Profile 2015

Transcription

Profile 2015

Produced by the Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA) in collaboration with the Association québécoise
de la production médiatique (AQPM), the Department of Canadian Heritage and Telefilm Canada.
Production facts and figures prepared by Nordicity Group Ltd.
Profile 2015 | 1
Profile 2015 is published by the Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA) in collaboration with
the Association québécoise de la production médiatique (AQPM), the Department of Canadian Heritage,
Telefilm Canada and Nordicity Group Ltd. Profile 2015 marks the 19th edition of the annual economic
report prepared by CMPA and its various project partners over the years.
Profile 2015 provides an analysis of economic activity in Canada’s screen-based production industry
during the period April 1, 2014 to March 31, 2015. It also provides comprehensive reviews of the
historical trends in production activity between the fiscal years of 2005/06 and 2014/15.
Ottawa
601 Bank Street, 2nd Floor
Ottawa, ON K1S 3T4
Vancouver
736 Granville Street, Suite 600
Vancouver, BC V6Z 1G3
Department of Canadian Heritage
15 Eddy Street
Gatineau, QC K1A 0M5
At the Department of Canadian
Heritage:
Tel: 1-800-656-7440 (Canada only)/
613-233-1444
Fax: 613-233-0073
Email: [email protected]
www.cmpa.ca
Tel: 1-866-390-7639 (Canada only)/
604-682-8619
Fax: 604-684-9294
Tel: 1-866-811-0055/819-997-0055
TTY/TDD: 819-997-3123
www.canadianheritage.gc.ca
Ian Wallace
Manager
Film and Video Policy and Programs
At the CMPA:
Toronto
160 John Street, 5th Floor
Toronto, ON M5V 2E5
Tel: 1-800-267-8208 (Canada only)/
416-304-0280
Fax: 416-304-0499
1470 Peel Street, Suite 950, Tower A
Montréal, QC H3A 1T1
Tel: 514-397-8600
Fax: 514-392-0232
www.aqpm.ca
Susanne Vaas
Vice-president, Corporate
and International Affairs
360 St. Jacques Street
Suite 500
Montréal, QC H2Y 1P5
At Telefilm Canada:
At the AQPM:
Richard Beaulieu
Specialist, Intelligence and Analysis
Hélène Messier
President and CEO
Marie Robillard
Analyst, Performance and Data Integrity
Brigitte Doucet
Deputy General Director
Carolyn Pennell
Analyst, Strategy and Research
2 | Profile 2015
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.
Nordicity Group Ltd.
Peter Lyman, Senior Partner
Dustin Chodorowicz, Partner
Kristian Roberts, Director
Stephen Hignell, Manager
Victoria Lean, Senior Consultant
Negin Zebarjad, Consultant
Balvinder Chowdhary, Research Analyst
David Gaw, Research Analyst
Emily Mcrae, Research Analyst
Cover design: Sarolta Csete
Design: Parable Communications
Translation: L. F. Larkin
Printing: The Lowe-Martin Group
Justin Ciavarella
Policy Analyst
Film and Video Policy and Programs
Vincent Fecteau
Senior Research Analyst
Research and Policy
Peter Mann
Senior Policy Analyst
CAVCO
Nordicity is a leading consulting firm
specializing in policy, strategy and
economic analysis in the media,
creative, and information and
communications technology sectors.
CONTENTS
1. At a glance: Screen-based Production in Canada . . . . . 4
2. Screen-based Production in Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Film and Television Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Volume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Employment and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Export Value . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Provinces and Territories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Convergent Digital Media Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Volume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Employment and GDP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Consumers’ Media Consumption Patterns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
3. Canadian Film and Television Production . . . . . . . . . . 20
Total Canadian Film and Television Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Volume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Employment and GDP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Language . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Genres . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Financing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Audiovisual Treaty Coproduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Television Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Volume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Employment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Genres . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Budgets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Language . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Canadian Content Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Financing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Broadcaster Licence Fees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Broadcaster Spending . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Canada Media Fund . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Audiences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Theatrical Feature Film Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Volume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Employment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Language . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Genres . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Budgets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Financing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Canada Feature Film Fund (Telefilm Canada) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
National Box Office Trends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Box Office by Linguistic Market . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Top Feature Films by Language of Presentation . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Viewing on Alternate Platforms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
4. Foreign Location and Service Production . . . . . . . . . 107
Volume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Employment and GDP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Provinces and Territories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Country . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
5. Broadcaster In-House Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Volume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Employment and GDP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Provinces and Territories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Notes on Methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Profile 2015 | 3
T A GLANCE: A
SCREEN-BASED PRODUCTION IN CANADA
The screen-based production industry in Canada is a major source of economic activity and jobs for
Canadians across the country. The industry comprises film and television production as well as convergent
digital media production.
The film and television production segment comprises three key sectors:
1. The Canadian Film and Television Production sector is the largest of the key sectors. It can further be subdivided into two sub-sectors:
Television Production and Theatrical Feature Film Production. Canadian production comprises films and television programs made
largely by independent production companies, although it also includes television programs made by production companies affiliated
with Canadian broadcasters. All of the television programs and films in the Canadian production sector are certified as Canadian content
by the Canadian Audio-Visual Certification Office (CAVCO) of the Department of Canadian Heritage or the Canadian Radio-television and
Telecommunications Commission (CRTC).
2. The Foreign Location and Service Production (FLS) sector is the second-largest segment and largely comprises feature films and television
programs filmed in Canada by foreign producers or by Canadian service producers1. For the majority of FLS projects, the copyright is held by
non-Canadian producers; however, for approximately 10% of projects, the copyright is held by Canadians (Exhibit 3-8).
3. The Broadcaster In-house Production sector includes television programs made by Canadian television broadcasters in their own facilities
as opposed to being made by an external production company that is either independent or affiliated with the broadcaster. Broadcaster
in-house production comprises primarily news, sports and current affairs programming.
The screen-based production industry also includes Convergent Digital Media Production, which comprises screen-based content
and applications for digital media platforms (e.g., video games, interactive web content, on-demand content, podcasts, webisodes, and
mobisodes), which are associated with films and television programs (and receive financial support from digital media funding sources in
Canada). Global production statistics in Profile 2015, such as total film and television production and jobs in Canada, do not include figures
for convergent digital media production.
Total film and television production in Canada*
Canadian film and television production
8,000
3,500
7,071
3,011
7,000
3,000
5,000
4,917
5,001
5,367
5,560
5,120
5,825
5,014
4,000
3,000
2,000
2,500
2,429
2,450
2,491
2,403
1,000
500
0 2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15
Source: Estimates based on data collected from CAVCO and CRTC.
•
•
•
•
•
•
$2.96 billion in production volume (9% increase)
$2.6 billion in television production (10% increase)
$349 million in theatrical film production (2% increase)
700 television series (4% increase)
103 theatrical feature films (10% increase)
62,100 FTEs (7% increase)
1. Canadian service producers are producers who provide production and/or post-production services in Canada on behalf of non-Canadian producers.
2.
Production volume or volume of production refers to the sum of production budgets.
4 | Profile 2015
2,437
1,500
0 2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15
• $7.1 billion in production volume (20% increase)2
• $3.2 billion in export value (32% increase)
• 148,500 full-time equivalent jobs (FTEs) (17% increase)
2,256
2,720
2,000
1,000
Source: Estimates based on data collected from CAVCO, CRTC, CBC/Radio-Canada and
the Association of Provincial Funding Agencies.
* Excludes convergent digital media production.
2,957
2,679
5,911
Total volume ($ millions)
6,000
5,963
AT A G L A N C E : S C R E E N - B A S E D P R O D U C T I O N I N C A N A D A
Foreign location and service production
Broadcaster in-house production
3,000
2,000
2,600
2,500
1,515
2,000
1,687
1,445
1,433
1,500
1,874
1,770
1,669
1,740
1,826
1,508
1,000
1,500
1,000
1,406
1,139
1,147
2006
2007
1,184
1,249
1,265
2010
2011
1,363
1,102
991
500
500
0
2005
2008
2009
2012
Source: Association of Provincial Funding Agencies
Source: Estimates based on data from CRTC and CBC/Radio-Canada.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
111 theatrical feature films (22% increase)
115 television series (25% increase)
53 MOWs, mini-series, pilots and other types of television programs
(4% increase)
• 54,600 FTEs (40% increase)
80
69.9
70.1
2013/14
2014/15
60
43.4
40
34.6
27.6
20
0
2010/11
2011/12
2012/13
Source: Estimates based on data from Bell Fund, Canada Media Fund (CMF), Ontario Media
Development Corporation (OMDC) and Shaw Rocket Fund and a survey of CMPA and AQPM
members.
Note: Statistics for 2012/13 and 2013/14 include estimates for the production that took
place without financial support from Bell Fund, CMF, OMDC or Shaw Rocket Fund, and
therefore are not directly comparable to statistics for other years. See Notes on Methodology
for more information.
•
•
•
•
2013
2014
$863 million in conventional television expenditures (15% increase)
$652 million in specialty and pay television expenditures (6% increase)
31,800 FTEs (9% increase)
THE SCREEN-BASED MARKET
IN CANADA
Convergent digital media production*
0
2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15
$70.1 million in production volume
340 projects
Average project size: $206,000
1,620 FTEs
* Convergent digital media production includes content developed for digital media
platforms and integrated with a traditional audiovisual product (typically a television
series) in order to enhance or deepen the audience experience of screen-based content.
»» Population of Canada (2015): 35.9 million1
»» Per-capita volume of film and television production in Canada
(2014/15): $197
»» Number of private households (2011): 13.3 million2
»» Number of movie theatre screens in Canada (2014): 3,1073
»» Number of television services available in Canada (2014): 6634
• Canadian television services: 3914
• Non-Canadian television services: 2724
»» Percentage of households subscribing to broadcasting
distribution undertakings (2014): 82%4
»» Number of subscribers to broadcasting distribution
undertaking services (2014) *: 11.6 million4
• Cable-television and Internet protocol TV (IPTV) subscribers:
9.1 million4*
• Direct-to-home satellite (DTH) and multipoint distribution
systems (MDS) subscribers: 2.6 million4
Sources: 1. Statistics Canada, Annual Demographic Estimates: Canada, Provinces
and Territories, 2015, catalogue no. 91-215-X). 2. Statistics Canada, 2011 Census
of Population and Statistics Canada, catalogue no. 98-312-XCB (most recent
available data). 3. European Audiovisual Observatory (2015), FOCUS 2015 –
World Film Market Trends, Cannes: Marché du Film, p.42. 4. CRTC, Communications
Monitoring Report 2015.
* Includes an estimate of subscribers to broadcasting distribution undertakings
that did not report financial and operating data to the CRTC in 2014.
Profile 2015 | 5
1. S
CREEN-BASED PRODUCTION IN CANADA
The screen-based production industry in Canada comprises film and television production as well
as convergent digital media production. Film and television production includes screen-based content made by independent Canadian producers and producers affiliated with Canadian broadcasters, foreign producers shooting films and television programs on-location in Canada, and Canadian
broadcasters. Convergent digital media production includes screen-based content and applications
for digital media platforms (e.g., video games, interactive web content, on-demand content, podcasts,
webisodes, and mobisodes), which are associated with films and television programs.
FILM AND TELEVISION PRODUCTION
Film and television production experienced one of its best years in 2014/15. After posting growth of only 1.5%
in 2013/14, the total volume of film and television production in Canada jumped by 19.6% to reach an all-time
high of $7.1 billion in 2014/15. The rate of annual growth witnessed in 2014/15 was the highest on record since
1998/99 when film and television production in Canada increased by 31.2%. That particular year’s growth, however, came on the heels of the introduction of the Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit (CPTC) and
the Canadian Television Fund (CTF) in 1996, and the Film or Video Production Services Tax Credit (PSTC)
in 1997.3
About two-thirds of the growth in 2014/15 originated from the FLS production sector. A lower Canadian dollar
certainly contributed to this, and thereby to the growth in the overall volume of film and television production
in Canada. However, even the increase in the FLS production sector goes beyond what could be explained by
the exchange rate on its own. The quality of Canada’s production sector infrastructure — crews, facilities and
suppliers — combined with uncertainty around the future of incentives in other jurisdictions made Canada a
reliable choice for foreign producers. The other third of the increase in the total volume of production originated
on the domestic side — most notably in the Canadian film and television production sector. The growth in this
sector was fuelled by higher levels of private financing linked to the increased opportunities to license Canadian
television programs and feature films in other territories or on other platforms.
As noted above, the FLS production sector made the largest contribution to the industry’s overall growth in
2014/15. The total volume of FLS increased by $774 million, or 42.4% in 2014/15. More than three-quarters of
this increase occurred in Canada’s largest province for FLS production, British Columbia; however, Canada’s
secondary centres for FLS production, Ontario and Quebec, also posted increases in 2014/15. Both feature film
and television production in this sector were up sharply in 2014/15; however, the majority of the gains was in
television production, which rose by 67% to over $1.3 billion. A 6% depreciation in the Canadian dollar helped
to make Canada a more attractive destination for FLS production; however, similar episodes of depreciation in
the past were followed by much weaker increases in FLS production volume. This would suggest that Canada’s
competitiveness is based on much more than just the value of the dollar.
The second largest contribution to overall industry growth in 2014/15 came from the Canadian television subsector. The volume of production increased by $232 million, or 9.8%, pushing the total volume over $2.6 billion.
Television series production, meanwhile, was up by $243 million, or 12%. The sub-sector’s growth was driven
3Nordicity Group Ltd. (2008), Economic Analysis of the Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit, prepared for the Department of Canadian Heritage, p. 10.
6 | Profile 2015
almost entirely by increasing production of fiction television series. Television fiction production was up by
$247 million, or 22.3%, in 2014/15. Historically, most of the growth in television fiction production in Canada
has come within the English-language market; however, in 2014/15, important gains were also made in the
French-language market. The volume of French-language fiction television production increased by 39.7% to a
10-year high of $268 million.
Canadian theatrical feature film4 production edged higher by 1.7% in 2014/15, as the total volume of production increased by $6 million to $349 million. In 2013/14, average budgets in the English-language market hit
a 10-year high as several big-budget films dominated the production slate. In 2014/15, average budgets in the
English-language market reverted back to their 10-year average. As a result, the sub-sector’s growth was underpinned by more films and by larger-budget films in the French-language market.
The broadcaster in-house production sector also made a significant contribution to overall growth. During the
2014 broadcast year (September 1, 2013 to August 31, 2014), total volume rose by $150 million, or 11%, to an
all-time high of $1.5 billion. However, whereas most of the growth in this sector over the past decade has originated in the specialty and pay segment, in the 2014 broadcast year, it was actually a 15% increase in in-house
production at conventional broadcasters which accounted for most of this growth. Indeed, it appears to have
been CBC/Radio-Canada’s televising of the Olympic Winter Games, Paralympic Winter Games, Pan Am Games
and Commonwealth Games that pushed its spending on sports production higher thereby bolstering the conventional television segment’s total volume of in-house production.
n
VO L U M E
Exhibit 1-1 Total volume of film and television production in Canada
The total volume of film and television production in Canada increased by 19.6% to an all-time high of just under
$7.1 billion.
Canadian television
Canadian theatrical feature film
Foreign location and service
Broadcaster in-house
8,000
7,071
7,000
2,608
5,963
6,000
5,367
$ millions
5,000
4,917
5,001
1,896
2,131
2,128
5,560
5,120
5,014
2,231
2,041
2,671
2,111
5,825
5,911
2,305
2,376
349
2,600
4,000
3,000
360
1,669
298
1,433
323
1,770
363
260
1,445
1,508
326
1,874
340
1,687
1,740
343
1,826
1,406
1,365
2012/13
2013/14
374
2,000
1,000
0
991
2005/06
1,139
1,147
1,184
1,103
2006/07
2007/08
2008/09
2009/10
1,249
1,265
2010/11
2011/12
1,515
2014/15
Source: Estimates based on data collected from the Canadian Audio-Visual Certification Office (CAVCO), the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications
Commission (CRTC), CBC/Radio-Canada and the Association of Provincial Funding Agencies.
Note: Some totals may not sum due to rounding.
4 Canadian theatrical feature film production includes films of 75 minutes or longer with theatres as their primary release window.
Profile 2015 | 7
Exhibit 1-2 Total volume of film and television production in Canada, share by segment
Canadian film and television production accounted for a combined 42% of total film and television production in
Canada in 2014/15. It was followed in size by the FLS sector with a 37% share. Broadcaster in-house production
accounted for the remaining 21% of film and television production in Canada.
Canadian television
100%
39
43
40
Broadcaster in-house
44
41
38
45
40
40
6
6
30
31
24
23
2012/13
2013/14
37
80%
60%
7
34
6
29
6
33
5
7
6
34
6
28
30
23
22
22
21
2008/09
2009/10
2010/11
2011/12
5
37
28
40%
20%
0%
20
2005/06
23
2006/07
21
2007/08
21
2014/15
Source: Estimates based on data collected from CAVCO, CRTC, CBC/Radio-Canada and the Association of Provincial Funding Agencies.
8 | Profile 2015
n
E M P L OY M E N T A N D G RO S S D O M E S T I C P RO D U C T ( G D P )
Exhibit 1-3 Number of FTEs generated by total film and television production in Canada
Film and television production in Canada generated 148,500 full-time equivalent jobs (FTEs) in 2014/15 and
generated nearly $9 billion in GDP for the Canadian economy.
Direct jobs
Spin-off jobs
148,500
150,000
130,700
130,000
79,300
78,900
135,200
82,000
124,400
75,500
120,000
129,500
119,400
78,600
90,100
134,100
81,400
127,900 126,500
77,600
76,800
72,500
FTEs
90,000
60,000
51,400
51,100
53,200
2005/06
2006/07
2007/08
58,400
48,900
46,900
2008/09
2009/10
50,900
52,700
50,300
49,700
2010/11
2011/12
2012/13
2013/14
30,000
0
2014/15
Source: Estimates based on data collected from CAVCO, CRTC, CBC/Radio-Canada, the Association of Provincial Funding Agencies, Statistics Canada and
Conference Board of Canada.
Note: See Notes on Methodology for a description of the job-estimation methodology.
Exhibit 1-4 Summary of the economic impact of film and television production in Canada, 2014/15
Employment (FTEs)
Direct
Broadcaster
in-house production
Total
24,400
21,500
12,500
58,400
3,458
Labour income ($ millions)
1,478
1,222
758
1,537
1,274
788
3,599
37,700
33,100
19,300
90,100
1,466
1,291
753
3,510
GDP ($ millions)
2,185
2,040
1,122
5,346
62,100
54,600
31,800
148,500
2,945
2,513
1,510
6,968
GDP ($ millions)
3,722
3,313
1,909
8,945
Employment (FTEs)
Total
FLS production
GDP ($ millions)
Employment (FTEs)
Spin-off
Canadian production
Source: Estimates based on data collected from CAVCO, CRTC, CBC/Radio-Canada, the Association of Provincial Funding Agencies, Statistics Canada and the
Note: See Notes on Methodology for a description of methodology. Some totals may not sum due to rounding.
Profile 2015 | 9
n
E X P O R T VA L U E
Export value tracks the value of international financial participation in the film and television production industry in Canada. It includes foreign presales and distribution advances for all projects certified by CAVCO;
estimates of presales and distribution advances for non-CAVCO-certified productions; and the total value of
foreign location and service production in Canada.5
Exhibit 1-5 Export value of film and television production in Canada
The export value of films and television programs produced in Canada increased by $794 million, or 32.4%, to
an all-time high of $3.2 billion in 2014/15. The vast majority of the sharp rise in export value was due to a $774
million increase in FLS production; however, Canadian television production also contributed to the overall growth
with a $48 million increase in export value in 2014/15.
Canadian television
3,500
3,242
539
3,000
2,500
$ millions
2,000
1,500
2,032
1,959
192
1,713
98
252
225
37
267
42
28
1,000
1,754
1,445
1,433
2,324
2,308
348
534
456
2,448
284
83
103
491
2,600
1,875
1,770
1,669
2,295
72
103
112
1,687
1,740
2011/12
2012/13
1,874
130
1,826
1,508
500
0
2005/06
2006/07
2007/08
2008/09
2009/10
2010/11
2013/14
2014/15
Source: Estimates based on data collected from CAVCO and the Association of Provincial Funding Agencies.
Note: Some totals may not sum due to rounding. See Notes on Methodology for the definition of export value.
5In the case of treaty coproductions, the data used to estimate export value includes only the financing of the Canadian budget. As a result, the foreign
budgets for treaty coproductions do not directly contribute to export value. Treaty coproductions contribute only to export value if the financing of the
Canadian budget includes a foreign pre-sale or distribution advance.
