3,100 3,100 3,400 4,700 Nova Scotia 2,100 2,100 3,900 4,200 3,600 3,600 3,900 3,600 3,100 3,400 3,900 Manitoba 1,000 1,000 2,100 1,300 2,100 2,100 2,300 3,100 2,600 2,100 3,100 Saskatchewan 800 1,000 1,600 1,000 1,300 1,000 2,300 1,300 1,800 1,600 2,100 New Brunswick 300 300 500 500 1,000 500 500 500 800 500 500Prince Edward Island 0 0 0 300 300 300 300 300 150 150 300
Newfoundland and Labrador 300 0 300 300 300 500 300 300 300 500 300 Total 93,400 90,700 118,100 135,300 137,300 135,600 139,100 137,000 121,250 126,250 126,900
Source: Estimates based on data collected from CAVCO, CRTC, CBC/SRC, the Association of Provincial Funding Agencies, Statistics Canada and the Department of Canadian Heritage. Some totals may not add due to rounding and the sum total of jobs may differ from amounts in Exhibit 2 - 4 due to rounding. * Includes the Territories.
Exhibit 2 - 7: Share of total volume of production in Canada, by province, 2006/07
Source: Estimates based on data collected from CAVCO, CRTC, CBC/SRC, the Association of Provincial Funding Agencies and the Department of Canadian Heritage. * Includes the Territories
Ontario, 34% Nova Scotia, 3%
Newfoundland and Labrador, <1% New Brunswick, <1%
Manitoba, 3% British Columbia*, 29% Alberta, 4% Saskatchewan, 2%
Quebec, 25%
Prince Edward Island, <1%
An Economic Report on the Canadian Film and Television Production Industry
20 P ro f i l e 2 0 0 8
3. Canadian Production
Canadian production includes all Canadian television and
film production produced by Canadian production companies.
This includes independent production companies as well as
broadcaster-affiliated production companies.
An Economic Report on the Canadian Film and Television Production Industry
P ro f i l e 2 0 0 8 21
3.1
Total Canadian Production
Canadian production includes television programs and fi lms with CAVCO certifi cation; it also includes CRTC-certifi ed television programs made by production companies. This sector excludes broadcaster in-house production – that is, news and sports and other genres normally produced by Canadian broadcasters.
3.1.1 Volume
Canadian production reached a total volume of $2.4 billion in 2006/07. The total volume jumped by 11%, following an increase of 8% in 2005/06. The sharp rise in Canadian production was due to an increase of $283 million in Canadian television production; the increase in Canadian television production was partly offset by a $47 million decrease in Canadian theatrical production. • Canadian production jumped 11% to $2.4
billion, largely due to a sharp increase in Canadian television production.
• Canadian production generated 61,100 FTEs in 2006/07, including 23,500 FTEs directly in the production of Canadian television programs and fi lms.
• English-language production rose 13% to $1.7 billion; French-language production increased 12% to $651 million. Production in bilingual format and other languages dropped from $50 million to $24 million.
• Canadian production in the fi ction genre increased by 5% to $1.2 billion.
• Children’s and youth production climbed by 25%, increasing from $275 million in 2005/06 to $344 million in 2006/07. The increase was fuelled by a $70 million rise in animation production in the genre.
• Canadian documentary production increased by 17% to a total of $435 million.
• Canadian production in the variety and performing arts genre increased 32% to $132 million.
• Canadian production attracted fi nancing from several different private- and public-sector sources in 2006/07. Broadcasters were the largest single source of fi nancing – contributing 31% of the total. Tax credits accounted for 26%. Foreign sources accounted for 9% of the fi nancing of Canadian production.
• Canada’s total volume of treaty co-production increased 14% to $478 million in 2007, with Canadian budgets of $195 million and foreign budgets of $282 million in partner countries. However, the level of co-production in 2007 was still approximately half the peak level attained in 2000.
• France moved past the United Kingdom to become Canada’s largest bipartite treaty co-production partner in 2007; Canadians produced $202 million worth of bipartite treaty co-production in 2007 with producers from France.
22 P ro f i l e 2 0 0 8
3.1.2 Employment
Canadian production generated an estimated 61,100 FTEs in Canada in 2006/07. This amount included 23,500 FTEs directly in the production of Canadian television programs and fi lms,
as well as 37,600 FTEs in other parts of the Canadian economy. The total number of FTEs and production-industry FTEs (direct jobs) rose by 9% in 2006/07.