10 | Profile 2015
n
P ROV I N C E S A N D T E R R I T O R I E S
Exhibit 1-6 Total volume of film and television production in Canada, by province and territory
2005/06
2006/07
2007/08
2008/09
2009/10
2010/11
2011/12
2012/13
2013/14
Ontario
1,951
1,792
1,961
1,903
1,910
2,077
2,586
2,439
2,409
2,711
British Columbia
1,369
1,392
1,683
1,329
1,399
1,729
1,578
1,597
1,608
2,269
Quebec
1,130
1,247
1,214
1,346
1,274
1,321
1,316
1,353
1,295
1,594
Alberta
138
179
179
181
153
148
167
155
251
262
80
124
107
55
72
69
79
77
103
77
135
156
93
151
107
99
104
98
121
67
33
($ millions)
Manitoba
Nova Scotia
2014/15
Newfoundland and
Labrador
22
7
12
12
40
43
43
42
46
Saskatchewan
58
73
82
101
33
49
54
35
46
31
New Brunswick
18
19
22
30
19
19
26
21
24
20
Territories*
10
9
8
9
4
5
6
6
7
6
Prince Edward
Island
Total
5
3
6
2
1
2
4
2
2
2
4,917
5,001
5,367
5,120
5,014
5,560
5,963
5,825
5,911
7,071
Note: Statistics published by provincial funding agencies may differ from those in Profile 2015. Please see Notes on Methodology for additional information. Figures
for 2014/15 may understate the total volume of production, since data was not available for the volume of FLS production in Nova Scotia in that year. Some totals
may not sum due to rounding.
* Includes Yukon, Nunavut and Northwest Territories.
Exhibit 1-7 S
hare of total volume of film and television production in Canada, by province and
territory, 2014/15
Ontario, 38%
Prince Edward Island, <1%
Territories*, <1%
New Brunswick, <1%
Saskatchewan, <1%
Newfoundland and Labrador, <1%
Nova Scotia, 1%
British Columbia, 32%
Manitoba, 1%
Alberta, 4%
Quebec, 23%
Profile 2015 | 11
Exhibit 1-8 T otal direct and spin-off FTEs generated by film and television production in Canada, by
province and territory
($ millions)
Ontario
2005/06
2006/07
2007/08
2008/09
2009/10
2010/11
2011/12
2012/13
2013/14
2014/15
44,280
39,770
42,640
39,920
40,380
42,560
51,310
47,330
45,610
46,250
British Columbia
36,250
35,290
41,580
31,450
32,530
39,880
35,740
34,660
33,890
42,430
Quebec
38,130
41,010
38,750
41,060
37,060
38,050
36,730
36,590
34,080
36,590
Alberta
3,970
4,880
4,650
4,340
3,680
3,450
3,830
3,440
5,150
5,150
Manitoba
1,630
2,440
2,050
1,000
1,290
1,220
1,330
1,250
1,650
1,130
Nova Scotia
3,670
4,120
2,380
3,890
2,790
2,430
2,460
2,220
2,690
1,320
Newfoundland and
Labrador
420
140
200
200
680
700
660
620
650
430
Saskatchewan
1,530
1,860
2,010
2,270
730
1,040
1,100
680
840
510
New Brunswick
440
440
500
660
410
400
540
410
460
340
Prince Edward
Island
240
150
280
80
40
90
150
80
80
70
Territories*
190
160
150
160
60
90
100
100
100
80
130,700
130,000
135,200
124,400
119,400
129,500
134,100
127,900
126,500
148,500
Total
Source: Estimates based on data collected from CAVCO, CRTC, CBC/Radio-Canada, the Association of Provincial Funding Agencies, Statistics Canada and the
Note: Some totals may not sum due to rounding. See Notes on Methodology for a description of the job-estimation methodology.
Exhibit 1-9 Direct FTEs employed in film and television production in Canada, by province and territory
2005/06
2006/07
2007/08
2008/09
2009/10
2010/11
2011/12
2012/13
2013/14
2014/15
Ontario
19,680
17,820
19,050
18,020
18,020
19,010
22,840
21,230
20,510
22,760
British Columbia
14,330
14,070
16,530
12,650
12,920
15,850
14,150
13,840
13,570
18,750
Quebec
12,410
13,480
12,690
13,620
12,130
12,460
11,980
12,040
11,250
13,500
Alberta
1,370
1,700
1,620
1,530
1,280
1,200
1,320
1,190
1,860
1,920
Nova Scotia
1,520
1,720
990
1,640
1,160
1,010
1,020
930
1,130
610
Manitoba
910
1,370
1,150
570
720
680
740
700
930
680
Newfoundland and
Labrador
240
80
120
120
390
410
380
360
380
270
Saskatchewan
640
790
850
970
310
440
460
290
360
240
New Brunswick
210
210
240
320
200
190
260
200
220
180
90
80
70
80
30
40
50
50
50
40
Territories*
Prince Edward
Island
Total
60
40
70
20
10
20
40
20
20
20
51,400
51,100
53,200
48,900
46,900
50,900
52,700
50,300
49,700
58,400
Source: Estimates based on data collected from CAVCO, CRTC, CBC/Radio-Canada, Association of Provincial Funding Agencies and Statistics Canada.
Note: Some totals may not sum due to rounding. See Notes on Methodology for a description of the job-estimation methodology.
12 | Profile 2015
CONVERGENT DIGITAL MEDIA PRODUCTION
Digital media production refers to the creation of content and experiences across a range of online communications platforms — from mobile devices, to computers, to smart TVs. Digital media production varies greatly
in format: from applications used in passing, on a person’s daily commute, to rich and immersive experiential
content supported by multi-million dollar budgets. As audiences continue to expand their use of digital devices
(i.e., computers, smartphones, tablet devices), their ability to find, access and enjoy screen-based content, digital
media production is becoming increasingly important to the audiovisual experience.
Convergent digital media refers specifically to the digital media components of broadcast television projects.
Such components are typically standalone products that relate to, extend, and/or enhance the associated television production. Examples of convergent digital media products include the AnneDroids companion games
(such as Compubot), based on the children’s television series of the same name, and the digital handbook for
Cineflix’s Property Brothers Handbook, an iPad app which allows users to browse photo galleries, create moodboards, and plan home improvement projects.
Convergent digital media products are often stimulated by the Canada Media Fund (CMF) Convergent Stream
program, which encourages the production of value-added digital media content (i.e., digital media component) that is associated with CMF-funded television productions.
The CMF program guidelines define the digital media component of a convergent project as original content
that is separate and distinct from the television component of the project. A rich and substantial digital media
component provides a coherent and added-value digital or social media experience to the audience before,
during or after the broadcast of the television component. It expands the television viewer’s experience beyond
simple fact-finding about the television component and aims to augment engagement towards the television
component. It can be either one or a mix of the following:
1.
Interactive or linear original content related to the television component of the Convergent Stream but created specifically to be consumed on digital media platforms.
2. Activities and applications using digital and social media aimed at locating, leveraging or building audiences.
3. Interactive online activities or applications providing a synchronised experience during the broadcast of
the television component of the Convergent Stream (excludes standalone web series and other standalone
digital content, which may be eligible for funding through the CMF’s Experimental Stream).
n
VO L U M E
Exhibit 1-10 Convergent digital media production
In 2014/15, the total volume of convergent digital media production climbed to $70.1 million.
Total volume of production
2010/11
2011/12
2012/13*
2013/14*
2014/15
$ 27.6 million
$ 34.6 million
$ 43.4 million
$ 69.9 million
$ 70.1 million
Number of projects
Average project budget
160
$
126,000
217
$
159,000
324
$
134,000
342
$
205,000
340
$
206,000
Source: Estimates based on data from Bell Fund, Canada Media Fund (CMF), Ontario Media Development Corporation (OMDC), Shaw Rocket Fund and a survey of
CMPA and AQPM members.
* Statistics for 2012/13 and 2013/14 include estimates for the production that took place without financial support from Bell Fund, CMF, OMDC or Shaw Rocket
Fund, and therefore are not directly comparable to statistics for other years. See Notes on Methodology for more information.
Profile 2015 | 13
KEEPI NG CANADA ALIVE G IVES VI EWERS
MU LTI-FACETED AN D MU LTI-PLATFORM ACCESS
TO TH E NATION’S H EALTHCARE SYSTEM
On May 6, 2015, the team behind Keeping Canada Alive, produced by Force Four Productions, set out
to capture a day in the life of Canada’s healthcare system. Over a year of pre-production culminated
in 60 camera crews descending on 40 locations across 23 Canadian cities. The result: well over one
thousand hours of footage, which were edited into six one-hour episodes debuting on October 4, 2015
on CBC Television.
The series itself, however, is only one part of a rich and interactive experience allowing viewers to
get close and personal with the patients and medical professionals whose stories are portrayed.
Two weeks prior to the broadcast premiere, the producers launched the online component of the
project. While the series, narrated by Emmy Award winner Kiefer Sutherland (whose grandfather,
Tommy Douglas, is considered the father of universal healthcare), is carefully edited, the project
website facilitates a far less mediated and arranged encounter. Created by Winnipeg’s Tactica
Interactive, the website provides 24 continuous hours of footage of treatments, surgeries, interviews
and interactions, allowing viewers to be “a fly on the wall” in health facilities across Canada, ranging
from the Cancer Care Unit of St. John’s Health Sciences Centre, to a remote facility in Haida Gwaii,
British Columbia.
The user experience on the website is customizable through the selection of topic and location “tags”
and the viewer is led on a path of discovery through links to related and extended footage as well
as director commentary. The interactivity of the website extends beyond the project and the series,
providing supplementary information through “Fast Facts” and links to external articles on the topics
covered, and encouraging discussion through direct links to opinion polls and Twitter (hashtags included).
In the age of online content consumption, where multi-platform audience engagement is a staple
of any television program’s marketing and distribution strategy, Keeping Canada Alive provides an
exceptionally compelling interactive experience that enables viewers to immerse themselves in the
stories presented and to engage with the content, and each other, in a truly meaningful way.
The series was commissioned by CBC Television, with support from the TELUS Fund, the Canada
Media Fund, and the Governments of British Columbia and Ontario.
14 | Profile 2015
n
E M P L OY M E N T A N D G D P
Exhibit 1-11 Summary of the economic impact of convergent digital media production, 2014/15
Convergent digital media production generated 1,620 FTEs in 2014/15 and $118.5 million in GDP for the
Canadian economy.
Direct
Spin-off
Total
Employment (FTEs)
790
830
1,620
Labour income ($ millions)
52.6
31.0
83.6
GDP ($ millions)
55.4
63.1
118.5
Source: Estimates based on data from Bell Fund, CMF, OMDC and Shaw Rocket Fund.
Note: See Notes on Methodology for a description of methodology.
CONSUMERS’ MEDIA CONSUMPTION PATTERNS
Media consumption patterns in Canada continued to evolve in 2014 and 2015 as Canadians increased their
use of alternative video technologies and services to access film and television content. Canadians can choose
from a large array of digital services available over the Internet, on Internet-connected mobile communications
devices, or through broadcasting distribution undertakings (BDUs).
Most Canadian broadcasters offer programming directly through their websites, and on apps for mobile platforms and tablets. Via the Internet, Canadians can also access films and television programs through Netflix,
Apple iTunes, Videotron’s illico.tv, the National Film Board of Canada, Cineplex and video game consoles.
Most BDUs in Canada also offer on-demand services through digital set-top boxes, which also act as personal
video recorders (PVRs). In 2014, some BDUs established their own online video streaming services to compete
with Netflix and Apple iTunes. In November 2014, Rogers Media and Shaw Media joined forces to launch
shomi; in December 2014, Bell Media launched CraveTV. Both services are now available to all Canadians over
the Internet, even if they do not have a subscription to a BDU service.
Personal video recorders (PVRs)
Among alternative video technologies, PVRs are still the most prevalent in Canada’s French-language market,
where they displayed a penetration rate of 55% in 2015 (Exhibit 1-13). However, in the English-language market, the penetration rate for PVRs actually dipped from 50% in 2014 to 49% in 2015. PVRs now trail Internet
television viewing in terms of adoption in the English-language market (Exhibit 1-12).
Internet
Canadians’ use of the Internet for accessing television programming continued to grow in 2015. The percentage
of Canadians in the English-language market who watched television programming over the Internet increased
from 47% to 50% in 2015, making this the most popular alternative video technology in that market.6 In the
French-language market, the percentage was unchanged at 42%.
Cellphones and tablets
Despite the much smaller screen, tablets and cellphones are playing a growing role in Canadians’ media consumption patterns because of their portability. In 2015, 16% of Canadians in the English-language market used
a cellphone to watch television programming; in the French-language market the share was even higher, at 21%.
Approximately 16% of Canadians in the English-language market used tablets to watch television programming
in 2015 — the same rate as for cellphones. In the French-language market, the adoption rate was 20%.
6The statistics for viewing of television programming over the Internet include access by all types of Internet-connected devices such as desktop computers,
laptops, cellphones and tablets.
Profile 2015 | 15
Netflix and other online services
Netflix, Apple iTunes, illico.tv, shomi and CraveTV are also proving to be fast-growing platforms for accessing
films and television programming in Canada. As of spring 2015, 44% of Canadians in the English-language
market had used Netflix. This is up from only 10% in 2011. In the French-language market, the rate of Netflix
adoption was only 16%, in large part because services such as CBC/Radio-Canada’s ICI Tou.tv and illico.tv
already offer consumers an online video option. BDUs’ online video services are also posting very fast take-up
rates among Canadian households. Bell Media reported that as of June 30, 2015, it had already reached up to
727,000 subscribers to its CraveTV service.7
Exhibit 1-12 Adoption rates for alternative video technologies and services, English-language market
50
50
46
43
Share of total population 18+ (%)
40
49
47
44
42
35
30
30
31
50
39
38
Watch TV
programming
on the Internet*
Personal video
recorder**
34
29
Netflix
23
22
20
21
18
13
10
12
10
10
7
1
0
2007
2008
2009
2
2010
4
12
15
16
16
14
Watch TV
programming
on a cellphone*
6
3
2011
2012
Watch TV
programming
on a tablet device*
2013
2014
2015
Source: Media Technology Monitor.
* Watched a TV program or clip from a TV program available on the Internet during the past month
** Possessed a PVR.
7BCE (2015), “BCE reports second quarter 2015 results,” news release, August 6, 2015, www.bce.ca/assets/investors/financial-reporting/2015-Q2/2015q2-press-release.pdf, p. 7.
16 | Profile 2015
Exhibit 1-13 Adoption rates for alternative video technologies and services, French-language market
60
52
Personal video
recorder*
42
Watch TV
programming
on the Internet**
55
Share of total population 18+ (%)
50
42
40
39
42
39
33
Watch TV
programming
on a cellphone**
34
30
26
23
22
20
17
21
20
16
13
10
10
10
6
5
1
0
2007
2008
2009
2010
3
2
2011
5
4 4
2012
7
15
16
Watch TV
programming
on a tablet device**
15
7
8
2013
2014
Netflix
2015
Source: Media Technology Monitor.
* Possessed a PVR
** Watched a TV program or clip from a TV program available on the Internet during the past month.
While Canadians are clearly expanding their video-consumption platform options to include the Internet, actual
viewing levels suggest that traditional television remains, by far, the primary platform. In 2014, Canadians (2+)
spent an average of 27.4 hours per week watching television via traditional methods (Exhibit 1-14). This was
down from 28.5 hours in 2011, but still only slightly below the average of 27.5 hours per week observed over
the past eight years.
Meanwhile, Canadians (18+) reported that they spent, on average, 2.7 hours per week watching television on
the Internet. This is only a fraction of traditional television viewing, but is growing quickly. As recently as 2011,
the rate of use was only 0.7 hours per week. Among typical weekly users (18+) of Internet television, the average
rate of viewing climbed to seven hours per week. Once again, the rate is only about one-quarter of the rate for
traditional television viewing, but it is growing quickly. In 2013, it jumped by 70%; in 2014, it increased by 37%.
Profile 2015 | 17
Exhibit 1-14 A
verage weekly hours of television viewing in Canada, traditional television vs. Internet
television*
In 2014, Canadians (2+) spent an average of 27.4 hours per week watching television via traditional methods,
such as cable or satellite platforms. Across all adult Canadians (18+), viewing of television on the Internet
increased by 42% to 2.7 hours per week; viewing among typical Internet users (18+) increased by 37% to seven
hours per week. Both rates of television viewing on the Internet, however, may understate the overall rates, since
they exclude Canadians aged 2 to 17 — a group that is considered one of the most intensive in terms of Internet
television viewing.
Internet TV usage — typical weekly user (persons 18+)
Internet TV usage — total population (persons 18+)
Traditional television viewing* (all persons 2+)
30
28.5
28.0
26.8
26.6
28.2
27.9
27.4
26.5
Average per capita weekly hours
25
20
15
10
7.0
5.1
5
1.9
0
2.8
2.4
2.0
1.5
3.0
0.2
0.2
0.5
0.5
0.7
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
1.3
2012
1.9
2013
2.7
2014**
Source: Numeris and Media Technology Monitor (see CRTC, Communications Monitoring Report 2015, p. 93-94).
* Traditional television viewing includes television viewing via over-the-air signal reception, cable, satellite or MDS. Internet TV usage includes access by all types of
Internet-connected devices such as desktop computers, laptops, cellphones and tablets.
** Data for traditional television viewing is for 2014. Data for Internet TV usage is for spring 2015, since data was not available for 2014.
18 | Profile 2015
ECONOM IC IM PACT OF SELECTED SECTORS I N TH E
FI LM AN D TELEVISION VALU E CHAI N
Film and television production represents just one segment in the much larger film and television
value chain. The film and television production segment generates the content, while the other
segments of the value chain — from distribution through exhibition, broadcasting and broadcasting
distribution — also add economic value to this content before it reaches audiences. Distributors are
responsible for licensing films and television programs as well as marketing them to the public; they
often provide significant production financing as well. The exhibition segment provides a venue —
physical or online — where the public can discover and consume film content. The broadcasting and
broadcasting distribution segments provide both content-curation and the technology that permits
the public to discover and consume television content. In this section, we present statistics for the
economic contribution of some of these other segments of the film and television value chain.
Economic impact of selected sectors in the film and television value chain
Direct
Spin-off
Total
EMPLOYMENT (FTES)
Film and television production (2014/15)
Convergent digital media production (2014/15)
Distribution (2013)
Exhibition (2014)
Broadcasting* (2014)
Broadcasting distribution (2014)
58,400
790
1,000
7,900
5,500
29,600
90,100
830
6,000
10,300
15,500
28,000
148,500
1,620
7,000
18,200
21,000
57,600
LABOUR INCOME ($ MILLIONS)
Distribution (2013)
Exhibition (2014)
3,458
53
83
209
461
2,362
3,510
31
265
449
782
1,332
6,968
84
348
658
1,244
3,694
GDP ($ MILLIONS)
Distribution (2013)
Exhibition (2014)
3,599
55
404
396
1,639
3,866
5,346
63
464
834
1,246
2,388
8,945
119
868
1,230
2,885
6,254
Source: Nordicity estimates based on data from CRTC, Movie Theatre Association of Canada (MTAC), Cineplex Entertainment and Statistics Canada.
* Excludes in-house production.
Profile 2015 | 19
2. C
ANADIAN FILM AND TELEVISION
PRODUCTION
Canadian film and television production includes all film and television productions made by Canadian
production companies. Most Canadian production is made by independent production companies,
although broadcaster-affiliated production companies8 also account for some production in this sector.
The statistics for Canadian film and television production presented in this report cover the production
of films and television programs certified by the Canadian Audio-Visual Certification Office (CAVCO)
or the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC). This sector excludes
broadcaster in-house production: that is, television programming such as news, sports and public affairs
programming, produced by Canadian broadcasters. It also excludes any films or television programs
made by Canadians that did not receive Canadian content certification from CAVCO or the CRTC.
HIGHLIGHTS FROM 2014/15
• The volume of Canadian film and television increased by 8.7%
to $2.96 billion.
• Production of programming in the lifestyle and human
interest9 genre decreased by 13.6% to $291 million.
• Canadian film and television production generated a total of
62,100 FTEs in Canada, including 24,400 direct FTEs in cast
and crew roles on film and television projects.
• Production in the variety and performing arts (VAPA) genre
increased by 18.2% to $124 million. The French-language
market accounted for 88% of total VAPA production.
• Canadian film and television production generated GDP of
$3.7 billion for the Canadian economy, including $1.5 billion
in direct GDP and $2.2 billion in spin-off GDP.
• Production in the magazine programming genre increased by
6.5% to $93 million. The French-language market accounted
for 99% of the total volume of magazine programming
production.
• English-language production increased by 3.2% to just over
$2.1 billion.
• French-language production increased by 27.7% to $803
million.
• Canadian film and television production in the fiction genre
increased by 16.3% to over $1.6 billion.
• Children’s and youth production increased by 12.4% to
$514 million.
• Canadian animation production declined by 3.5% to
$219 million.
• Canadian film and television production by Ontario-based
producers increased by 6.7% to just under $1.3 billion or
43% of the national total.
• Canadian film and television production by Quebec-based
producers increased by 15.3% to $988 million or 33% of
the national total.
• Documentary production decreased by 8.4% to $302 million.
8Affiliated production companies are production companies in which a Canadian broadcaster owns or controls at least 30% of the voting equity.
9 Includes a small amount of programming that was previously allocated to the educational/instructional genre.
CANADIAN FILM AND TELEVISION PRODUCTION
Canadian film and television production rose by 8.7% in 2014/15, ending the year at just under $3 billion
(Exhibit 2-1). And while total volume was just shy of the record level of $3.01 billion in 2011/12, the $227 million
increase in volume was one of the strongest in the last decade. As is discussed later in this report, this growth in
television production was concentrated in two genres: fiction and children’s and youth production.
Canadian theatrical feature film production was essentially flat in 2014/15. It increased by only $6 million
to $349 million in 2014/15 (Exhibit 1-1). In relation to Canadian television production, Canadian theatrical
feature film production has been static over the past decade. However, even if production volume did not grow,
Canadian films’ share of the domestic box office was by no means static in 2014/15: it reached a seven-year
record for earnings ($16.3 million) in the English-language market, which lifted Canadian films’ share in that
language market (2%) to a seven-year high as well (Exhibit 2-97).
The overall increase in Canadian film and television production volume in 2014/15 was underpinned by
significant gains in both the fiction and children’s and youth genres
Canadian film and television production was also higher in the variety and performing arts (VAPA) and magazine
genres; however, the overall increase in production volume in 2014/15 was still underpinned by the gain in the
fiction ($229 million) and children’s and youth ($57 million) genres (Exhibits 2-5 and 2-8).
The increasing production of television series drove the gains in the fiction genre. English-language producers
turned to treaty coproduction with increased fervor in 2014 (Exhibit 2-64). And although this failed to lift the
average Canadian budgets in the genre, the international dimension of these projects meant that in many cases
their global budgets were higher than could have been achieved purely on a domestic basis. French-language
producers, on the other hand, did not appear to be using treaties but nevertheless managed to raise the average
licence fees and budgets of their fiction projects.
In the children’s and youth genre, increases in both television and theatrical feature film production contributed
to growth. Television production hit $453 million and theatrical feature film production reached $61 million
(Exhibit 2-8). International sales of Canadian children’s and youth animation series remained robust in 2014/15;
however, from a production perspective, all of the growth in the genre came from the live-action format. Series
such as Some Assembly Required, Stanley Dynamic and Max & Shred helped live action children’s and youth
production increase from $244 million to $312 million (Exhibit 2-10); animation production in the genre,
meanwhile, declined from $213 million to $201 million.
Foreign audiences and markets are increasingly seeking Canadian productions, as demonstrated by the
increasing levels of foreign and Canadian distributor financing in recent years
In recent years, we have seen the Canadian production industry become ever more focused on global markets.
The industry has had a long tradition of international sales. With the debut of Flashpoint in 2008, Canadian
drama returned to the US primetime schedule. The statistics also suggest that foreign audiences and markets are
increasingly seeking Canadian productions. Foreign financing of Canadian film and television production hit a
five-year high of $326 million and was 67% higher than it was in 2010/11 (Exhibit 2-26). Canadian distributor
financing, which also reached a five-year high of $368 million in 2014/15, is another hallmark of international
demand for Canadian films and television programs. The advances made by Canadian distribution companies — many of which are distribution arms of production companies — are often linked to their assessment
of the international sales potential of Canadian productions. Overall, the export value of Canadian film and
television — a measure of the foreign pre-sale demand for Canadian films and television programs — reached
an all-time high of $642 million in 2014/15 (Exhibit 1-5).
Private investment in Canadian production companies has accelerated in recent years and helped underwrite a spate of strategic transactions
Private investment in Canadian film and television productions has been relatively stable over the past five
years; however, private investment in Canadian production companies has definitely accelerated in recent years.
Some of Canada’s shrewdest investors have recently invested in Canadian production companies. In July 2014,
Profile 2015 | 21
one of the founders of DHX Media teamed up with private equity firm, ZM Capital, to invest in 9 Story
Entertainment.10 In July 2015, Fairfax Financial Holdings bought a stake in Temple Street Productions, producer
of the Emmy-nominated Orphan Black and Syfy series Killjoys.11 In September 2015, the Canada Pension Plan
Investment Board acquired a 17.9% stake in Entertainment One.12 These external equity investments are a vote
of confidence for these industry-leading companies and a recognition that Canadian production companies
own valuable content assets and have the creative potential to expand this portfolio of assets in the years to come.
The Canadian production sector has not only been receiving external injections of equity investment, but has
also experienced several intra-industry investments that should help position it for future growth. Entertainment
One continued to expand its portfolio of companies in 2014. In July of that year, it acquired Paperny Films, which
has been behind several of Canada’s most successful factual and lifestyle programs in recent years, including
Yukon Gold and Chopped Canada.13 In August 2014, it acquired Force Four Entertainment.14 After acquiring
Reunion Pictures in 2013 and Great Pacific Media in 2014, Thunderbird Films added Vancouver-based Atomic
Cartoons in July 2015.15 In July 2014, DHX Media completed its acquisition of Family Channel, Disney Junior
and Disney XD from Bell Media.16 With access to capital, Canadian production companies have also begun to
seek acquisitions beyond Canada’s borders. In August 2015, Toronto-based 9 Story Entertainment acquired
Dublin-based Brown Bag Films, thereby bringing several popular animation series, including Octonauts, under
its ownership.17
The capitalization and reorganization that is taking place within Canada’s film and television production industry
is timely given that production companies are going to face a number of market and regulatory challenges in the
years to come. Nearly 50% of Canadian households in the English-language market now subscribe to Netflix.
Netflix and other online subscription VOD services are rapidly becoming not only important second-window
release platforms, but also primary-release platforms and even commissioners of original content.
Although Netflix and Amazon are US-based companies, they have global ambitions and will likely be looking to
partner with producers around the world — including Canadians with experience making television programs
for diverse global audiences.
Canada’s new regulatory framework for television is expected to further fuel these overriding market trends.
Under the Let’s Talk TV policies,18 exhibition requirements will take a back seat to the expenditures requirements
meant to preserve the share of Canadian broadcasters’ spending on Canadian programming. The liberalization of
preferential access for Canadian specialty television services and the exemption from expenditure requirements
enjoyed by online subscription VOD services such as shomi and CraveTV may generate uncertainty as to the
overall level of domestic financial resources available to support the production of Canadian television programs
and films in the years to come.
10 Etan Vlessing (2014), “Neil Court and ZM Capital invest in 9 Story,” Playback, July 14, 2014.
11 Katie Bailey (2015), “Fairfax takes majority stake in Temple Street,” Playback, July 27, 2015.
12CPP Investment Board (2015), “Canada Pension Plan Investment Board to Invest £142.4 million in Entertainment One Ltd.,” Press release,
September 16, 2015.
13 Etan Vlessing (2014), “Entertainment One acquires Paperny Entertainment,” Playback, July 17, 2014.
14 Katie Bailey (2014), “eOne acquires Force Four Entertainment,” Playback, August 28, 2014.
15 Julianna Cummins (2015), “Thunderbird acquires Atomic Cartoons,” Playback, July 8, 2015.
16CRTC (2014), “Change in the effective control of Disney Junior, Disney XD and Family Channel from Bell Media Inc. to DHX Media Ltd. and licence
amendments,” Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2014-388, July 24, 2014.
17Julianna Cummins (2015), “9 Story acquires Brown Bag Films,” Playback, August 18, 2015.
18In 2015, the CRTC released four new broadcasting policies governing a wide range of consumer and industry-development issues in the Canadian
broadcasting sector. These broadcasting policy decision set out new regulations or guidelines for consumers’ choice of television services and packages,
Canadian exhibition requirements, simultaneous substitution, certification of Canadian programming and the availability of certain online VOD services.
22 | Profile 2015
TOTAL CANADIAN FILM AND TELEVISION
PRODUCTION
n
VO L U M E
Exhibit 2-1 Volume of total Canadian film and television production
The total volume of Canadian film and television production increased by 8.7% to $2.96 billion in 2014/15,
and was 31% higher than the level in 2005/06. This sharp increase in production was fueled in large part by
significant increases in fiction, and children’s and youth production, although variety and performing arts (VAPA)
and magazine genre production were also higher in 2014/15.
3,500
3,011
3,000
2,500
2,429
2,450
2,491
2006/07
2007/08
2008/09
2,403
2,437
2009/10
2010/11
2,957
2,679
2,720
2012/13
2013/14
2,256
$ millions
2,000
1,500
1,000
500
0
2005/06
2011/12
2014/15
Source: Estimates based on data collected from CAVCO.
Note: Canadian production includes CAVCO-certified film and television production, and an estimate for CRTC-certified television production. See Notes on
Methodology for additional information.
Profile 2015 | 23
C A N A D I A N P R O D U C T I O N // T OTA L C A N A D I A N P R O D U C T I O N
n
Exhibit 2-2 Number of FTEs generated by total Canadian film and television production
Canadian film and television production generated 62,100 full-time equivalent jobs (FTEs) and $3.7 billion in
gross domestic product (GDP) for the Canadian economy in 2014/15.
Direct jobs
Spin-off jobs
67,700
70,000
63,100
60,000
60,000
38,300
36,400
61,700
37,400
41,100
60,500
36,700
57,200
34,700
56,700
34,400
62,100
58,800
58,200
35,700
35,300
23,100
22,900
2012/13
2013/14
37,700
50,000
FTEs
40,000
30,000
20,000
23,600
26,600
24,800
24,300
23,800
2006/07
2007/08
2008/09
22,500
22,300
2009/10
2010/11
24,400
10,000
0
2005/06
2011/12
2014/15
Source: Estimates based on data from CAVCO, Statistics Canada and the Conference Board of Canada.
Exhibit 2-3 Summary of the economic impact of total Canadian film and television production,
2014/15
Direct
Spin-off
Total
24,400
37,700
62,100
1,478
1,466
2,945
GDP ($ millions)
1,537
2,185
3,722
Employment (FTEs)
Note: Some totals may not sum due to rounding. See Notes on Methodology for a description of methodology.
24 | Profile 2015
n
L A N G U AG E
Exhibit 2-4 Volume of total Canadian film and television production, by language
English-language production was up by 3.3% in 2014/15, while French-language production jumped by 27.7%.
English-language
French-language
Bilingual and other
3,500
3,011
3,000
34
2,500
$ millions
2,000
1,500
2,429
2,256
53
29
660
2,491
2,450
18
42
672
634
2,403
18
676
2,437
716
26
658
10
11
15
803
679
629
2,679
2,260
572
1,631
2,957
2,720
1,990
1,739
1,774
1,801
2006/07
2007/08
2008/09
1,710
1,753
2009/10
2010/11
2,075
2,143
1,000
500
0
2005/06
2011/12
2012/13
2013/14
2014/15
Profile 2015 | 25
FARPOI NT FI LMS
A REG IONAL PRODUCER HAVI NG DOM ESTIC AN D I NTERNATIONAL SUCCESS
WITH ITS TELEVISION AN D FEATU RE LENGTH FI LM WORK.
Farpoint Films is a film, television and digital media production company based in Winnipeg, cofounded by Gemini-nominated producer, Kyle Bornais, and award-winning director, John Barnard. It is
a regional production company with offices in Manitoba and Ontario that has seen its reach into the
international market and feature length productions grow, alongside critical acclaim. Throughout its
growth, Farpoint has been a leader in featuring Aboriginal stories and creators in its productions.
Known increasingly for its unscripted, original lifestyle productions, 2014 saw the sale of their show,
The Illegal Eater, into more than 100 countries, as well as garner a Rockie Award for Best Lifestyle
Series at the 2014 Banff World Media Festival. Hosted by the former frontman of the Barenaked Ladies,
singer/songwriter, Steven Page, The Illegal Eater follows him across North America visiting underground,
and often illegal, eateries. The series also received two Canadian Screen Awards nominations (Best
Lifestyle or Talk Program or Series and Best Writing in a Lifestyle or Reality/Competition Program
or Series). In 2015, Farpoint created and produced Escape or Die!, a documentary series following
Manitoba’s world famous escape artist Dean Gunnarson in his attempts at dangerous escapes around
the world, including China, Iceland, Malaysia, Colombia and India, where the series recently started
airing on Discovery.
Over the past few years Farpoint has been regularly honoured for its work in film and television. In
2013, John Barnard won a Best Directing of a Feature Documentary award at the Tenerife International
Film Festival for The Sheepdogs Have At It. Currently, the documentary, which follows Canadian rock
band, The Sheepdogs, as they record their sophomore album, is available for purchase on iTunes and
outside of Canada on Vimeo On Demand. In 2014, Farpoint received a Golden Sheaf Award at the
Yorkton Film Festival for Best Documentary Series for The Medicine Line. The series, which aired on
the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network, told stories from both sides of the Canada-US border (the
eponymous Medicine Line) and drew upon the host’s First Nations heritage.
Farpoint has also been active in producing feature films. Menorca, written and directed by Barnard,
wrapped production in September 2015 with filming taking place on location in both Manitoba and
Spain. Now in post-production, the film has been picked up for distribution in Canada by IndieCan
Entertainment, following the successful collaboration on The Sheepdogs Have At It. Currently, Farpoint
has a number of projects in development, including the Winnipeg-set graphic novel, Stripmalling,
optioned in 2014, and a one-hour television series, Ordinary Criminal, with Fox Television Studios,
which is based on a novel by the late Manitoba writer Michael Van Rooy. Also in development is a
half-hour animated series with Warner Brothers Animation, created by Winnipeg ex-pat Collin Friesen.
26 | Profile 2015
n
GENRES
Fiction (drama and comedy)
Exhibit 2-5 Volume of Canadian fiction production
The volume of fiction production increased by 16.3% to just over $1.6 billion in 2014/15, as an $18 million
decrease in theatrical feature film production was offset by a $247 million increase in television production.
Theatrical feature films
Television
2,000
1,633
1,502
1,500
277
1,194
$ millions
356
1,233
1,224
282
297
1,183
1,172
305
226
952
928
945
2006/07
2007/08
2008/09
355
280
1,404
298
1,181
291
879
890
2009/10
2010/11
1,353
1,225
1,000
838
1,464
1,108
1,106
2012/13
2013/14
500
0
2005/06
2011/12
2014/15
Exhibit 2-6 Volume of Canadian fiction production, by language, 2014/15
Other languages
<1%
$1 million
$1,284 million
English-language
79%
$349 million
French-language
21%
Note: Total may not sum due to rounding.
Profile 2015 | 27
Exhibit 2-7 Number and share of Canadian fiction projects, by type, 2014/15
23%
77
Other TV programming*
37%
Total number
of projects:
335
123
135
TV series
40%
* Other TV programming category includes movies-of-the-week (MOWs), mini-series, single-episode programming and pilots.
Children’s and Youth
Exhibit 2-8 Volume of Canadian children’s and youth production
Children’s and youth production experienced its second consecutive year-over-year gain in excess of 10% in
2014/15. Increases in both television and theatrical feature film production pushed children’s and youth
production up by 12.5% to a 10-year high of $514 million.
Television
600
514
483
500
457
45
419
$ millions
400
307
300
369
367
1
6
324
361
13
40
37
370
22
438
16
379
352
333
453
420
14
348
318
311
306
61
200
100
0
2005/06
2006/07
2007/08
2008/09
28 | Profile 2015
2009/10
2010/11
2011/12
2012/13
2013/14
2014/15
Exhibit 2-9 Volume of Canadian children’s and youth production, by language, 2014/15
Bilingual and other
1%
$7 million
English-language
79%
$407 million
$100 million
French-language
19%
Film and television production can be grouped into two categories: live action and animation. A more detailed
look at the breakdown of children’s and youth production reveals that a large share of the English-language
production can be traced back to the fact that most animation production in the genre is originally produced
in English.
Exhibit 2-10 Volume of Canadian children’s and youth production, by language and category
The increase in the total volume of children’s and youth production in 2014/15 was driven by higher levels of
live action production. This form of production increased by $68 million, or 27.8%. In contrast, the total volume
of animation production in the children’s and youth genre actually decreased by $11 million, or 5.3%. The vast
majority of this decrease in children’s and youth animation production was concentrated in English-language
production. Children’s and youth animation production made in French actually increased, albeit from $2 million
to $5 million.
2013/14
2014/15
Live Action
Animation
Total
Live Action
Animation
Total
English-language
177
208
385
211
196
407
French-language
64
2
66
94
5
99
$ millions
Bilingual and other
Total
3
3
6
7
0
7
244
212
457
312
201
514
Note: Some totals do not sum due to rounding.
Profile 2015 | 29
Exhibit 2-11 Number and share of children’s and youth projects, by type, 2014/15
17%
28
TV series
77%
Total number
of projects:
169
130
11
7%
* Other TV programming category includes MOWs, mini-series, single-episode programming and pilots.
Animation
Exhibit 2-12 Total volume of Canadian animation production†
Animation production, across all genres, decreased by 3.5% to $219 million in 2014/15, but was just above the
10-year annual average of $211 million.
300
255
250
255
220
212
200
220
212
194
227
223
217
194
194
$ millions
227
223
217
219
219
194
151
150
151
100
50
0
2005/06
2006/07
2007/08
2008/09
Includes television and theatrical production.
†
30 | Profile 2015
2009/10
2010/11
2011/12
2012/13
2013/14
2014/15
Exhibit 2-13 Volume of Canadian animation production, by genre, 2014/15†
The children’s and youth genre accounted for 92% of total Canadian animation production in 2014/15. Englishlanguage production accounted for 89% of total television animation production in 2014/15.
Children’s
and youth
92%
$201 million
Total animation
production:
$219 million
$18 million
Other genres*
8%
Includes television and theatrical production.
* Other genres category includes production in the documentary, VAPA, and educational/instructional genres.
†
Exhibit 2-14 Volume of Canadian animation television production, by language
2005/06
2006/07
2007/08
2008/09
2009/10
2010/11
2011/12
2012/13
2013/14
2014/15
Englishlanguage
183
223
192
171
178
134
177
147
205
179
Frenchlanguage
15
23
16
18
35
9
23
12
8
23
($ millions)
Bilingual
and other
Total
13
4
12
4
3
2
1
2
3
0
210
249
220
193
216
145
201
161
216
202
Profile 2015 | 31
9 STORY M EDIA G ROU P
FORG I NG I NTERNATIONAL PARTN ERSH I PS TO BRI NG CANADIAN AN IMATION
PROG RAMM I NG TO AU DI ENCES AROU N D TH E WORLD
Founded in 2002, 9 Story Media Group (“9 Story”) is one of the world’s leading content creators
and distributor of kids & family focused intellectual property. Recognized around the world for bestin-class brands such as Daniel Tiger’s Neighbourhood, Wild Kratts and Peg + Cat, 9 Story employs
over 450 creative and production staff across Toronto, Dublin, Manchester and Los Angeles. Today,
the company has produced over 1,800 half hours and distributes over 2,150 half hours of quality
children’s programming.
International coproduction has been one of the hallmarks of 9 Story’s corporate and creative
development. The company produced its very first series, Peep in the Big Wide World, with WGBH
Boston. It premiered in 2004 and ran for 55 episodes until 2011, winning two Daytime Emmy Awards
one Gemini Award along the way. 9 Story has also found a strong partner in The Fred Rogers Company,
with which it co-produces two hit preschool shows: Daniel Tiger’s Neighbourhood and Peg + Cat. Daniel
Tiger’s Neighbourhood is the winner of multiple awards including the 2013 Shaw Rocket Prize, and a
2015 Parents’ Choice Award, while Peg + Cat has garnered multiple Daytime Emmy Awards including
Outstanding Preschool Children’s Animation in 2014.
9 Story also distributes its programs, along with other third party productions, to the international
market. The company distributes content to over 200 broadcasters and digital platforms in virtually
every territory in the world. Popular shows like Wild Kratts and Peg + Cat now air in over 180 countries
around the world.
The company’s rebranding from 9 Story Entertainment to 9 Story Media Group in 2014 reinforced the
importance of production and distribution alongside the creation of original content. In August 2015,
9 Story acquired Brown Bag Films, an Irish animation studio. Brown Bag’s awarding-winning work in
3D animation complements 9 Story’s rich tradition of 2D animation and positions it to continue its
expansion into the European market.
9 Story has also expanded across new platforms and services. In the summer of 2015, American
commercial-free streaming service Hulu Kids picked up the rights to three children’s animation series
created by 9 Story. As well as providing content for subscription VOD, 9 Story has partnered with Hit
Entertainment, the preschool entertainment arm of Mattel Toys, to relaunch two iconic preschool TV
brands: Barney and Friends (which ran from 1992-2009), and Angelina Ballerina (which ran from 20012006). 9 Story and Hit Entertainment are working on new episodes for each show, which are set to
air in 2017. In the meantime, 9 Story continues to create, produce and distribute high quality family
entertainment that fuels its growth in Asia, Europe and North America.
32 | Profile 2015
Documentar y
Exhibit 2-15 Total volume of documentary production
Lower levels of both television and theatrical feature film production pushed the total volume of documentary
production down by 8.5% to a 10-year low of $302 million in 2014/15.
Television
500
384
400
360
10
4
$ millions
300
421
427
12
11
408
416
387
363
18
374
356
345
344
9
14
335
330
373
4
7
331
323
335
302
5
297
200
100
0
2005/06
2006/07
2007/08
2008/09
2009/10
2010/11
2011/12
2012/13
2013/14
2014/15
Exhibit 2-16 V olume of documentary
production, by language,
2014/15
Exhibit 2-17 N
umber and share of
documentary projects, by type,
2014/15
English-language
68%
59%
239
$204 million
Total number
of projects:
408
$96 million
13
$2 million
Bilingual and other
1%
French-language
32%
Theatrical
feature films
3%
156
TV series
38%
* Other TV programming category includes movies-of-the-week (MOWs), miniseries, single-episode programming and pilots.