Exhibit 3 - 1: Total volume of Canadian production
96/97 97/98 98/99 99/00 00/01 01/02 02/03 03/04 04/05 05/06 06/07
Source: Estimates based on data collected from CAVCO.
Note: Canadian production includes CAVCO-certified television and film production, and an estimate for CRTC-certified television production. Canadian production also includes production with non-theatrical release.
1,425 1,364
1,988 2,095
1,985 2,013
2,084 2,065 1,993
2,159 2,394
$ m
ill
io
ns
0 500 1,000 1,500 2,000 2,500
96/97 97/98 98/99 99/00 00/01 01/02 02/03 03/04 04/05 05/06 06/07
Exhibit 3 - 2: Number of full-time equivalent jobs (FTEs) in Canadian production
Indirect Jobs Direct Jobs
Source: Estimates based on data from CAVCO and Statistics Canada.
Note: Estimates of direct FTEs take into account annual changes in average wages.
44,500 42,400
60,900 63,600
58,700 57,700 58,000 56,400
53,000 56,100
61,100
FTEs
0 10,000 20,000 30,000 40,000 50,000 60,000 70,000
17,100 16,300
23,400 24,500 22,600 22,200 22,300 21,700 20,400 21,600 23,500
27,400 26,100
37,500 39,100 36,100
35,500 35,700 34,700
32,600 34,500 37,600
An Economic Report on the Canadian Film and Television Production Industry
P ro f i l e 2 0 0 8 23
3.1.3 Language
Both English-language and French-language production contributed to the overall increase in Canadian production in 2006/07; however, production in bilingual format and other languages dropped by half.
Canadian production produced in English increased 13% to over $1.7 billion in 2006/07. Canadian production in the French-language increased 12% to $651 million. Production in bilingual format and other languages dropped from $50 million in 2005/06 to $24 million in 2006/07.
Exhibit 3 - 3: Volume of Canadian production, by language
$ m
ill
io
ns
96/97 97/98 98/99 99/00 00/01 01/02 02/03 03/04 04/05 05/06 06/07 English French Bilingual and other
0 500 1,000 1,500 2,000 2,500
1,055
1,623 1,632 1,431
1,433 1,496
1,437 1,413 1,528
1,719
1,094
1,364 1,988
2,095
1,985 2,013 2,084 2,065 1,993 2,159
2,394
1,425
282
340 400
394 483
508
522 532
50 24
326 27
25 63 159 98
80 107
48 581
651
5
Source: Estimates based on data from CAVCO. Note: Some totals may not add due to rounding.
3.1.4 Genres
Fiction
The production of television programs and fi lms in the fi ction genre increased by 5% in 2006/07, and reached a total of $1.2 billion. The overall increase was largely due to an expansion in the level of television fi ction production, where the volume of production grew by $113 million, or 14%, to a total of $948 million in 2006/07.
On a dollar-volume basis, just over three-quarters of Canadian fi ction production in 2006/07 was for English-language television and theatrical markets; 23% of the production volume was for French-language markets; while fi ction production in other languages accounted for less than 1% of the total volume of production in the genre.
The fi ction genre is comprised almost entirely of live-action production; animation production totalled only $13 million in 2006/07.
24 P ro f i l e 2 0 0 8
Exhibit 3 - 5: Volume of fiction production,
by language, 2006/07
English, 76%
French, 23% Other, <1%
Source: Estimates based on data from CAVCO. Total does not add due to rounding.
Exhibit 3 - 6: Number and share of fiction
projects, by type, 2006/07
TV series, 34% Mini-series,4% Short-length films
and TV programs, 6%
Theatrical features, 21%
MOW/TV features, 36%
Source: Estimates based on data from CAVCO.
Total number of projects: 341
117 13
19
71
121
Exhibit 3 - 4: Total volume of fiction production
96/97 97/98 98/99 99/00 00/01 01/02 02/03 03/04 04/05 05/06 06/07 Theatrical
Television
923 913
1,162
1,296
1,100 1,093 1,123
1,038
953
1,153
1,215
0 300 600 900 1,200 1,500
755 672
981
1,071
892 875
852 721 801
835
948 168
241
182 225
207 218 272
317 152
318 267
Source: Estimates based on data from CAVCO. Some totals may not add due to rounding.