Profile 2015 | 33
Lifestyle and human interest 19
Exhibit 2‑18 Total volume of lifestyle and human interest production, by language
Lower levels of English-language production in the lifestye and human interest genres pushed overall production
in this genre down by 13.6% to $291 million in 2014/15.
English-language
French-language
400
385
7
350
89
300
258
336
337
64
57
280
272
9
59
200
291
58
289
250
$ millions
Bilingual and other
234
191
150
100
50
0
2010/11
2011/12
2012/13
2013/14
2014/15
Exhibit 2‑19 Number and share of lifestyle and human interest genre projects, by type, 2014/15
TV series
93%
135
10
7%
Total number
of projects:
145
* Other TV programming category includes MOWs, mini-series, single-episode programming and pilots.
19 Includes a small amount of programming that was previously allocated to the educational/instructional genre.
34 | Profile 2015
Variety and Performing Arts
Exhibit 2-20 Total volume of VAPA production
After falling by 9.6% in 2013/14, production of VAPA programming recovered by 19.2% to $124 million in
2014/15. Despite this recovery, production activity was still weak by historical standards: it was still below the
10-year annual average of $141 million.
200
190
190
$ millions
150
157
157
142
142
173
173
160
160
133
133
117
117
115
115
100
124
124
104
104
50
0
2005/06
2006/07
2007/08
2008/09
2009/10
2010/11
2011/12
2012/13
2013/14
2014/15
Exhibit 2‑21 Volume of variety and performing
arts production, by language, 2014/15
English-language
11%
Exhibit 2‑22 Number and share of variety and
performing arts projects, by type, 2014/15
Other
TV programming*
41%
$14 million
34
Total number
of projects:
83
$109 million
French-language
88%
49
TV series
59%
* Other TV programming category includes single-episode television
programming, mini-series and television pilots.
Profile 2015 | 35
Magazine Programming
The total volume of magazine programming increased by 5.7% in 2014/15, but was still approximately 40% lower
than the levels reached between 2005/06 and 2007/08.
Exhibit 2-23 Total volume of magazine programming production
180
160
163
163
158
158
154
154
140
117
117
$ millions
120
100
110
110
86
86
80
97
97
93
93
88
88
93
93
60
40
20
0
2005/06
2006/07
2007/08
2008/09
2009/10
2010/11
2011/12
2012/13
2013/14
2014/15
Exhibit 2-24 Volume of magazine programming production, by language
In 2014/15, the French-language market accounted for 99% of the production of magazine programming in
Canada. The only other production activity in this genre was confined to the bilingual and other languages category.
160
158
Bilingual and other
3
140
English-language
119
117
120
3
100
$ millions
French-language
110
86
91
93
86
80
85
97
82
88
87
67
93
1
92
60
40
35
20
0
2007/08
22
24
2008/09
2009/10
36 | Profile 2015
18
2010/11
8
2011/12
15
1
1
2012/13
2013/14
2014/15
n
Exhibit 2-25 Volume of Canadian film and television production, by province and territory
($ millions)
2014/15
share of
2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15
total
Ontario
934
824
937
1,005
1,035
1,114
1,475
1,229
1,195
1,276
43%
Quebec
821
882
836
861
907
838
907
849
857
988
33%
British Columbia
17%
302
440
421
340
221
272
376
417
424
496
Alberta
38
59
89
92
82
64
68
58
71
79
3%
Manitoba
33
72
38
40
44
39
50
31
32
43
1%
Nova Scotia
58
75
50
57
53
40
55
43
72
40
1%
Newfoundland
and Labrador
15
2
7
6
31
33
34
32
36
23
1%
New Brunswick
10
10
16
14
14
8
15
9
11
7
<1%
Saskatchewan
38
58
51
73
15
27
28
10
18
4
<1%
3
3
1
1
2
1
1
2
2
0
0%
Territories*
Prince Edward
Island
Total
3
2
5
0
0
0
3
0
0
0
0%
2,256
2,429
2,450
2,491
2,403
2,437
3,011
2,679
2,720
2,957
100%
Note: Statistics published by provincial funding agencies may differ from those in Profile 2015. Please see Notes on Methodology for additional information. Some
totals may not sum due to rounding.
* Territories include Yukon, Nunavut and Northwest Territories.
Profile 2015 | 37
n
FINANCING
The financing for Canadian film and television production draws upon a variety of private and public sources. In
2014/15, 49% of total financing came from purely private sector sources, including Canadian and foreign broadcasters and distributors; 41% of total financing came from public sources which includes public broadcasters;
and 10% of total financing came from the CMF, a public-private partnership.
Exhibit 2-26 Financing for Canadian film and television production
From a financing perspective, approximately three-fifths of the growth in production volume in 2014/15 was
fueled by increases in private sector funding from Canadian broadcasters, Canadian distributors and other
Canadian private sector sources.
2010/11
$ millions
2011/12
% $ millions
2012/13
% $ millions
2013/14
% $ millions
2014/15
% $ millions
%
Private broadcaster licence fees
500
21
572
19
494
18
442
16
488
Public broadcaster licence fees
179
7
221
7
225
8
261
10
253
17
9
Federal tax credits
235
10
299
10
263
10
278
10
300
10
Provincial tax credits
430
18
561
19
492
18
516
19
546
18
Canadian distributors
225
9
357
12
290
11
292
11
368
12
Foreign
195
8
280
9
253
9
322
12
326
11
Canada Media Fund
282
12
303
10
300
11
282
10
286
10
Telefilm - CFFF
67
3
60
2
66
2
60
2
58
2
Other public*
68
3
60
2
54
2
27
1
67
2
Other private**
Total
254
10
298
10
241
9
240
9
264
9
2,437
100
3,011
100
2,678
100
2,720
100
2,957
100
Source: Estimates based on data obtained from CAVCO, CMF and Telefilm Canada.
* Other public includes financing from provincial governments, and other government departments and agencies.
** Other private includes financing from production companies (excluding the tax credit contribution), independent production funds, broadcaster equity and other
Canadian private investors.
38 | Profile 2015
THU N DERBI RD FI LMS
Founded in 2003, Vancouver-based Thunderbird Films has offices in Los Angeles, London and
Toronto. In recent years Thunderbird has strategically repositioned itself, moving from an independent
producer with a primary focus in rights management to an integrated multiplatform media production,
distribution and rights management company — a move that accelerated in 2014/15.
Current board director, Frank Giustra took a major stake in 2012, investing in Thunderbird in a move
to take the independent producer deeper into television production. This was rapidly advanced by the
establishment, in 2012, of Sea to Sky Entertainment, a 50-50 joint venture with Lionsgate (which
Giustra founded). Since its launch, Sea to Sky Entertainment has been creating content for the US
and International markets.
In 2013, Thunderbird further expanded its portfolio with the acquisition of Vancouver-based production
company, Reunion Pictures. Through this acquisition, Thunderbird added more television-drama content,
such as Continuum, which airs on Showcase and SyFy, to its existing library of better-known children’s
and youth series, such as Mr. Young and Some Assembly Required, which was launched as a Netflix
original in 2015.
After a spate of horizontal expansion (i.e. acquisitions of other independent production companies),
Thunderbird embarked on some vertical expansion (i.e. acquisition of distribution assets) in 2014,
with the acquisition of UK-based Soda Pictures. With Soda Pictures under its ownership, Thunderbird
can bring UK art house and independent feature films into Canada, and also has a vehicle through
which it can release new content in Canada, the UK and Ireland.
Thunderbird’s next step in late 2014 moved it deeper into the factual/reality television market, with
the acquisition of Great Pacific Media, which specializes in the development, production and financing
of factual, documentary and reality television and has programs airing in 170 countries. This move
has launched Thunderbird into the international market for reality and lifestyle television formats;
previously, it had been primarily focused on scripted content. The acquisition of Great Pacific Media
also added technical capabilities to Thunderbird’s portfolio, with additional post-production and studio
facilities in Vancouver.
In July 2015, Thunderbird further expanded its genre coverage, with the acquisition of Vancouverbased animation company, Atomic Cartoons. This addition has strengthened Thunderbird’s position
in the children’s and youth market, by bringing several internationally popular series, such as Pirate
Express, Nico Can Dance and Atomic Betty, under its ownership. The last of which has aired in more
than 180 territories and received numerous awards.
Thunderbird Films now has a hub of Vancouver-based businesses that provide capacity and produce
content extending or reinforcing its reach into various markets, as well as channelling UK content into
the Canadian market.
Profile 2015 | 39
n
A U D I OV I S U A L T R E AT Y C O P RO D U C T I O N 2 0
The Government of Canada currently has audiovisual coproduction treaties with 54 partner countries. A list
of partner countries can be found on Telefilm Canada’s web site at www.telefilm.ca/en/coproductions/coproductions/agreements. These treaties offer Canadian and foreign producers the opportunity to combine their
creative, technical and financial resources to make audiovisual treaty coproductions that could be granted
national production status in each of the partnering countries. Audiovisual treaty coproductions that obtain
national production status enable Canadian producers to access incentives available in Canada for eligible Canadian expenses. It also enables foreign producers to access their own country’s incentives, if any, for the foreign
portion of the budget. Partnering production companies can take either a majority or minority participation
position in an audiovisual treaty coproduction depending on the proportion of financing each producer brings
to the project.
Exhibit 2-27 Total volume* and activity of audiovisual treaty coproduction
Higher levels of audiovisual treaty coproduction volumes in the English-language market, particularly in the
television sub-sector helped Canada’s overall volume of treaty coproduction to increase by 20% to $535 million
in 2014. The number of projects was also higher in 2014, increasing from 63 to 68; however, Canada’s share of
the total volume in 2014 declined from 52% to 47%.
Foreign share of budgets
Number of projects
Canadian share of budgets
700
87
600
500
$ millions
66
69
68
64
63
56
400
Total global budgets
300
464
560
351
178 173
607
452
232
189
63
56
328
275
200
62
481
249
246
206
232
463
244
291
535
316
459
232 227
219
446
213
233
282
253
100
0
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
Source: Telefilm Canada.
Note: Statistics as of September 2015.
* The total volume of coproduction refers to the value of total global budgets for coproduction projects. The total volume of production includes the financial
participation of Canadian producers (i.e. Canadian share of budgets) and foreign producers (i.e. foreign share of budgets).
20The Canadian share of total audiovisual treaty coproduction volume (or the Canadian share of total global budgets for coproductions) is already included in
production volume figures throughout this report.
40 | Profile 2015
Exhibit 2-28 Total volume and activity of audiovisual treaty coproduction, English-language production
The total volume of English-language audiovisual treaty coproduction increased by 12% to $490 million in 2014,
even though the number of projects remained unchanged at 54. The Canadian share of budgets, meanwhile,
decreased slightly — from 51% to 49%.
Number of projects
600
61
500
54
52
48
$ millions
400
44
46
43
42
46
42
300
514
381
461
364
202
268
148
156
490
284
426
259
225
200
100
54
191
225
201
401
230
205 196
402
201 201
436
212
224
257
233
173
120
0
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
Profile 2015 | 41
Exhibit 2-29 Total volume and activity of audiovisual treaty coproduction, French-language production
The total volume of French-language audiovisual treaty coproduction increased by 50% in 2014 to $45 million,
as the number of projects increased from 9 to 14. The Canadian share of treaty coproduction budgets also
increased in 2014 — from 33% to 44%.
Number of projects
140
26
120
22
22
100
$ millions
80
17
17
16
14
14
13
99
60
70
84
59
88
84
62
35
20
61
55
48
40
9
93
25
55
30
33
57
40
32
31
24
32
25
22
30
20
45
25
20
10
0
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
Note: Statistics as of September 2015. Some totals may not sum due to rounding.
42 | Profile 2015
2011
2012
2013
2014
Exhibit 2-30 Audiovisual treaty coproduction, majority* vs. minority Canadian production
Canada was a majority (or equal) partner for 29 of its 68 audiovisual treaty coproduction projects in 2014. These
29 majority projects accounted for 51% of the total volume of Canada’s audiovisual treaty coproduction in 2014.
(i.e. total global budgets)
Majority*
Number of projects
Majority*
Minority
Minority
700
40
600
40
42
44
43
500
$ millions
400
27
24
27
26
369
300
268
257
224
191
175 176
34
26
28
29
29
353
334
200
34
30
29
26
39
37
218
246
255
269
274
256
210
190
184
261
131
100
0
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
* Includes equal-participation projects.
Exhibit 2-31 Audiovisual treaty coproduction partner countries, 2005-2014
Between 2005 and 2014, Canada’s audiovisual treaty coproduction activity was highest with France and the
United Kingdom. Other major coproduction partner countries included Germany, Australia and Ireland.
Canadian share
of budgets
$M
Number of projects
Total volume ($M)
France
United Kingdom
Germany
Australia
Ireland
Brazil
Israel
205
188
33
29
20
11
10
1,484
969
612
169
445
52
12
716
500
334
87
129
24
6
48
52
54
52
29
46
48
%
Singapore
South Africa
Belgium
Philippines
Other bipartite
Multipartite*
Total
9
9
8
8
81
43
654
58
80
33
43
401
481
4,839
34
37
13
32
223
144
2,279
59
46
40
75
56
30
47
Statistics as of September 2015.
* Multipartite production includes audiovisual treaty coproduction projects where Canada has two or more partner countries.
Profile 2015 | 43
C A N A D I A N P R O D U C T I O N // T E L E V I S I O N P R O D U C T I O N
DISTRI BUTION SECTOR
Canada’s distribution sector includes both Canadian-controlled and foreign-controlled companies that
distribute film and television content through theatres, television broadcasters, DVD wholesaling and
other video platforms. Some of the leading Canadian-controlled distribution companies include eOne
Distribution and Mongrel Media. The foreign-controlled distribution companies operating in Canada
include the distribution arms of major Hollywood studios.
In recent years, distribution companies in Canada have experienced a significant decline in revenue
from the wholesaling of pre-recorded video (i.e. DVDs) as consumer demand for this medium has fallen.
Distribution companies in Canada have, however, been able to maintain their level of revenue from the
distribution of film and television content. In 2013, the majority of this revenue (60%), in fact, came from
the distribution of film and television programming to Canadian broadcasters and VOD services.
Total revenue in the Canadian distribution sector
In 2013, distribution companies operating in Canada earned total revenue of $1.78 billion.21
2,500
$ millions
2,000
1,500
Distribution of film and TV content
Other revenue
1,819
30
842
1,000
2,047
1,975
42
787
1,146
Wholesaling of pre-recorded videos
1,968
39
25
763
636
1,855
1,784
39
8
546
508
1,245
1,306
1,270
1,268
2009
2010
2011
2013
948
500
0
2007
2008
Source: Statistics Canada, CANSIM 361-0056.
Revenue from distribution of film and television content, by market, 2013
The majority of distribution sector revenue in Canada (60%) in 2013 was earned from the distribution of films
and television programs on Canadian television and VOD platforms.
$365 million
$121 million
$766 million
Canadian TV
(including VOD)
60%
$16 million
Canadian theatrical
29%
Foreign markets
10%
Other Canadian
platforms
1%
Source: Statistics Canada, CANSIM 361-0055.
21 2013 is the most recent year of data published by Statistics Canada for the film and video distribution sector.
44 | Profile 2015
TELEVISION PRODUCTION
Canadian television production includes the production of television series, mini-series, TV movies (including
MOWs and other feature-length television programs), single-episode television programming and television pilots.
It consists of productions that are certified as Canadian content by either the Canadian Audio-visual Certification
Office (CAVCO) or the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC).
Television production is produced across various genres, including fiction (i.e., drama and comedy), children’s and
youth, documentary, lifestyle and human interest, magazine programming, and variety and performance arts (VAPA).
This sector excludes broadcaster in-house production, that is, television programming such as news, sports and
public affairs programming produced by Canadian broadcasters.22
• Canadian television production increased by 9.8%, to
$2.6 billion.
• Canadian television production from Ontario-based producers
totalled $1.17 billion or 45% of the national total.
• Canadian television production generated a total of 54,700
FTEs, including 21,500 direct FTEs in the production of
Canadian television programs.
• Canadian television production from Quebec-based producers
increased to a 10-year high of $810 million and accounted
for 31% of the national total.
• Canadian television series production increased in terms of
both number of series (671 to 700) and production volume
($2.02 billion to $2.27 billion).
• Canadian broadcasters’ licence fees accounted for 21% of
total financing for English-language television production
and 49% of total financing for French-language television
production.
• English-language television production volume increased by
5.2%; French-language television production was up by 26%.
• The average budget for English-language fiction programming
remained slightly under $1.3 million per hour. Average hourly
budgets were higher in the fiction and documentary genres,
and lower in the children’s and youth, lifestyle and human
interest, and VAPA genres.
• The average per-hour broadcast licence fee for Englishlanguage Canadian fiction productions fell to $150,000; for
French-language productions, the average jumped by 77% to
$205,000 per hour.
• In the French-language market, the average budget for fiction
programming increased by $185,000 to $597,000 per hour.
Average hourly budgets were also higher in the children’s and
youth, lifestyle and human interest, and magazine genres, but
lower in the documentary and VAPA genres.
• The Canada Media Fund (CMF) made financial contributions
of $286 million to support $1.19 billion in television
production volume — and thereby accounted for 24% of these
projects’ total financing.
• Canadian budgets for English-language treaty coproductions
in the television sub-sector increased by 34% to $119
million in 2014; Canadian budgets for French-language treaty
coproduction totalled $3 million in 2014.
• Eight of the top 10 Canadian television series during the 2015
broadcast year were in the French-language market.
• Canadian programming accounted for 56% of total viewing
in the French-language market during the 2014 broadcast
year; in the English-language market, Canadian programming
accounted for 28%.
22 Statistics for the volume of broadcaster in-house production can be found in Section 4 of this report.
Profile 2015 | 45
After dropping from a 10-year peak in 2011/12, Canadian television production has been growing steadily over
the past two years. It posted a 3% increase in volume in 2013/14, and in 2014/15, it rose by 9.8% to just over
$2.6 billion (Exhibit 2-32). This strong growth in 2014/15 was largely driven by higher production of television
series (Exhibit 2-34). Television-movie production was higher in 2014/15, as was the production of children’s
and youth programming. However, it was the production of fiction television series that really propelled the
gains in Canadian television production in 2014/15. Across all genres, the number of television series produced
in Canada increased from 671 in 2013/14 to 700 in 2014/15 (Exhibit 2-35). This larger slate of series production
was accompanied by an additional $243 million in production volume, bringing the total volume of television
series production to just under $2.3 billion.
Unlike previous years, the gains in both fiction production and children’s and youth production was felt in both
language markets. On an overall basis, English-language television production increased by 5.2% to $1.89 billion
(Exhibit 2-40). French-language television production, however, was up by 26% in 2014/15 and reached a 10‑year
high of $707 million.
The production of more fiction television series drove most of the gains in the volume of English-language
television production in 2014/15
For English-language television production, the gains were almost entirely in the fiction genre, although the
children’s and youth genre also experienced a moderate gain in volume. The average budget for English-language
television fiction production stayed under $1.3 million per hour in 2014/15 (Exhibit 2-38). The return of longrunning series such as Rookie Blue, Orphan Black and Saving Hope, combined with new series such as Killjoys,
helped to lift total volume by 19.4% to just shy of $1.1 billion (Exhibit 2-42).
The increase in the volume of English-language fiction series production reflects a number of market trends —
some global and some unique to Canada. On a worldwide basis there has been a resurgence in scripted drama
and comedy. This renaissance in the production of scripted programming is borne out by the year-over-year
increases in the output of scripted series. The annual number of scripted series commissioned by US networks
and cable channels is expected to exceed 400 in 2015 — up from 370 in 2014 and nearly double the level
in 2009.23 The resurgence in scripted drama appears to have spilled over into Canada. As online and SVOD
platforms such as Netflix and Amazon move into the production of original programming — typically scripted
programming — they too are looking for partners. Canadian producers are among these partners. On the
domestic front, meanwhile, many Canadian broadcasters are investing in scripted series as part of strategy to
establish strong brands for their specialty television services ahead of the introduction of pick-and-pay and
build-your-own-package privileges for Canadian BDU subscribers in 2016.
Treaty coproduction has long been an avenue for Canadian film producers to access larger budgets. However, in
recent years, treaty coproduction has played a much more prominent role in the television market, as producers
pursue larger-budget television dramas. This market trend was at the forefront in 2014/15. The Canadian
budgets for fiction production in the television sub-sector (a proxy for volume) increased from $104 million
to $219 million (Exhibit 2-64). Most of this gain was in the English-language market as French-language treaty
coproduction across all genres was up by only $2 million in 2014 (Exhibit 2-66). Returning series such as Vikings
(Canada-Ireland) and Transporter: The Series (Canada-France) were joined by new big-budget projects such
as Versailles (Canada-France) to raise treaty coproduction activity and overall fiction series production in the
English-language market.
A large part of the gains in French-language television production were due to sharply higher average
budgets for fiction programming in 2014/15
Preliminary data suggest that fiction series production in the French-language market sought higher screen
values than in previous years. The volume of French-language fiction production was up by 40% to a 10-year
peak of $268 million (Exhibit 2-42). A lot of this increase in volume was tied to a 45% increase in average
budgets. The average budget jumped from $411,000 in 2013/14 to $597,000 in 2014/15 (Exhibit 2-39). And while
23Megan Garber, David Sims, Lenika Cruz and Sophie Gilbert (2015), “Have We Reached ‘Peak TV’?,” The Atlantic, August 12, 2015; Alan Sepinwall (2015),
“‘Peak TV in America’: Is there really too much good scripted television?,” Hitfix, August 18, 2015.
46 | Profile 2015
this was not a record level, it was high by historical standards. High-budget drama series such as Unité 9 and 19-2
helped lift fiction spending levels. The tangible benefits package associated with Bell Media’s purchase of Astral
Media also kicked in during 2014/15. The majority of these benefits were earmarked for the French-language
market, and thereby injected some additional financial resources into French-language production in 2014/15.
Indeed, under this program of tangible benefits, Super Écran started commissioning drama series for the first
time, including Cardinal.
Children’s and youth production hit a 10-year record in 2014/15, with increases in both languages
Children’s and youth television production increased by 7.9% to a 10-year record of $453 million in 2014/15
(Exhibit 2-36). Both English- and French-language production contributed to this increase. As noted earlier
in this report, all of the gains in the children’s and youth genre were linked to higher levels of live action production. Although the Canadian production community boasts several successful animation series, including
Camp Lakebottom, Nerds and Monsters and Peg + Cat, the total volume of animation production in the genre
actually declined in 2014/15.
The shift towards live action children’s and youth programing can be attributed to a couple of factors. The
Canadian production sector has matured to a point where it can produce live action programming that matches
the quality coming out of Disney or Nickelodeon. Global toy brands are increasingly getting into animation
production themselves, thereby squeezing out the independent sector. Broadcasters, meanwhile, are cycling
through programing more quickly. This type of market dynamic works against animation which has a production
cycle of 18-24 months, compared to 12 months for live action programming.
Production in the documentary and lifestyle and human interest24 genres was down slightly in 2014/15 (Exhibit
2-36). Indeed, production in the documentary genre was at its lowest level in 10 years. According to Canadian
broadcasters, there has been a shift in recent years away from point-of-view documentaries to more docusoaps.
Despite those declining levels of production volume, both genres yielded a number of popular series and one-off
programs. Notable documentary programming included The Skyjacker’s Tale and Tessa & Scott and Cold Water
Boys. Popular lifestyle series included The Liquidator and Selling Big. Indeed, these Canadian lifestyle series and
other titles such as Anna and Kristina’s Grocery Bag, Last Car Standing, Justin’s Cabin Pressure continued to sell
well on international markets in 2014/15.
The international and domestic appeal of Canadian television programming remained strong in 2014/15:
foreign financing was higher while domestic audience levels were relatively stable
The international appeal of Canadian television programming was evident in the production financing statistics.
Foreign financing hit a five-year high of $266 million in 2014/15 (Exhibit 2-45). As in previous years, virtually
all of the foreign pre-sale demand was in the English-language market. However, producers in Canada’s Frenchlanguage market continued to excel at format sales, which do not show up in the pre-sale financing statistics. In
October 2014, Montreal-based Pixcom sold the format rights to its drama series, Apparences, to producers in
the US and France.25 In 2014/15, Canadian distributor financing — a proxy for foreign demand for Canadian
programming — approached the level it reached during the 2011/12 spike year. Canadian producers and distributors are also making more and more sales to international online services. In June 2014, the First Nations
drama series, Blackstone — written, directed and produced by Canadian Ron E. Scott — was licensed to Hulu
in the US.26
The domestic appeal of Canadian television programming also remained stable during the 2015 broadcast year
(September 1, 2014 to August 31, 2015). All of the top-10 programs in the French-language market posted
average minute audience (AMA) levels in excess of one million (Exhibit 2-69). In the English-language market,
five television shows surpassed the one-million-AMA threshold in 2015 (Exhibit 2-71), down from six programs
24The statistics for the lifestyle and human interest genre presented in this report also include a small allocation of television production that was in the
educational/instructional genre.
25 Julianna Cummins (2014), “Pixcom sells format option for Appearances,” Playback, October 20, 2014.
26 Etan Vlessing (2014), “Why Blackstone on Hulu raises the bar for Canadian TV,” Playback, June 5, 2014.
Profile 2015 | 47
in 2014. Canadian programs continued to hold two positions among the overall 10 programs on Canadian
television (including American programs) in 2015 (Exhibit 2-68).
International demand was only part of the growth story in 2014/15. In addition to the Canadian broadcasters’
ongoing Canadian programming expenditure (CPE) requirements, a combination of financial resources generated by tangible benefits packages are starting to work their way through the system. According to Boon Dog
Professional Services Inc., the total on-screen spending from tangible benefits packages was approximately $125
million during the 2013/14 broadcasting year.27 This represented a 25% increase from the year before.
Boon Dog Professional Services also reports that some $420 million in tangible benefits are slated to be spent
by 2021.28 This level suggests that tangible benefits spending would average $60 to $70 million annually over the
next several years, or half of the level in 2014. This type of reduction in broadcaster spending could put a drag
on production volumes in future years, when one considers the 4:1 financing leverage that often accompanies
broadcaster licence fees in Canada.
The Let’s Talk TV policies create uncertainty around future levels of overall Canadian programming
expenditures
The Let’s Talk TV policies could also dramatically change Canada’s television production landscape over the next
several years. The regulatory policy shifts the emphasis from exhibition quotas to expenditure requirements. In
particular, it eliminates that quota of 55% Canadian content across the entire broadcast day for conventional
television stations, but maintains the 50% quota for evening hours.29 Liberalized rules for carriage and packaging
of Canadian specialty services, combined with migration of audiences and television subscription fees to online
services operating outside of the regulated system, there is a real risk of diminishing CPE in the future.
Canadian television producers are by no means standing still in face of these challenges. They are using coproduction and co-ventures to create globally competitive content. Where Canadian producers cannot secure the
financial resources — and platform access — to directly compete with high-budget programming, they are actively
pursuing non-linear multiple-platform approaches for finding and engaging audiences. The next iteration of the
enormously successful Degrassi franchise, Degrassi: Next Class, debuted in Canada on Family Channel in January
2016 and will start streaming in the US on Netflix in early 2016.30 And with the help of the CMF, many Canadian
television programs have been able to use digital platforms to create new multi-dimensional viewer experiences.
27Katie Bailey (2015), “Tangible benefits spend up 27% in 2013-14: Boon Dog,” Playback, July 7, 2015. Since these statistics are based on the 2014
broadcast year (September 1, 2014 to August 31, 2015), there is some overlap with the 2014/15 fiscal year (April 1, 2014 to March 31, 2015) upon
which the production statistics are based.
28 Ibid.
29These are the quotas for private conventional broadcasters. For specialty television services, the all-day quota will be subject to a floor of 35%; however all
evening-hour quotas will be removed.
30 CBC News (2015), “Degrassi: Next Class to debut on Family Channel, Netflix,” CBC News, June 9, 2015.
48 | Profile 2015
n
VO L U M E
Exhibit 2-32 Total volume of Canadian television production
The total volume of Canadian television production increased by 9.8% to over $2.6 billion in 2014/15, and was
37.6% higher than it was in 2005/06.
3,000
2,671
2671
2,500
$ millions
2,000
1,896
1896
2,131
2131
2,128
2128
2006/07
2007/08
2,231
2231
2,041
2041
2,305
2305
2,111
2111
2,376
2376
2,608
2608
1,500
1,000
500
0
2005/06
2008/09
2009/10
2010/11
2011/12
2012/13
2013/14
2014/15
Note: Canadian television production includes CAVCO-certified television production and an estimate for CRTC-certified production. Canadian television production
also includes film productions for non-theatrical release.
Profile 2015 | 49
n
E M P L OY M E N T
Exhibit 2-33 Number of FTEs generated by Canadian television production
Canadian television production supported 54,700 FTEs in Canada in 2014/15.
Direct jobs
Spin-off jobs
60,000
60,000
55,400
50,000
50,400
33,600
53,600
54,200
32,500
32,900
30,600
36,400
48,600
49,100
29,500
29800
54,700
50,600
50,800
30,700
30,800
19,900
20,000
2012/13
2013/14
33,200
FTEs
40,000
30,000
20,000
19,800
23,600
21,800
21,100
21,300
2007/08
2008/09
19,100
19,300
2009/10
2010/11
21,500
10,000
0
2005/06
2006/07
2011/12
2014/15
n
TYPES
Exhibit 2-34 Volume of television production, by type
An increase in the number of Canadian television series and TV movies produced in 2014/15 helped drive the total
of Canadian television higher in that year. The total volume of Canadian television series production rose by 12%
to a 10-year high of $2.27 billion. TV movie production was 23.2% higher in 2014/15, increasing to $27 million.
($ millions)
Series
TV movies
2005/06
2006/07
2007/08
2008/09
2009/10
2010/11
2011/12
2012/13
2013/14
2014/15
1,320
1,497
1,586
1,743
1,630
1,749
2,234
1,939
2,023
2,266
362
346
302
240
153
167
155
155
168
207
48
Mini-series
62
103
96
88
118
67
79
78
61
Other TV*
152
186
143
159
140
128
203
134
125
87
1,896
2,131
2,128
2,231
2,041
2,111
2,671
2,305
2,376
2,608
Total
* Other TV category includes single-episode television programming and television pilots.
50 | Profile 2015
Exhibit 2-35 Number of television projects, by type
2005/06
2006/07
2007/08
2008/09
2009/10
2010/11
2011/12
2012/13
2013/14
2014/15
Series
715
710
724
717
643
647
738
695
671
700
TV movies
175
204
176
164
109
116
103
106
118
144
Mini-series
44
45
40
43
47
46
49
53
42
46
Other TV*
406
374
381
370
372
306
385
325
317
248
1,340
1,333
1,321
1,294
1,171
1,115
1,275
1,179
1,148
1,138
Total
* Other TV category includes single-episode television programming and television pilots.
n
GENRES
Exhibit 2-36 Volume of television production, by genre
Production in the fiction, children’s and youth, VAPA and magazine genres was higher in 2014/15, while the
documentary, and lifestyle and human interest genres experienced decreased production volumes.
($ millions)
Fiction
2005/06
2006/07
2007/08
2008/09
2009/10
2010/11
2011/12
2012/13
2013/14
2014/15
838
952
928
945
879
890
1,225
1,108
1,106
1,353
Children’s
and youth
306
361
311
352
379
348
438
318
420
453
Documentary
356
374
408
416
345
335
373
331
323
297
Lifestyle
and human
interest*
115
149
190
217
172
283
385
336
337
291
Variety and
performing
arts
117
142
133
183
157
170
157
115
103
120
Magazine
program
Total
163
154
158
117
110
86
93
97
88
93
1,896
2,131
2,128
2,231
2,041
2,111
2,671
2,305
2,376
2,608
* Includes a small amount of programming that was previously allocated to the educational/instructional genre.
Profile 2015 | 51
Exhibit 2-37 Share of total volume of Canadian television production, by genre, 2014/15
Children’s and youth
17%
Documentary
11%
Lifestyle and
human interest*
11%
Variety and
performing arts
5%
Fiction
52%
Magazine
4%
n
BUDGETS
English-Language Production
Exhibit 2-38 Budgets of English-language Canadian television production, by genre
Average budgets in the fiction genre remained at nearly $1.3 million per hour in 2014/15. The documentary genre
also experienced an increase in average budget in 2014/15. All other genres experienced decreases in their average
budgets.
$ 000s per hour
Fiction
Average
Median
Children's and youth
Average
Median
Documentary
Average
Median
Lifestyle and
human interest*
Average
Median
Variety and performing arts
Average
Median
Magazine
Average
Median
2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15
1,348
1,250
1,515
1,520
1,615
1,523
1,515
1,257
1,323
1,367
1,232
1,207
1,700
1,470
1,303
1,306
1,240
1,173
1,277
1,261
556
462
611
638
607
420
820
496
788
653
863
500
854
583
722
556
752
590
683
669
310
229
322
252
324
244
334
291
410
263
347
286
367
277
312
273
325
258
363
301
n.a.
n.a.
n.a.
n.a.
n.a.
n.a.
n.a.
n.a.
n.a.
n.a.
266
288
308
305
311
333
326
350
299
301
439
350
478
255
396
295
476
318
367
262
529
231
556
360
390
197
364
199
232
227
115
60
75
34
80
42
101
55
156
76
99
37
47
39
35
39
–
–
–
–
Source: Estimates based on data collected from CAVCO. Note that the data does not include the markup used in other exhibits to estimate CRTC-certified
television production.
– : Data not reported due to the size of the sample of projects.
n.a.: Data not available.
52 | Profile 2015
French-Language Production
Exhibit 2-39 Budgets of French-language Canadian television production, by genre
In the fiction genre, the average budget rose by 45% to $597,000 per hour — the highest it has been since
2009/10. Average budgets were higher in the children’s and youth, magazine, and lifestyle and human interest
genres in 2014/15. The documentary and VAPA genres, meanwhile, experienced decreases in their average
budgets in 2014/15.
$ 000s per hour
Fiction
Average
Median
Average
Median
Documentary
Average
Median
Lifestyle and
human interest*
Average
Median
Average
Median
Magazine
Average
Median
2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15
526
493
501
450
520
510
520
376
621
467
517
504
427
327
397
323
411
403
597
462
189
151
213
155
209
115
243
179
233
163
206
150
313
167
213
148
188
154
248
165
239
199
209
171
223
190
234
189
228
197
252
211
212
173
220
192
217
180
188
160
n.a.
n.a.
n.a.
n.a.
n.a.
n.a.
n.a.
n.a.
n.a.
n.a.
113
83
104
79
105
75
81
73
130
78
174
130
192
143
278
150
311
168
212
161
220
163
205
148
238
162
291
221
246
188
48
40
58
37
57
46
49
46
67
50
51
42
64
51
62
59
63
57
68
63
Source: Estimates based on data collected from CAVCO. Note that the data does not include the markup used in other exhibits to estimate CRTC-certified
television production.
Profile 2015 | 53
FÉM I N I N/FÉM I N I N:
QU EBEC WEB SERI ES FI N DS I NTERNATIONAL AU DI ENCES AN D PREPARES FOR 2N D
SEASON ON TELEVISION
The pilot episode of French-language web series Féminin/Féminin was posted online in January 2014,
and in June of the same year seven more episodes of 10-13 minutes were released to complete the
first season. Since that time, the series has attracted more than one million views from audiences
as far afield as Australia and Spain, while receiving accolades in the French press in Canada and
overseas, notably from LeMonde.fr and Télérama.
The series follows a dozen lesbian women between the ages of 18 and 42 in Montreal, but focuses
on universal themes of commitment, parenthood and trust. Chloé Robichaud and Florence Gagnon
created the series to offer a new look at the universe of lesbians. The objective was to address
the multiple facets of the daily lives and to move away from social stereotypes conveyed in society.
The title of the web series also refers to Jean-Luc Godard’s film Masculin féminin, but the aim was
to create something uniquely Quebecois that nonetheless reflects common experiences within the
lesbian community. The episodes were originally hosted on Lez Spread the Word, a bilingual, largely
volunteer-run online platform.
The pilot was produced using crowdfunding and relied on the generosity of professional technicians
and actors, including well-known figures from the Quebec film and television industry. The first season
lasts just under 90 minutes if watched end-to-end and cost $70,000 to create. In contrast, a typical
one hour episode of popular Quebec television dramas such as Nouvelle Adresse or 19-2 costs
$600,000. Despite its unconventional origins, Féminin/Féminin was picked up by France’s public
broadcaster France 4, first online and then broadcast on television starting in February 2015. In
Canada, it is also available to watch through ICI Tou.tv, Radio-Canada’s web platform.
In September 2015, the series won two Gémeaux awards for online series or shows: one for best
fiction, the other for best actor in a female role. A second season is currently in development for
Quebec’s ICI ARTV and is expected to be released in 2016. Making the transition from online to
television is an opportunity for the series to develop characters and plot lines in greater detail while
building on the strong writing and performances that challenged clichés and contributed to the series’
initial success. As fans in Quebec and around the world wait for Season 2, Robichaud is also working
on her second feature film, Pays.
54 | Profile 2015
n
L A N G U AG E
Exhibit 2-40 Volume of Canadian television production, by language
The volume of English-language production increased by 5.2% in 2014/15; French-language production was
26% higher.
English-language
French-language
Bilingual and other
3,000
2,671
2,500
2,131
2,000
$ millions
2,608
26
1,896
1,500
25
2,128
16
39
580
43
561
539
502
1,546
1,550
2006/07
2007/08
2,305
2,231
2,041
13
569
1,635
1,459
1,351
2,111
18
625
11
2,020
557
589
1,706
2,376
7
14
707
561
1,801
1,894
1,536
1,000
500
0
2005/06
2008/09
2009/10
2010/11
2011/12
2012/13
2013/14
2014/15
Exhibit 2-41 Volume of Canadian television production, by language, 2014/15 share
English-language
73%
French-language
27%
Bilingual and other
<1%
Note: Total may not sum due to rounding.
Profile 2015 | 55
Exhibit 2-42 Volume of Canadian television production, by genre and language
($ millions)
2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15
Fiction
English-language
French-language
Bilingual and other
Total
677
162
0
838
762
190
0
952
738
180
10
928
774
171
0
945
695
183
1
879
690
198
1
890
1,035
190
1
1,225
905
199
5
1,108
909
192
5
1,106
1,085
268
0
1,353
English-language
French-language
Bilingual and other
Total
255
38
13
306
289
68
4
361
252
47
12
311
273
76
4
352
299
76
4
379
294
52
2
348
331
97
10
438
240
76
2
318
352
62
6
420
363
86
4
453
Documentary
English-language
French-language
Bilingual and other
Total
235
100
21
356
270
87
16
374
314
86
8
408
324
89
3
416
252
90
2
345
248
85
1
335
286
84
4
373
236
92
3
331
235
85
3
323
201
94
2
297
Lifestyle and
human interest*
English-language
French-language
Bilingual and other
Total
86
27
1
114
118
19
0
137
160
30
0
190
164
53
0
217
112
59
0
172
191
59
9
258
289
89
7
385
272
64
0
336
280
57
0
337
234
58
0
291
English-language
French-language
Bilingual and other
Total
44
67
6
117
51
88
3
142
50
77
6
133
77
100
6
183
76
75
6
157
74
91
5
170
72
80
4
157
38
77
0
115
25
78
0
103
12
108
0
120
Magazine
English-language
French-language
Bilingual and other
Total
53
107
3
163
44
109
1
154
35
119
3
158
22
91
3
117
24
86
0
110
18
67
0
86
8
85
0
93
15
82
0
97
1
87
0
88
0
92
1
93
56 | Profile 2015
n
CANADIAN CONTENT POINTS
To certify television programs and films as Canadian content, CAVCO and the CRTC use similar content-point
scales based on key creative positions. Canadian broadcasters can use these certified films and television programs to meet their Canadian television exhibition requirements. CAVCO’s content-point scale is also used (in
conjunction with other eligibility criteria) to determine if a film or television program is eligible to access the
CPTC and other funding mechanisms through Telefilm Canada and the CMF. The number of Canadian content points increases as the share of key creative positions occupied by Canadians increases. To be certified as
Canadian content, a film or television program (that is not an audiovisual treaty coproduction) must obtain a
minimum of six points; the maximum number of points a film or television program can obtain is ten.31
Exhibit 2-43 T elevision production, by Canadian content points (excludes audiovisual
treaty coproduction)
The share of production volume with maximum Canadian content points (i.e. 10/10 points) remained unchanged
at 78% in 2014/15.
10 points*
Share of total volume of television production (%)
(based on dollar volume)
100%
8 or 9 points
75
75
8
11
77
6 or 7 points
82
87
79
77
73
78
78
13
9
80%
60%
40%
20%
16
15
14
2005/06
14
2006/07
11
10
9
0%
12
2007/08
7
7
5
2008/09
2009/10
9
2010/11
12
12
2011/12
2012/13
13
9
2013/14
2014/15
* Includes all productions (other than treaty coproductions) for which Canadians occupied all of the key creative positions as defined by CAVCO, even if not all
key creative point positions were occupied. For example, a television program with only one lead performer would receive 9 out of 9 points, rather than 10 out
of 10 points.
For more information on the Canadian content point scale, please visit: www.canadianheritage.gc.ca/cavco.
31A documentary project can receive certification even if it obtains fewer than six points. However, all the filled key creative positions must be occupied
by Canadians.
Profile 2015 | 57
n
Exhibit 2-44 Volume of Canadian television production, by province and territory
Canada’s largest production centres, Ontario and Quebec, both experienced significant increases in Canadian television
production in 2014/15. British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan also experienced increased levels of
Canadian television production, while all other provinces and territories experienced decreased levels.