$ m
ill
io
An Economic Report on the Canadian Film and Television Production Industry
P ro f i l e 2 0 0 8 25
Children’s and Youth
Children’s and youth production experienced an astounding recovery in production volume in 2006/07, following six consecutive years of annual declines. In 2006/07, the volume of this genre’s production jumped by 25%: it increased from $275 million in 2005/06 to $344 million in 2006/07. While the theatrical production volume rose from $2 million to $7 million in 2006/07, this growth was overshadowed by the strong expansion in television production: it rose from $273 million to $337 million. The increase in television production was due, in large part, to an increased number of high-budget animation television series.
On a dollar-volume basis, most children’s and youth programming in Canada is produced initially for English-language markets. In 2006/07, 85% of programming in this genre was originally produced in English; 15% of production was in originally made French.
A more detailed look at the breakdown of children’s and youth production reveals that a large share of the genre’s production in the English language can be traced back to the fact that most animation production in the genre is produced originally in
English. Approximately 94% of the $223 million of children’s and youth animation production in 2006/07 was originally made in English. The vast majority of French-language production in the children’s and youth genre was in the live-action format: live-action production accounted for 73% of all children’s and youth production originally made in French in 2006/07.
The low volume of French-language animation production can be explained by the fact that animation is a highly exportable commodity which presupposes the existence of an English version. The cost of producing an English version from an original French version was, up to now, signifi cantly higher than the reverse. This could change however, given the recently negotiated agreements between producers and French-speaking performers. Based on accepted practices in English Canada, these agreements should promote an increase in animation production in the French-language market.
The vast majority of children’s and youth television productions are television series. In 2006/07, Canadian producers made 91 television series – accounting for 95% of all children’s and youth projects in that year.
Exhibit 3 - 7: Total volume of children’s and youth production
96/97 97/98 98/99 99/00 00/01 01/02 02/03 03/04 04/05 05/06 06/07 Theatrical
Television
$ m
ill
io
ns
0 100 200 300 400
240 173
366 389
358 355
300 288
276 273
337 13
1 16
8
4 1
2 7
253
174
382 389 366
355
304 289
276 275 344
Source: Estimates based on data from CAVCO.
26 P ro f i l e 2 0 0 8
Exhibit 3 - 8: Volume of children’s and youth production, by language, 2006/07
English, 85% French, 15%
Source: Estimates based on data from CAVCO.
Exhibit 3 - 9: Volume of children’s and youth production, by language and format
( $ millions ) Live Action Animation Total Live Action Animation Total
English 70 146 217 84 209 292
French 40 7 46 38 14 52
Total 110 153 263 122 223 344
Source: Estimates based on data from CAVCO.
Note: Totals exclude production in bilingual format or other languages.
05/06 06/07
Exhibit 3 - 10: Number and share of children’s and youth projects, by type, 2006/07
Theatrical Features, 1%
MOW / TV, 1% Single-Episode Television Programs, 3%
TV Series, 95%
Source: Estimates based on data from CAVCO.
Total number of projects: 96
91 3
1 1
An Economic Report on the Canadian Film and Television Production Industry
P ro f i l e 2 0 0 8 27
The Canadian production community has long been a global leader in animation production. Several successful independently produced Canadian animation programs are televised on children’s broadcasters around the world. In 2006/07, the Canadian animation production segment experienced a spectacular jump in production
volume. Animation production increased 35% to $257 million. Canadian producers made 585 hours of animation in 2006/07, up from 473 hours in 2005/06. Children’s and youth programming accounted for 87% ($223 million) of total Canadian animation production in 2006/07.
Exhibit 3 - 11: Total volume of Canadian animation production
96/97 97/98 98/99 99/00 00/01 01/02 02/03 03/04 04/05 05/06 06/07 152
99
274
249 280
241
208 203
225
190 257
$ m
ill
io
ns
0 50 100 150 200 250 300
Source: Estimates based on data from CAVCO.
Exhibit 3 - 12: Total number of hours of Canadian animation production
96/97 97/98 98/99 99/00 00/01 01/02 02/03 03/04 04/05 05/06 06/07 232
168 335
313 333
380
311 347
392 473
585
H
ou
rs o
f p
rod
uc
tio
n
0 100 200 300 400 500 600
Source: Estimates based on data from CAVCO.
An Economic Report on the Canadian Film and Television Production Industry