($ millions)
2014/15
share of
2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15
total
Ontario
734
731
829
959
944
993
1,299
1,056
1,060
1,174
45%
Quebec
721
758
715
731
678
711
772
704
685
810
31%
British
Columbia
258
398
356
287
196
231
367
383
412
431
17%
Alberta
37
54
80
92
80
63
67
58
68
74
3%
Manitoba
32
63
34
40
44
25
40
24
32
43
2%
Nova Scotia
48
54
46
47
44
29
52
35
71
40
2%
Newfoundland
and Labrador
15
2
6
5
31
33
32
31
33
23
1%
New Brunswick
10
10
16
11
13
8
15
7
9
7
<1%
Saskatchewan
38
58
42
58
11
16
21
5
3
4
<1%
0
0
1
1
2
1
1
2
2
0
<1%
Territories*
Prince Edward
Island
Total
3
2
5
0
0
0
3
0
0
0
<1%
1,896
2,131
2,128
2,231
2,041
2,111
2,671
2,305
2,376
2,608
100%
58 | Profile 2015
n
FINANCING
Canadian television production is financed through a variety of private and public sources within Canada, as
well as foreign broadcasters, distributors and other private investors. Production in the English-language and
French-language markets typically displays different average financing structures. For example, English-language production has historically attracted more financing from Canadian distributors and foreign sources,
whereas French-language production has drawn a larger share of its financing from broadcast licence fees.
Exhibit 2-45 Financing of Canadian television production
In 2014/15, Canadian broadcasters’ licence fees — private and public — accounted for a combined 29% of
total financing. In the French-language market, Canadian broadcasters’ licence fees accounted for 49% of total
financing; in the English-language market, they accounted for just 21%.
On an overall basis, financing from Canadian distributors and foreign sources was higher in 2014/15, however,
virtually all of these increases were confined to the English-language market. Overall, Canadian distributor
financing rose by $75 million to $325 million; foreign financing rose by $32 million to $266 million. The increases
in English-language market were on par with these overall increases.
In the French-language market, where foreign financing has historically played a smaller role in pre-sale television
financing, the levels of Canadian distributor and foreign financing were $3 million and $1 million, respectively;
they were also unchanged from 2013/14. Despite the lower levels of pre-sale financing for French-language
television programs, many French-language producers have been successful in the licensing of formats — a form
of international revenue that would not show up in the financing statistics for Canadian television production.
$ millions
Federal tax credit
Provincial tax Credit
Foreign
CMF
Other public*
Other private**
Total
2010/11
%
491
179
215
367
193
155
282
32
197
2,111
23
8
10
17
9
7
13
2
9
100
$ millions
2011/12
%
569
220
275
486
333
201
303
30
253
2,671
21
8
10
18
12
8
11
1
9
100
$ millions
2012/13
%
491
223
240
417
255
176
300
5
198
2,305
21
10
10
18
11
8
13
<1
9
100
$ millions
2013/14
%
439
260
251
447
250
234
282
11
202
2,376
18
11
11
19
11
10
12
<1
9
100
$ millions
2014/15
%
485
252
278
482
325
266
286
13
220
2,608
19
10
11
18
12
10
11
<1
8
100
Source: Estimates based on data obtained from CAVCO and CMF.
Profile 2015 | 59
Exhibit 2-46 Financing of Canadian television production, by genre, 2014/15
The financing of Canadian television production also varies by genre. In 2014/15, the fiction genre attracted 19%
of its total financing from Canadian broadcaster licence fees. It obtained 17% of its financing from Canadian
distributors and 14% from foreign sources. These relatively high shares of financing from Canadian distributors
and foreign sources — the highest among all genres in terms of share and absolute dollar amount — reflected the
increasing appeal of English-language fiction programs in other markets.
Children’s
and Youth
Fiction
Lifestyle
and human
Documentary
interest
Variety and
Performing
Arts
Magazine
All
genres
Amount of financing ($ millions)
149
87
63
127
23
39
487
110
31
18
33
44
19
255
279
Federal tax credit
142
47
31
33
14
11
258
100
49
43
20
16
484
231
43
31
21
<1
<1
326
Foreign
186
38
33
10
<1
0
268
CMF*
158
56
59
0
13
0
286
Other public**
Other private***
Total
7
1
4
5
1
<1
18
113
50
9
20
4
8
204
1,353
453
297
291
120
93
2,608
18
Share of financing (%)
11
19
21
44
19
42
8
7
6
11
37
20
11
Federal tax credit
11
10
11
11
12
12
11
19
19
22
16
15
17
17
17
9
10
7
<1
<1
11
Foreign
14
8
11
3
<1
0
10
CMF*
12
12
20
0
11
0
12
Other public**
<1
0
1
2
1
<1
<1
8
11
3
7
3
9
9
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
Other private***
Total
* Only programming in the fiction, children’s and youth, documentary and VAPA genres are eligible for CMF funding.
** Other public includes financing from provincial governments, and other government departments and agencies.
*** Other private includes financing from production companies (excluding the tax credit contribution), independent production funds, broadcaster equity and other
60 | Profile 2015
Exhibit 2-47 Financing of English-language Canadian television production
$ millions
2010/11
%
$ millions
2011/12
%
$ millions
2012/13
%
2013/14
%
338
22
404
20
345
20
304
17
284
15
73
5
96
5
101
6
134
7
114
6
$ millions
$ millions
2014/15
%
Federal tax credit
153
10
204
10
175
10
188
10
198
10
276
18
377
19
317
19
352
20
363
19
188
12
327
16
265
16
245
14
318
17
Foreign
152
10
182
9
166
10
230
13
263
14
CMF
183
12
199
10
197
12
183
10
185
10
20
1
26
1
5
<1
2
<1
5
<1
152
10
205
10
135
8
163
9
164
9
1,536
100
2,020
100
1,706
100
1,801
100
1,894
100
Other public*
Other private**
Total
Exhibit 2-48 Financing of French-language Canadian television production
$ millions
2010/11
%
$ millions
2011/12
%
146
108
26
159
26
145
25
133
24
203
29
19
120
19
123
21
126
22
139
20
$ millions
2012/13
%
2013/14
%
$ millions
$ millions
2014/15
%
Federal tax credit
59
11
68
11
63
11
61
11
79
11
89
16
105
17
97
17
92
16
118
17
2
<1
4
1
2
<1
3
<1
3
<1
1
<1
17
3
2
<1
1
<1
1
<1
CMF
Foreign
94
17
97
16
96
16
92
16
93
13
Other public*
14
2
6
1
11
2
11
2
10
1
Other private**
43
8
48
8
49
8
42
7
60
9
557
100
625
100
589
100
561
100
707
100
Total
Profile 2015 | 61
Exhibit 2-49 Financing of English-language Canadian television production, by genre, 2014/15
Children's
and youth
Fiction
Lifestyle
and human
Documentary
interest
Variety and
performing
arts
Magazine
All genres
77
68
38
100
2
n/a
69
14
9
20
2
n/a
114
114
37
21
26
1
n/a
198
Federal tax credit
284
211
82
32
37
2
n/a
363
228
42
30
21
0
n/a
318
Foreign
185
38
33
9
0
n/a
263
CMF*
107
37
35
0
6
n/a
185
0
1
2
5
0
n/a
5
94
43
2
16
0
n/a
164
1,085
363
201
234
12
n/a
1,894
15
Other public**
Other private***
Total
Share of total financing (%)
7
19
19
43
15
n/a
6
4
4
9
17
n/a
6
Federal tax credit
10
10
11
11
10
n/a
10
19
19
23
16
16
13
n/a
21
12
15
9
0
n/a
17
Foreign
17
10
16
4
0
n/a
14
CMF*
10
10
17
0
47
n/a
10
Other public**
<1
<1
1
2
0
n/a
<1
9
12
1
7
0
n/a
9
100
100
100
100
100
n/a
100
Other private***
Total
n/a: No data available.
62 | Profile 2015
Exhibit 2-50 Financing of French-language Canadian television production, by genre, 2014/15
Children's
and youth
Fiction
Lifestyle
and human
Documentary
interest
Variety and
performing
arts
Magazine
All genres
74
18
25
27
21
38
203
41
16
10
13
41
19
139
Federal tax credit
29
9
10
7
13
11
79
46
17
17
6
18
15
118
1
<1
1
0
<1
<1
3
Foreign
0
0
<1
1
<1
0
1
CMF*
50
16
19
0
7
0
93
Other public**
Other private***
Total
9
<1
3
<1
1
<1
10
18
10
10
4
6
8
60
268
86
94
58
108
92
707
Share of total financing (%)
27
21
26
47
20
42
29
15
19
10
23
38
20
20
Federal tax credit
11
11
11
12
12
12
11
17
19
18
10
16
17
17
<1
1
1
1
0
<1
<1
Foreign
0
0
<1
1
<1
0
<1
CMF*
19
19
20
0
6
0
13
Other public**
3
0
3
<1
1
<1
1
Other private***
7
12
11
7
6
9
9
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
Total
Profile 2015 | 63
n
B RO A D C A S T E R L I C E N C E F E E S
Exhibit 2-51 A
verage per-hour licence fees paid by Canadian broadcasters for Canadian television
programming*
In the fiction genre, the average licence fee in the English-language market dropped by 20%, from $188,000 per
hour to $150,000 per hour. In the French-language market, however, the average licence fee in the fiction genre
rose by 77%, from $116,000 to $205,000.
In the French-language market, average licence fees were not only higher in the fiction genre in 2014/15, but
also in the children’s and youth, documentary, lifestyle and human interest, and magazine genres. In the Englishlanguage market, average licence fees were lower in all genres, except the documentary genre in 2014/15.
English
French
250
200
$ millions
150
100
50
0
2012/13 2014/15
2013/14
2012/13 2014/15
2013/14
2012/13 2014/15
2013/14
2012/13 2014/15
2013/14
2012/13 2014/15
2013/14
2012/13 2014/15
2013/14
Fiction
Children's and
youth
Documentary
Lifestyle and
human interest**
Variety and
Performing Arts
Magazine
Source: Estimates based on data obtained from CAVCO for a sample of projects.
* Statistics for average licence fees are based strictly on CAVCO-certified projects for which licence fee data was available. The statistics for average licence fees have
not been adjusted in any manner to take into account television programs that only received certification from the CRTC.
** Includes educational and instructional programing.
Note: No data available for English-language magazine genre production.
64 | Profile 2015
n
B RO A D C A S T E R S P E N D I N G
Exhibit 2-52 Expenditures on Canadian independent production by Canadian broadcasters
Although specialty television services’ spending on Canadian independent production decreased by $3 million
during the 2014 broadcast year (September 1, 2013 to August 31, 2014), slightly higher spending by CBC/RadioCanada’s conventional services and pay television, pay-per-view (PPV) and video-on-demand (VOD) helped lift
overall spending to $785 million.
Specialty television*
CBC/Radio-Canada conventional television
Pay television, PPV and VOD
Private conventional television
782
800
700
718
729
176
154
600
153
744
780
785
139
139
192
193
70
77
379
376
2013
2014
133
191
191
177
$ millions
500
161
69
400
77
300
304
75
369
67
353
323
200
100
0
2009
2010
2011
2012
Source: CRTC
* Includes CBC/Radio-Canada’s specialty television services.
Notes: Spending on Canadian independent production programming refers to programming and production expenses of conventional television licensees, and
Canadian program amortization of specialty and pay television licensees.
SEGM ENTS OF TH E CANADIAN BROADCASTI NG SECTOR
The Canadian broadcasting sector comprises four key segments. The private conventional television segment includes private broadcasters that maintain over-the-air infrastructure to broadcast to households,
although the vast majority of Canadian households now receive conventional television signals via cable
or satellite television providers. The public conventional television segment includes CBC/Radio Canada
and provincial educational broadcasters in Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia. Services in the specialty
television segment are only available via cable or satellite television providers and typically provide sports,
24-hour news, movies, arts and other thematic programming. Specialty television services earn revenue
from a combination of subscription fees and advertising. Pay television services are also only available
via cable or satellite television services. They typically feature premium programming such as recently
released films and do not earn revenue from advertising; instead they rely on subscription or transactional
payments (i.e., PPV or VOD services) from subscribers.
Profile 2015 | 65
Canadian broadcasters license original and repeat programming from both independent Canadian production
companies as well as broadcaster-affiliated production companies (production companies in which broadcasters own or control at least 30% of the voting equity).
Exhibit 2-53 Expenditures by private Canadian broadcasters* on broadcaster-affiliated production
Although private Canadian broadcasters’ spending on drama and comedy, long-form documentary and sports
made by affiliated production companies fell in 2014, the overall level of broadcaster-affiliated production was
$10 million higher due to an increase in spending in other genres.
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
Drama and comedy
Long-form documentary
Sport
12
0
1
9
0
0
11
0
0
4
6
1
8
10
0
1
0
0
5
161
10
0
7
86
Other genres**
Total
79
92
82
92
79
89
82
86
72
79
69
236
65
83
68
171
13
10
5
75
9
7
<1
96
103
113
($ millions)
Source: CRTC.
* Includes private conventional services, private pay and specialty services, and CBC/Radio-Canada’s specialty services.
** For example, VAPA, human interest and reality television.
Private Television Broadcasting Revenues
Exhibit 2-54 Total revenue of private Canadian broadcasters*
Private broadcasters’ revenue was virtually unchanged in 2014 — declining by only $15 million to $6.02 billion.
Pay television
Specialty television**
7,000
6,000
5,617
5,000
$ millions
4,368
4,000
2,146
4,642
2,143
4,896
2,171
5,069
5,093
2,138
1,971
799
3,000
2,000
2,142
410
1,812
482
2,017
547
2,178
596
696
2,335
2,426
2008
2009
2,676
5,892
6,005
6,035
6,020
2,144
2,038
1,944
1,804
856
2,892
837
3,130
799
3,292
788
3,428
1,000
0
2005
2006
2007
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
Source: CRTC.
* Total revenue differs from figures reported in Broadcasting Sector box (below) due to exclusion of CBC/Radio-Canada’s conventional television services.
** Includes CBC/Radio-Canada’s specialty television services.
66 | Profile 2015
Exhibit 2-55 Total PBIT of private Canadian broadcasters*
All three segments of Canada’s private broadcasting industry experienced lower profit before interest and taxes
(PBIT) in 2014. Altogether, the private broadcasting industry’s PBIT fell by 20% to a total of $860 million in 2014.
Pay television
Specialty television*
1,200
1,086
1,000
884
6
800
798
242
$ millions
600
400
760
656
664
113
8
91
117
101
530
547
108
125
448
448
612
0
86
152
140
93
133
745
1,081
939
794
23
101
0
982
860
0
87
912
823
643
200
0
-200
-117
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
-2
-139
2013
2014
Source: CRTC.
* includes CBC/Radio-Canada’s specialty television services.
Profile 2015 | 67
BROADCASTI NG SECTOR
The Canadian broadcasting sector can be grouped into four key segments: (i) private conventional
services, (ii) public conventional (i.e. CBC/Radio Canada’s conventional services)32 (iii) specialty
television, and (iv) pay television. In 2014, there were 391 individual Canadian television services
authorized to broadcast in Canada.33
Exhibit 2-54 indicates that private Canadian broadcasters earned just over $6 billion in revenue during
the 2014 broadcasting year. Adding CBC/Radio-Canada’s conventional services’ revenue lifts the
overall revenue in Canada’s broadcasting sector to $7.35 billion in 2014.
Total revenue* in the broadcasting sector, by sub-sector
Total revenue in Canada’s broadcasting sector increased by 0.9% in 2014, as revenue increases in specialty
television and at CBC/Radio-Canada offset declines in private conventional television and pay television.
CBC/Radio-Canada conventional
Pay television
Private conventional
Specialty television**
8,000
7,231
6,860
7,000
6,083
6,000
1,187
6,312
6,319
1,243
1,226
$ millions
2,171
2,138
7,282
7,348
1,369
1,247
1,328
2,038
1,944
1,804
837
799
788
1,243
2,142
5,000
1,339
7,374
2,144
1,971
4,000
799
3,000
547
2,000
2,178
596
696
2,335
2,426
2008
2009
2,676
856
2,892
3,130
3,292
3,428
1,000
0
2007
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
Source: Nordicity estimates based on data from CRTC.
* Total revenue differs from figures reported in Exhibit 2-54 due to inclusion of CBC/Radio-Canada’s conventional television services.
** Includes revenue earned by specialty television services owned by CBC/Radio-Canada.
32 The revenue of public educational broadcasters has been excluded from the statistics in this report.
33 CRTC (2015), Communications Monitoring Report, p. 91.
68 | Profile 2015
n
C A N A DA M E D I A F U N D
The Canada Media Fund (CMF) is funded by the Government of Canada, and cable and satellite distributors
(also known as broadcasting distribution undertakings [BDUs]). The CMF has a mandate to support the creation
of Canadian convergent digital content across multiple platforms, including television, and leading-edge new
media applications, as well as experimental content applications or software for the Internet, wireless and other
emerging digital platforms.
The CMF was officially launched on April 1, 2010 to respond to changes brought about by new technologies and
evolving consumer demand. It replaced the former Canadian Television Fund and the Canada New Media Fund.
During its inaugural fiscal year of operation, 2010/11, the CMF launched a new slate of programs, with an overall
program budget of more than $350 million for screen-based media across two funding streams: the Convergent Stream and the Experimental Stream. The Convergent Stream provides financial support to screen-based
projects with television content and content or applications for at least one additional digital media platform.
The Experimental Stream funds the creation of innovative digital media content and software applications. This
section provides an overview of the screen-based production supported by the CMF’s Convergent Stream.
Volume
Exhibit 2-56 Total volume of Canadian television production with CMF contributions
CMF funding of $286 million supported $1.19 billion34 in television production in 2014/15 and generated
26,000 FTEs. The total volume of television production supported by the CMF increased by 5.6% in 2014/15,
although CMF contributions grew by only 1.4% compared to 2013/14.
Contribution
Other financing*
1,192
1,200
889
1,056
1,000
943
880
869
628
627
249
252
242
2005/06
2006/07
2007/08
817
$ millions
800
749
1,149
849
1,003
1,191
1,128
905
846
721
668
568
600
400
200
0
275
2008/09
307
2009/10
282
2010/11
303
300
282
286
2011/12
2012/13
2013/14
2014/15
Source: CMF.
* Other financing includes contributions from production companies, broadcasters, other government sources and distributors.
34 Canada Media Fund, custom tabulations. Funding and production statistics only include television-platform component of Convergent Stream projects.
Profile 2015 | 69
Jobs Generated by CMF-Suppor ted Production
Exhibit 2-57 Number of FTEs generated by CMF-supported production
Direct jobs
Spin-off jobs
30,000
27,900
26,200
25,000
22,600
23,800
14,400
13,700
22,800
13,800
23,900
15,900
26,200
16,900
24,300
15,900
14,700
14,500
26,000
25,100
15,800
15,200
FTEs
20,000
15,000
10,000
8,900
9,400
9,000
9,400
2006/07
2007/08
2008/09
10,300
11,000
10,300
9,900
10,200
2012/13
2013/14
2014/15
9,600
5,000
0
2005/06
2009/10
2010/11
2011/12
Source: Estimates based on data from the CMF, Statistics Canada and the Conference Board of Canada.
Note: See the Notes on Methodology section for a description of the job-estimation methodology.
Hours of Television Production
Exhibit 2-58 Number of CMF-supported hours of television production, by genre
2005/06
2006/07
2007/08
2008/09
2009/10
2010/11
2011/12
2012/13
2013/14
Documentary
837
798
806
761
821
715
828
828
886
925
717
681
693
646
639
695
812
785
712
799
Drama (i.e., fiction)
525
549
480
580
610
659
613
671
661
700
Variety and
performing arts
Total
197
270
217
223
352
422
549
404
321
354
2,276
2,297
2,195
2,210
2,422
2,491
2,801
2,688
2,580
2,778
Source: CMF.
70 | Profile 2015
2014/15
Contributions to Television Production
Exhibit 2-59 CMF contributions to television production, by genre
2005/06
2006/07
2007/08
2008/09
2009/10
2010/11
2011/12
2012/13
2013/14
2014/15
($ millions)
Documentary
48.3
51.6
53.4
55.0
61.0
56.0
64.0
58.2
57.0
59.0
46.3
46.3
49.2
49.0
55.0
54.0
57.0
56.8
56.0
56.0
146.3
143.6
130.7
162.0
178.0
160.0
159.0
166.9
152.0
158.0
Variety and
performing arts
Total
8.0
10.2
9.1
10.0
13.0
13.0
23.0
18.3
16.0
13.0
248.9
251.7
242.4
275.0
307.0
282.0
303.0
300.1
282.0
286.0
Share of total
Documentary
19%
21%
22%
20%
20%
20%
21%
19%
20%
21%
19%
18%
20%
18%
18%
19%
19%
19%
20%
20%
59%
57%
54%
59%
58%
57%
53%
56%
54%
55%
Variety and
performing arts
Total
3%
4%
4%
4%
4%
5%
8%
6%
6%
5%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
Source: CMF.
CMF-Suppor ted Convergent Digital Media Production
Exhibit 2-60 CMF-supported convergent
digital media projects, by language, 2014/15
Exhibit 2-61 Volume of CMF-supported
convergent digital media production, by
language, 2014/15
French-language
46%
French-language
31%
$14.6 million
107
Total number
of projects:
231
24
Other
languages
10%
Total volume
of production:
$46.7 million
$2.4 million
Other
languages
5%
$29.7 million
100
English-language
43%
Source: CMF.
English-language
64%
Source: CMF.
Profile 2015 | 71
Exhibit 2-62 CMF contributions to convergent digital media production, by television genre, 2014/15
23%
$5.9 million
Variety and
performing arts
3%
Total
contributions:
$25.7 million
$0.8 million
Documentary
40%
$10.2 million
$8.8 million
Drama
34%
Source: CMF.
n
A U D I OV I S U A L T R E AT Y C O P RO D U C T I O N
Exhibit 2-63 Total volume* and activity of audiovisual treaty coproduction, television sub-sector
Canada’s total volume of audiovisual treaty coproduction in the television sub-sector (as determined by the total
global budgets of these projects) increased by nearly 50% in 2014.
300
250
65
50
45
45
354
194
$ millions
268
150
252
155
310
42
33
164
219
122
129
304
267
136
145
122
110
94
41
183
300
161
203
109
35
188
142
113
44
42
200
100
Number of projects
90
203
113
121
90
50
0
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
72 | Profile 2015
Exhibit 2-64 T otal volume and activity of audiovisual treaty coproduction, television sub-sector,
by genre
The overall increase in treaty coproduction in the television sub-sector was driven almost entirely by production
in the drama genre. Total budgets in that genre increased by $115 million or 110%. The volume of television
coproduction in the documentary genre was 29.8% lower in 2014, but 6.2% higher in the children’s and
youth genre.
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
($ millions)
Drama
7
105
97
101
158
147
203
153
104
219
58
31
48
72
48
28
30
64
55
39
135
132
106
181
104
43
67
51
44
47
Total
201
268
252
354
310
219
299
267
203
304
Documentary
Number of projects
Drama
–*
7
6
10
5
8
6
7
7
12
Documentary
–*
21
22
32
23
20
17
28
25
22
19
17
17
23
14
7
10
9
10
7
Total
50
45
45
65
42
35
33
44
42
41
–*
15.0
16.2
10.1
31.7
18.4
33.8
21.8
14.9
18.2
1.8
Average project budgets
($ millions)
Drama
–*
1.5
2.2
2.2
2.1
1.4
1.8
2.3
2.2
Documentary
7.1
7.7
6.2
7.9
7.4
6.2
6.7
5.6
4.4
6.7
All genres
4.0
6.0
5.6
5.4
7.4
6.2
9.1
6.1
4.8
7.4
* Statistics suppressed due to confidentiality.
Profile 2015 | 73
English-language production
The total volume of English-language audiovisual treaty coproduction in the television sub-sector was up by 46%
in 2014, even though the number of projects decreased from 39 to 36.
Number of projects
300
53
250
36
39
36
32
31
200
$ millions
327
126
94
25
36
27
295
296
176
161
150
200
124
100
158
225
296
182
177
150
220
33
114
244
135
119
202
130
114
100
119
89
81
79 78
113
50
0
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
74 | Profile 2015
2011
2012
2013
2014
French-language production
In the French-language market, the volume of coproduction in the television sub-sector increased to $9 million
in 2014, from a 10-year low of $2 million in 2013. Nevertheless, the volume of French-language coproduction in
100 television sub-sector was well below the 10-year average of $22 million.
the
Number of projects
80
14
14
12
$ millions
60
10
9
11
10
6
5
40
3
46
30
48
29
20
16
19
27
17
2005
2006
24
17
10
0
27
2007
19
14
10
2008
7
8
2009
10
9
2010
16
4
3
8
1
2011
2012
9
2
1
1
2013
6
3
2014
Exhibit 2-67 Audiovisual treaty coproduction partner countries, television sub-sector, 2005-2014
Between 2005 and 2014, Canada’s audiovisual treaty coproduction activity in the television sub-sector was highest
with the UK and France. Over the same time period, television projects with producers in Australia, Germany and Ireland
also yielded over $100 million in total production volume. In fact, Canada’s volume of television coproduction with
Ireland was just under $400 million, even though Canada’s share of the total budgets was 23%.
United Kingdom
France
Australia
Germany
Ireland
Brazil
Singapore
Philippines
Israel
South Korea
Other bipartite
Multipartite*
Total
Number of
projects
163
130
Total volume
($M)
712
647
$M
390
301
%
55
47
25
14
13
10
9
8
7
5
30
28
442
157
131
388
47
58
43
6
24
173
294
2,680
82
34
88
21
34
32
3
10
85
78
1,159
52
26
23
44
59
75
58
40
49
27
43
Profile 2015 | 75
n
AUDIENCES
The following section presents statistics on the size and share of television audiences in Canada.
The lists of top 10 television programs are drawn from Numeris’ database of audience statistics for the 2015
broadcast year (September 1, 2014 to August 31, 2015) and includes programs in the CMF-supported genres
(drama, children’s and youth, documentary, and VAPA). In cases where the same title ranks in multiple occurrences, only the audience level of the top ranking instance has been used.
This section also includes aggregate statistics on Canadian programming’s audience share in each of the CMF
genres. These statistics are only available on a one-year-lagged basis, and therefore, report audience share for the
2014 broadcast year (September 1, 2013 to August 31, 2014).
Top-Rated Television Programs
Exhibit 2‑68 Top 10 television series in
Canada, 2015 broadcast year*
Exhibit 2‑69 Top 10 Canadian-produced
television series, 2015 broadcast year*
Two Canadian television programs, La Voix and
Unité 9, were among the top 10 shows in Canada
during the 2015 broadcast year.
Average Minute
Audience (000s)
Program (country of origin)
1. Big Bang Theory (US)
3,491
Average Minute
Audience (000s)
Program
1. La Voix
2,852
2. Unité 9
2,218
3. Les beaux malaises
2,044
4. L'été indien
1,840
2. La Voix (Canada)
2,852
5. The Book of Negroes
1,625
3. NCIS (US)
2,504
6. Rookie Blue
1,619
4. NCIS: New Orleans (US)
2,312
7. Les 400 coups!
1,502
5. Criminal Minds (US)
2,226
8. Yamaska
1,428
6. Unité 9 (Canada)
2,218
9. 19-2
1,400
7. CSI: Cyber (US)
2,157
10. Toute la vérité
1,365
8. Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (US)
2,117
9. How to Get Away with Murder (US)
2,084
10. The Blacklist (US)
2,046
Source: CMF Research (Numeris), 2015.
* Television series include all television projects with more than three
episodes televised during a single broadcast year.
* Television series include all television projects with more than three
episodes televised during a single broadcast year.
English-Language Market
Exhibit 2-70 T elevision audience share of Canadian programming, English-language market, peakviewing period
Canadian programming in the CMF-supported genres accounted for an audience share of 28% during the 2014
broadcast year.
Broadcast year
Drama (fiction)
Documentary
All CMF-supported genres
76 | Profile 2015
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
15%
55%
52%
32%
34%
13%
48%
30%
25%
29%
12%
49%
43%
31%
31%
13%
49%
45%
29%
34%
16%
35%
46%
20%
22%
15%
35%
44%
19%
22%
16%
50%
40%
26%
26%
17%
52%
39%
19%
26%
17%
54%
41%
22%
28%
Exhibit 2‑71 Top 10 Canadian television series in the English-language market, 2015 broadcast year*
Five Canadian drama series, including the mini-series, The Book of Negroes, attracted audiences of over one million
during the 2015 broadcast year.
Average Minute
Audience (000s)
Program
1. The Book of Negroes
1,625
2. Rookie Blue
1,619
3. Saving Hope
1,296
4. Murdoch Mysteries
1,023
5. Schitt's Creek
1,021
6. Vikings
850
7. X Company
803
8. Rick Mercer Report
751
9. Ascension
736
10. Remedy
730
* Television series include all television projects with more than three episodes televised during a single broadcast year.
French-Language Market
Exhibit 2-72 T elevision audience share of Canadian programming, French-language market,
peak‑viewing period
Canadian programming in the CMF-supported genres accounted for an overall audience share of 56% during the
2014 broadcast year.
Broadcast year
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
Drama (fiction)
61%
56%
52%
55%
52%
48%
33%
34%
36%
Documentary
77%
71%
74%
77%
74%
76%
77%
77%
78%
66%
72%
63%
75%
81%
76%
60%
63%
54%
93%
93%
79%
84%
85%
87%
91%
91%
93%
All CMF-supported genres
65%
68%
66%
67%
63%
62%
55%
55%
56%
Profile 2015 | 77
Exhibit 2-73 Top 10 Canadian television series in the French-language market, 2015 broadcast year*
All the top 10 Canadian television programs in the French-language market during the 2015 broadcast year
attracted audiences of over one million.
Program
Average Minute
Audience (000s)
1. La Voix
2,852
2. Unité 9
2,218
3. Les beaux malaises
2,044
4. L'été indien
1,840
5. Les 400 coups!
1,502
6. Yamaska
1,428
7. 19-2
1,400
8. Toute la vérité
1,365
9. Lance et compte
1,294
10. LOL :-)
1,233
* Television series include all television projects with more than three episodes televised during a single broadcast year.
78 | Profile 2015
BROADCASTI NG DISTRI BUTION SECTOR
The broadcasting distribution sector includes cable, direct-to-home (DTH) satellite, multipoint distribution services (MDS) and Internet protocol TV (IPTV) services which allow Canadian households and
businesses to access licensed television programming services, including conventional and pay and
specialty services, by subscribing to channel packages and certain à la carte services. In fact, 82%
of Canadian households access television services through BDUs — i.e. cable, DTH satellite, MDS
and IPTV.
While the broadcasting distribution sector does not directly commission or licence television content
from producers, it makes important indirect contributions to the financing of Canadian television
production. In 2014, the broadcasting distribution sector contributed $465 million to the production
of Canadian programming.35 This total included $218 million in contributions to the CMF.36 In addition,
the broadcasting distribution sector remitted over $2.9 billion in affiliate fees to Canadian television
services in 2014;37 these affiliate fees ultimately helped finance Canadian television production.
Most Canadian BDUs also operate video-on-demand (VOD) services that must adhere to regulations
related to Canadian programming expenditures and remit 100% of revenue from Canadian feature
films to those films’ Canadian rights holders.38
Total revenue in the Canadian broadcasting distribution sector
In 2014, Canada’s broadcasting distribution sector earned total revenues of just over $9 billion. All of the
sector’s revenue growth in 2014 was fuelled by the expanding IPTV sub-segment; both the cable television
and DTH satellite sub-segments experienced declining revenue.
Cable*
DTH and MDS
IPTV
10,000
8,130
8,000
7,429
6,914
6,302
$ millions
6,000
76
108
151
4,392
4,770
9,054
585
926
1,284
2,492
2,472
8,674
322
2,532
2,414
2,385
2,196
2,036
1,834
4,000
208
8,926
8,571
5,537
5,717
5,596
5,528
5,356
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
5,082
2,000
0
2007
2008
2009
Source: CRTC.
Note: Some totals may not sum due to rounding
* Includes non-reporting cable television licensees.
35 CRTC (2015), Communications Monitoring Report 2015, p. 142.
36 Ibid.
37 Ibid. p. 144.
38 CRTC (2010), Regulatory framework for video-on-demand undertakings, Broadcasting Regulatory Policy CRTC 2010-190, March 29, 2010.
Profile 2015 | 79
C A N A D I A N P R O D U C T I O N // T H E AT R I C A L P R O D U C T I O N
THEATRICAL FEATURE FILM PRODUCTION
The Canadian theatrical feature film sub-sector produces feature-length films, which are intended for
primary release in movie theatres.39 Recent examples of notable Canadian theatrical feature films
include Brooklyn, La guerre des tuques 3D, Le mirage, Room, Remember and Mommy.
• Canadian theatrical feature film production increased by 1.7%,
to $349 million.
• Canadian producers made 103 theatrical feature films.
• Canadian theatrical feature film production generated a total
of 7,300 FTEs of employment in Canada, including 2,900
direct FTEs in the sub-sector itself.
• English-language theatrical feature film production decreased
by 9.3% to $248 million. French-language theatrical feature
film production increased by 42.1% to $97 million. Theatrical
feature films produced in other languages accounted for
approximately $4 million in production.
• The average budget of all theatrical feature films in the fiction
genre was $3.6 million.
• The average budget of English-language feature films
decreased to $3.8 million, while the average budget for
French-language films increased to $3.2 million.
• The share of theatrical feature films in the fiction genre with
budgets over $10 million dropped from 9% to 5%.
• The volume of theatrical feature films produced by Quebecbased producers increased by 4.1%, and accounted for 51%
of the national volume.
• The volume of theatrical feature films produced by Ontariobased producers decreased by 24.7%, and accounted for
29% of the national volume.
• The volume of theatrical feature films produced by BCbased producers reached a 10-year high of $65 million and
accounted for 19% of the national volume.
• Public sources accounted for 57% of total financing of
Canadian theatrical feature film production. Telefilm’s CFFF40,
alone, accounted for close to 17% of all financing.
• Foreign financing of Canadian theatrical feature film
production totalled $60 million or 17% of total financing.
• Canadian budgets for English-language treaty coproductions
in the feature film sub-sector decreased by 15.6% to
$114 million.
• Canadian budgets for French-language treaty coproduction
were up by 88.9% to $17 million.
• Canadian films’ share of the box office in Canada was higher
in both language markets. Canadian films accounted for 10%
of the box office in the French-language market. Canadian
films accounted for 2% of the box office in the Englishlanguage market.
39 For this report, the feature film category includes all films 75 minutes and over in length.
40The statistics presented in this report for the CFFF only include films supported through Telefilm Canada’s main production program. Canadian feature films that only received funding
from one of Telefilm Canada’s other production-assistance programs would be excluded from these statistics.
80 | Profile 2015
Historically, Canada’s theatrical feature film sub-sector has been relatively static in terms of its annual volume of
production. There have been year-to-year fluctuations; however, over the long-term, there has been little, if any,
growth. In fact, the total volume of production of $349 million in 2014/15 was only $6 million higher than in
the previous year and actually $11 million lower than the $360 million in production volume recorded a decade
earlier in 2005/06 (Exhibit 2-74).
In some respects, the previous fiscal year, 2013/14, was an atypical year for Canadian feature film production.
French-language feature film production — a mainstay of the sub-sector — dropped to a 10-year low of
$68 million (Exhibit 2-77). It usually hovers around $100 million. On the English-language side of the sub-sector,
meanwhile, the average budget hit a 10-year high of $5.1 million (Exhibit 2-82). What became apparent was that
one or more big-budget treaty coproductions lifted total volume and the average budget on the English-language
side of the sub-sector. Among these big-budget films were Pompeii, and the animation features, Ballerina and
Henchmen. Several established Canadian filmmakers had English-language projects in production in 2013/14,
including Paul Gross’s Hyena Road and Deepa Mehta’s Beeba Boys.
In 2014/15, Canada’s theatrical feature film sub-sector returned to a more typical profile. French-language production bounced back to its historical $100 million range: it increased by 43% to $92 million (Exhibit 2-77), as
films such as Le Mirage, Aurélie Laflamme — Les pieds sur terre, and Paul à Québec went into production. With
fewer big-budget films in production, total English-language feature film production declined to $249 million,
even though the number of films increased from 59 to 70 (Exhibit 2-78). Across all languages, the average
budget for fiction features reverted back to $3.6 million, which was much more in line with average budgets seen
over the past decade (Exhibit 2-82).
After several years of growth, the levels of foreign financing flowing into Canadian feature film production
fell in 2014/15
Along with this recalibration in the linguistic and average-budget profile of feature film production, there was
a recalibration of the financing of Canadian features. Since 2011/12, there had been a trend towards increasing
levels of foreign financing in Canadian features. Interestingly, the higher levels of foreign financing for Canadian
feature film production were a side effect of the 2008 financial crisis. During that financial crises, the global
financing market for independent film collapsed — in Canada and elsewhere. Canada’s economy and financial
sector recovered more quickly than that of the US. In the ensuing years, independent producers in the US
and other countries began to discover that Canada offered an attractive option for producing films that could
not secure pre-financing in the US. Canada already had numerous coproduction treaties in place, could offer
substantial public funding in the form of direct investments and tax credits, and also had a relatively healthy
and stable financial sector. After reaching a five-year peak in terms of dollars ($88 million) and share (26%) in
2013/14, however, foreign financing for Canadian feature films fell back to $60 million in 2014/15 (Exhibit 2-86).
This drop in foreign financing appears to have been entirely in English-language production, which has historically drawn the bulk of the foreign financing within the feature film sub-sector (Exhibit 2-87). The gap left by
the reduction in foreign financing was not taken up by Canadian distributors; their level of financing remained
stable. Instead, it would appear that public funding filled the gap. Telefilm’s CFFF contributions were stable at
$58 million and close to 17% of total financing (Exhibit 2-86). However, other public sources, including feature
film funds in Quebec and Ontario (but excluding federal and provincial tax credits), increased their contributions to over $54 million or 15% of total financing.
After dropping to 50% of total financing in 2013/14, public sources’ (including Telefilm Canada’s CFFF, federal
and provincial tax credits and public broadcasters) share of financing for feature film production was back up to
57% — a level it was at or near in 2011/12 through 2012/13 (Exhibit 2-86).
Telefilm Canada continued to be the largest single financier of Canadian feature film production in 2014/15,
with $58 million invested
Telefilm Canada continued to be the largest single financier of Canadian feature film production in 2014/15.
During that fiscal year, Telefilm Canada provided $58 million in funding to support $183 million in production
Profile 2015 | 81
(Exhibit 2-88). And while its funding remained relatively stable compared to prior years, the financing leverage
of its supported projects (i.e. the ratio of total financing to CFFF funding) was at a five-year low. The projects
supported by the CFFF in 2014/15 attracted $2.16 in other financing for every dollar of CFFF funding. This was
down from a record of $3.18 in 2013/14.
Audiovisual treaty coproduction continued to play an important role in Canada’s theatrical feature film
production, with films such as Brooklyn, Born to Be Blue, Turbo Kid and Room
Audiovisual treaty coproduction — which typically accounts for between one-third and one-half of total Canadian feature film production volume — continued to play an important role in Canada’s theatrical feature
film sub-sector in 2014/15. While the number of feature film coproductions rose in 2014 — from 21 to 27 —
the value of the Canadian budgets for those films declined from $144 million to $131 million (Exhibit 2-90).
Nevertheless, many notable Canadian feature films produced in 2014/15 were treaty coproductions. Brooklyn
(Canada-UK-Ireland), Born to Be Blue (Canada-UK), Turbo Kid (Canada-New Zealand) and Room (CanadaIreland) are some of the Canadian coproductions filmed in 2014 that have received accolades around the world.41
In fact, both Brooklyn and Room have been nominated for the Oscar for Best Picture — only the second time
ever that Canadian films have been nominated in this category.
Mommy and numerous other Canadian films had strong showings on global film festival circuit in 2014/15
Whether funded by Telefilm Canada, produced through one of Canada’s audiovisual coproduction treaties or
crowdfunded, Canadian films garnered recognition and critical acclaim at film festivals around the world in
2014/15. Mommy led the way in terms of festival awards (see case study). After winning the Jury Award at the
Cannes Film Festival in May 2014, it went on to win Best Foreign Film or Foreign Language Film at Les César
Académie des Arts et Techniques du Cinéma in Paris, the Audience Award and Youth Jury Award at Tubingen
(Germany), Audience Citation at the Melbourne International Film Festival 2014, the Audience’s Award at the
Stockholm International Film Festival, and several awards at the Namur Festival International du Film Francophone. Several other Canadian films picked up awards at the Sundance Film Festival and the Venice Film Festival
as well as a host of other smaller festivals around the world (see table below).
C A N A D I A N F E AT U R E F I L M S ’ F E S T I V A L A W A R D S , 2 0 1 4 / 1 5
Abu Dhabi Film Festival
Les 18 fugitives, One-off Award
Sundance Film Festival
How to Change the World, Best Editing or Editor
Dublin International Film Festival
Tu dors Nicole, Special Jury Award
Warsaw Film Festival
David and Me, Audience Citation
Room, Audience Award
Santa Barbara International Film Festival
Bang Bang Baby, Miscellaneous Award
Venice Film Festival
Remember, Youth Jury Award
Source: Telefilm Canada
A strong box-office year for Canadian films exhibited in the English-language market in Canada helped lift
Canadians films overall domestic box office share
Much of the critical acclaim achieved by Canadian films in 2014/15 and the prior years translated into improved
Canadian box office performance for Canadian films in 2014. In the French-language market, Canadian films’
box office share was higher, but on lower dollar revenue. Although the total box office earned by Canadian films
in the French-language market dropped to an eight-year low of $12.1 million, the share edged up 10%, from
9% in 2013 (Exhibit 2-97). Strong theatre runs by Mommy ($2.98 million) and 1987 ($2.46 million) helped lift
the box office share. In the English-language market, Pompeii ($3 million), The Grand Seduction ($2.73 million)
and Trailer Park Boys 3: Don’t Legalize It ($2.01 million) helped propel Canadian films’ total box office earnings
to an eight-year high of $16.3 million, lifting its share to 2%, also an eight-year high. In some respects, it would
41Telefilm Canada (2015), “Canadian audiovisual industry spearheads 67 coproduction projects with total budgets of $527 million in 2014, an increase for
the second year running,” news release, October 22, 2015.
82 | Profile 2015
seem that the investment in higher budget English-language films in 2013/14 had a positive effect on Canadian
films’ box office in 2014.
The inverse relationship between earnings and share in Canada’s French-language market reflects the overall
contraction of the theatrical market in Canada in recent years. After hitting $1.09 billion in 2012, box office
revenue in Canada has fallen in two consecutive years (Exhibit 2-94). In 2014, total box office revenue was
$946 million, or about 14% below the 2012 level. Interestingly, US and foreign films have borne the brunt of the
rapidly dropping box office. The total earnings of Canadian films have, in fact, remained relatively stable since
2012 — staying within a range of $24 million to $28 million.
Canadians now watch 84% of all films outside of theatres; when it comes to Canadian films, the share has
been as high as 97% in recent years (2013)
The overall decline of box office revenues in Canada since 2012 is not at all surprising given the changing movieviewing habits among consumers. With the increasing adoption of HD televisions and broadband Internet
access over the past decade, many industry observers have predicted that the theatrical window would diminish in importance. Research commissioned by Telefilm Canada shows that Canadians watched 81% of films at
home in 2015; Canadians watched 16% of films at the theatre; they watched 3% of films on mobile devices.42
Interestingly, home-viewing increases with age, while theatre-viewing decreases with age. It is also interesting
that older age groups are displaying the highest rate of decline in theatre-going. Within the 18-24 age group, in
contrast, there appears to have been no change in 2015.43 It would appear that even though two-thirds of Canadians are moviegoers, theatre attendance is not only in decline in Canada, but it is also concentrated among
16% of the population who are considered heavy users of theatres.44
The changing viewing behaviour of Canadians has important cultural policy implications. Data analysis conducted by the Department of Canadian Heritage shows that there were 97 million views45 of Canadian theatrical
feature films in 2013, with 97% of those views occurring outside of theatres and 90% of them occurring on
some type of television service (i.e. a conventional, specialty or pay television service).46 More importantly, Canadian feature films’ share of total views in the English-language market is typically higher on non-theatrical
platforms (including conventional television, specialty television, pay television and VOD) than in theatres
(Exhibit 2-104).47 This suggests that there is significant consumer demand for Canadian films in the Englishlanguage market that cannot necessarily be met by the limited screen time available to Canadian films in that
market. When views across all platforms (excluding online platforms) are taken into account, the market share
of Canadian films was, in fact, 4.7%48 in 2013 or double the 2.3% share in the theatrical market (Exhibit 2-95).
Canadian producers have been quick to experiment with new business models and release strategies in order
to better reach audiences with rapidly changing viewing habits
Research also reveals that Canadians now watch over 40% of films on either VOD or Netflix.49 These transactional and subscription-based platforms are also displaying the fastest rates of growth, particularly among
younger age groups. In the Canadian market, where screen time for Canadian films — particularly in the English-language market — is already quite scarce, many Canadian producers have been quick to experiment with
new business models. The Cinecoup film accelerator model is one example of this experimentation. Its first
iteration led to the production and release of the successful feature film, WolfCop.
42 Telefilm Canada (2015), Audiences in Canada: Trend Report, p. 5.
43 Ibid., p. 9.
44 Ibid., p. 8.
45 The number of views refers to the number of times that a theatrical-release feature film was watched on a range of platforms.
46 Department of Canadian Heritage (2015), Seen on Screens: Viewing Canadian Feature Films on Multiple Platforms 2007 to 2013, April 2015, p. 6.
47In 2014, Canadian feature films’ share of views on specialty television (1.7%) was lower than their share in the theatrical market (2.0%). In all of the
previous six years (2006 to 2013), however, the share of views on specialty television was actually higher than the share for the theatrical market.
48 Department of Canadian Heritage (2015), p. 10.
49 Telefilm Canada (2015), p. 6.
Profile 2015 | 83
Canadian producers are also increasingly embracing day-and-date and, in some cases, ultra-VOD (UVOD)
release strategies as means to maximizing audience reach. Under a day-and-date release strategy, a film is released in theatres and on VOD and/or DVD on the same day. Under an UVOD release strategy, a film is released
on VOD before its theatre release. The Canada-New Zealand treaty coproduction, Turbo Kid, adopted a dayand-date release in selected Canadian theatres and on VOD on August 28, 2015.50 The micro-budget feature,
Two 4 One, not only used crowdfunding to raise financing, but also had a day-and-date release at the Carlton
Cinema in Toronto and exclusively on iTunes Canada on July 17, 2015.51 The international treaty coproduction,
Life, was released on a day-and-date basis in Canada and the US.
Both day-and-date and UVOD release strategies recognize that a theatrical release — even if it is very limited — is
important to building awareness for films. They also recognize that quicker — including immediate — availability
through a wider distribution channel is vital for reaching larger audiences, leveraging investments in social media
and marketing campaigns, and maintaining audience momentum for independent films.
n
VO L U M E
Exhibit 2-74 Total volume of Canadian theatrical feature film production
The total volume of Canadian theatrical feature film production increased by 1.7% to $349 million in 2014/15,
as the total number of feature films produced increased from 94 to 103.
400
350
298
298
300
326
326
323
323
340
340
343
343
349
349
2013/14
2014/15
260
260
250
$ millions
374
374
363
363
360
360
200
150
100
50
0
2005/06
2006/07
2007/08
2008/09
2009/10
2010/11
50 Julianna Cummins (2015), “Coming Soon: Turbo Kid,” Playback, August 24, 2015.
51 Julianna Cummins (2015), “Coming Soon: Two 4 One,” Playback, July 14, 2015.
84 | Profile 2015
2011/12
2012/13
Exhibit 2-75 Number of Canadian theatrical feature films
150
120
106
106
Number of films
90
103
103
100
100
111
111
116
116
114
114
125
125
103
103
94
94
84
84
60
30
0
2005/06
2006/07
2007/08
2008/09
2009/10
2010/11
2011/12
2012/13
2013/14
2014/15
n
E M P L OY M E N T
Exhibit 2-76 Number of FTEs generated by Canadian theatrical feature film production
Canadian theatrical feature film production supported 7,300 FTEs in Canada in 2014/15.
Direct jobs
10,000
Spin-off jobs
9,600
5,800
8,600
7,700
8,000
8,100
5,200
4,900
4,700
8,200
7,600
7,600
4,600
4,600
3,000
3,000
2010/11
2011/12
5,000
7,400
7,300
4,500
4,400
2,900
2,900
2013/14
2014/15
6,300
6,000
FTEs
3,800
4,000
3,800
3,000
3,200
2,500
2,000
0
3,400
3,200
2005/06
2006/07
2007/08
2008/09
2009/10
2012/13
Profile 2015 | 85
n
L A N G U AG E
Exhibit 2-77 Volume of Canadian theatrical feature film production, by language
Canadians produced 70 English-language theatrical feature films in 2014/15 with budgets totalling $248 million.
They also produced 33 theatrical feature films in French or other languages with total budgets of $101 million.
English-language
French-language
Bilingual and other
400
350
300
281
298
4
5
95
2
200
8
91
284
252
349
1
4
68
97
274
248
240
92
224
343
9
102
260
90
340
326
106
100
250
$ millions
5
323
10
70
374
363
360
216
193
166
150
100
50
0
2005/06
2006/07
2007/08
2008/09
2009/10
2010/11
2011/12
2012/13
2013/14
2014/15
Exhibit 2-78 Number of theatrical feature films, by language
English-language
2005/06
2006/07
2007/08
2008/09
2009/10
2010/11
2011/12
2012/13
2013/14
2014/15
57
69
63
63
70
66
75
88
59
70
French-language,
bilingual or other
27
37
40
37
41
50
39
37
35
33
Total
84
106
103
100
111
116
114
125
94
103
Note: Due to the low number of projects in the bilingual and other category, the data for this language category has been combined with the data for Frenchlanguage market.
86 | Profile 2015
n
GENRES
Exhibit 2-79 Volume of Canadian theatrical feature film production, by genre
The majority of theatrical feature film production was in the fiction genre in 2014/15. Canadians produced a total
of 77 fiction feature films in 2014/15, with total budgets of $280 million. The fiction genre accounted for 80% of
total production volume in the theatrical feature film sub-sector and 75% of the total number of films.
($ millions)
Fiction
Other genres
Total
2005/06
2006/07
2007/08
2008/09
2009/10
2010/11
2011/12
2012/13
2013/14
2014/15
356
282
297
226
305
291
277
355
298
280
4
16
26
34
58
35
63
19
45
69
360
298
323
260
363
326
340
374
343
349
2014/15
Source: Estimates based on data from CAVCO.
* Includes documentary, children’s and youth, and VAPA genres.
Exhibit 2-80 Number of Canadian theatrical feature films, by genre
Fiction
Other genres
Total
2005/06
2006/07
2007/08
2008/09
2009/10
2010/11
2011/12
2012/13
2013/14
83
98
89
88
84
85
81
107
70
77
9
15
23
25
27
31
33
18
24
26
92
113
112
113
111
116
114
125
94
103
* Includes documentary, children’s and youth, and VAPA genres.
Exhibit 2-81 Theatrical documentary feature film production
The production of Canadian documentary feature films for theatrical release decreased in 2014/15. The number
of films dropped from 15 to 10 in 2014/15, while production volume decreased from $7 million to $5 million.
2005/06
2006/07
2007/08
2008/09
2009/10
2010/11
2011/12
2012/13
2013/14
Volume ($ millions)
4
10
12
11
18
9
14
4
7
2014/15
5
Number of films
8
14
17
17
18
20
20
9
15
10
Note: Data for documentary films is included in the ‘Other genres’ category in the overall breakdown of feature film production by genre.
Profile 2015 | 87
n
BUDGETS
Exhibit 2-82 Budgets of theatrical feature films (fiction genre only)
The average budget for Canadian theatrical feature films fell back to $3.6 million in 2014/15 from a 10-year
high of $4.3 million in 2013/14. This year-over-year decrease was due to a 25% drop in the average budget of
English-language fiction feature films. Meanwhile the average budget for French-language fiction feature films
increased by 23% to $3.2 million.
($ millions per film)
English-language
Average
Median
French-language
Average
Median
All languages*
Average
Median
2005/06
2006/07
2007/08
2008/09
2009/10
2010/11
2011/12
2012/13
2013/14
2014/15
4.4
2.1
2.9
2.0
3.9
2.1
2.5
1.4
4.2
1.4
3.8
1.8
3.5
1.2
3.6
1.3
5.1
1.6
3.8
1.6
3.3
3.5
3.1
3.2
2.8
1.6
2.7
2.1
2.6
1.9
2.9
2.2
3.3
2.4
2.6
1.7
2.6
2.1
3.2
3.2
4.2
2.7
3.0
2.1
3.5
2.0
2.6
1.7
3.6
1.5
3.4
2.0
3.4
1.5
3.3
1.4
4.3
1.7
3.6
1.8
Note: Calculations exclude the foreign budgets of audiovisual treaty coproductions.
* including other languages
Exhibit 2-83 Average budgets of CFFF-supported theatrical feature films (fiction genre only)
The average budget for Telefilm CFFF-supported theatrical feature films followed the trend in the overall market.
It dropped by 21% to $2.7 million. Both English-language and French-language films displayed lower average
budgets in 2014/15. The average budget of fiction feature films produced in English dropped from $3.4 million
to $2.6 million; similarly the average budget of fiction feature films produced in French dropped from $3.4 million
to $2.7 million.
English-language
French-language
All languages
2005/06
2006/07
2007/08
2008/09
2009/10
2010/11
2011/12
2012/13
2013/14
2014/15
5.4
3.8
4.7
3.8
3.6
3.7
5.9
4.0
5.1
4.6
4.0
4.3
4.1
4.2
4.2
4.2
3.6
3.9
3.7
3.2
3.5
3.4
3.0
3.2
3.4
3.4
3.4
2.6
2.9
2.7
Notes:
Calculations exclude the foreign share of audiovisual treaty coproduction budgets in which Canada was a minority partner.
Statistics for 2005/06 to 2007/08 only include data from the CFFF Production Program and exclude data from the Low Budget Independent Feature Film
Assistance Program. Statistics for 2008/09 to 2012/13 include data for the Production Program and the Low Budget Independent Feature Film Assistance Program.
In 2013/14, the Low Budget Independent Feature Film Assistance Program was rolled into the Production Program.
88 | Profile 2015
Exhibit 2-84 Theatrical feature film projects, by budget size (fiction genre only)
A breakdown of fiction projects by budget-size bands indicates that the share of films with budgets of $10 million
or higher fell from 9% to 5% in 2014/15. However, the share of films with budgets in between $5 million and
$9.9 million increased to 23% — a 10-year high.
$10,000,000 and over
$5,000,000 to $9,999,999
Share of total number of theatrical feature films in fiction genre (%)
100%
8
22
2
19
12
$2,500,000 to $4,999,999
$1,000,000 to $2,499,999
1
15
23
28
80%
5
10
under $1,000,000
6
5
18
14
23
19
6
12
17
17
26
30
9
5
23
11
19
21
17
22
15
60%
35
34
17
37
26
30
23
19
40%
39
29
20%
0%
2005/06
26
27
2006/07
2007/08
38
27
2008/09
2009/10
35
29
2010/11
2011/12
2012/13
24
25
2013/14
2014/15
Note: Some totals may not sum due to rounding. Budget calculations exclude the foreign budgets of audiovisual treaty coproductions.
n
Exhibit 2-85 Volume of Canadian theatrical feature film production, by province and territory
With $178 million in production volume, Quebec was Canada’s largest province for theatrical feature film
production in 2014/15. Theatrical feature film production was lower in Ontario, however, in British Columbia
production rose to a 10-year high of $65 million in 2014/15.
($ millions)
2014/15
share of
2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15
total
Quebec
100
124
121
130
229
127
136
145
171
178
51%
Ontario
British Columbia
Alberta
Saskatchewan
New Brunswick
Newfoundland and
Labrador
Nova Scotia
Manitoba
Territories*
Prince Edward Island
Total
200
44
1
0
0
93
43
5
0
0
109
65
9
11
0
46
53
0
15
3
91
25
3
3
1
121
41
2
11
0
176
8
0
7
0
173
34
1
4
1
136
12
3
15
2
102
65
4
0
0
29%
19%
1%
0%
0%
0
10
2
3
0
360
0
21
8
3
0
298
1
3
5
0
0
323
2
10
0
0
0
260
0
9
1
0
0
363
0
11
14
0
0
326
1
2
10
0
0
340
2
8
7
0
0
374
2
1
0
0
0
343
0
0
0
0
0
349
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
100%
Profile 2015 | 89
MOMMY
XAVI ER DOLAN’S BREAKOUT FEATU RE FI LM GOES FROM CAN N ES DARLI NG TO BOX OFFICE
SUCCESS AN D CRITICAL ACCLAIM AT HOM E
Mommy is an intense and darkly funny tale of a single mother raising her violent teenage son with the help of a newly
befriended neighbour. Written and directed by Canadian auteur and enfant célèbre Xavier Dolan, the film has been
a critical and popular success both domestically and internationally. It also appears to have provided Dolan with the
springboard he needed to extend his reach into English-language filmmaking, including the US film industry.
With Dolan’s prodigious output and acclaim to date (he was only 24 when Mommy went into production) Mommy had
the backing of two production companies, Sons of Manual and Metafilms. The film also received financing from Telefilm
Canada, Société de développement des entreprises culturelles (SODEC) and CBC/Radio-Canada, and was made in
collaboration with specialty television services Super Écran and ICI ARTV, alongside the investment of distributor Les
Films Séville (Entertainment One’s Quebec subsidiary) and Seville International, the company’s boutique sales arm,
which handled international sales for Mommy and Dolan’s subsequent two features.
Mommy premiered at Cannes in May 2014, winning the Jury Prize and receiving a standing ovation of over 10 minutes.
This marked the beginning of a graduated marketing campaign by Les Films Séville, which has a continuing relationship
with Dolan, having represented all of his films since 2010’s Heartbeats / Les amours imaginaires. Les Films Séville
used word-of-mouth to build awareness and anticipation for Mommy’s North American premiere at the 2014 Telluride
Film Festival and its Canadian premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. This grassroots marketing campaign
was followed with a trailer and poster release to maintain momentum for the film as it entered theatrical release.
The theatrical release was also structured to build momentum: opening first in Montreal, then Toronto and then
Vancouver. In Canada, the film was released theatrically in the English-language market by Entertainment One and
in Quebec by Les Films Séville, and achieved a gross domestic box office of $3.25 million, with the majority of box
office revenue coming from Quebec. The film’s US distributor, Roadside Attractions released it at the end of January
2015 with a limited US theatrical run, where it achieved a gross box office of US$123,302 over a period of less
than two months screening in only a handful of theatres for most of that run.
The film went on to receive nine Canadian Screen Awards, including Best Motion Picture, Best Direction, Best Original
Screenplay and three awards for best acting. Mommy performed even better at the Jutra Awards, where it garnered
10 accolades. Mommy was also nominated for or won numerous awards around the world, perhaps most notably for
Best Foreign Film at the Césars in 2015.
Mommy has also been very popular with film critics and the general public. Metacritic reports that the film received
a score of 74 (out of 100) based on 34 reviews by international film critics. On IMDb, Mommy received a user rating
of 8.1/10 (>20,000 votes); on Rotten Tomatoes it received a score of 4.2/5 (>6,500 votes).
Despite positive reviews coming out of the Venice Film Festival, Dolan’s earlier work, Tom at the Farm / Tom à la ferme,
had failed to get a US release at all. However, on the back of Mommy’s performance in the US, Tom at the Farm / Tom à
la ferme was able to secure a deal with Amplify Releasing for an unrated release in film theatres and on VOD platforms.
Following the success of Mommy, Dolan has two films expected to be released in 2016/17: The first of these two
films is It’s Only the End of the World / Juste la fin du monde, is a screen adaption of a play by the same title. The
second film, The Death and Life of John F. Donovan, will be Dolan’s first English-language film as a director and will
star Kit Harington and Jessica Chastain — it offers the potential for even wider critical and popular acclaim, and
commercial success.
90 | Profile 2015
n
FINANCING
Exhibit 2-86 Financing of Canadian theatrical feature film production
Canadian theatrical feature film production drew the majority of its financing (57%) from public sources (i.e.
public broadcaster licence fees, federal tax credit, provincial tax credits, CFFF — Telefilm and other public) in
2014/15. After increasing to a five-year high of $88 million in 2013/14, foreign financing fell to $60 million in
2014/15.
2010/11
$ millions
Federal tax credits
Foreign
Telefilm-CFFF
Other public*
Other private**
Total
8
1
21
63
33
40
67
36
57
326
%
2011/12
$ millions
3
<1
6
19
10
12
21
11
17
100
3
1
24
74
24
79
60
30
45
340
2012/13
$ millions
%
1
<1
7
22
7
23
18
9
13
100
3
2
24
75
35
77
66
49
43
374
2013/14
$ millions
%
1
<1
6
20
9
21
18
13
11
100
3
0
27
69
42
88
60
16
38
343
%
2014/15
$ millions
1
<1
8
20
12
26
17
5
11
100
3
1
22
64
43
60
58
54
44
349
%
1
<1
6
18
12
17
17
15
13
100
Source: Estimates based on data obtained from CAVCO and Telefilm Canada.
Exhibit 2-87 Financing of Canadian theatrical feature film production, by language
Although foreign financing of French-language feature films rose to $13 million in 2014/15, a $40 million
reduction in the foreign financing of English-language feature films dragged down the overall level of foreign
financing of Canadian theatrical feature films. Public sources continued to play a much larger role in the financing
of French-language theatrical feature film production than English-language production in 2014/15. Public
sources accounted for 71% of financing for French-language production vs. 52% for English-language production.
English-language
2013/14
2012/13
$ millions
2014/15
French-language
2013/14
2012/13
% $ millions
% $ millions
% $ millions
% $ millions
2014/15
% $ millions
%
3
1
3
1
3
1
<1
<1
<1
<1
<1
<1
Federal tax credits
Canadian distributor
Foreign
Canada Feature Film Fund
Other public*
Other private**
Total
1
21
55
28
76
42
23
35
284
<1
7
19
10
27
15
8
12
100
<1
25
53
37
87
36
3
31
274
<1
9
19
13
32
13
1
11
100
1
18
42
35
47
40
28
36
248
<1
7
17
14
19
16
11
14
100
1
2
20
7
0
25
26
8
90
1
3
23
8
0
28
29
9
100
0
2
16
6
1
24
14
7
69
1
3
22
8
1
35
20
10
100
<1
4
23
8
13
19
25
8
101
0
4
22
8
13
19
25
8
100
Source: Estimates based on data obtained from CAVCO and Telefilm Canada.
Profile 2015 | 91
n
C A N A DA F E AT U R E F I L M F U N D ( T E L E F I L M C A N A DA )
The Canada Feature Film Fund (CFFF), established in 2000 and administered by Telefilm Canada, is the federal
government’s main program for the support of the Canadian theatrical feature film industry and the single largest source of financing for Canadian production in that sub-sector.
Exhibit 2-88 T otal Canadian theatrical feature film production volume with contributions from the
CFFF Production Program
In 2014/15, Telefilm Canada provided $89 million in financial support for the development, production,
distribution, marketing and promotion of Canadian feature films. This total financial support included $58 million
in financing for feature film production, which was distributed mainly through the CFFF Production Program to 67
Canadian feature films with combined budgets of $183 million.52
CFFF production funding
Other financing*
300
251
250
$ millions
200
217
153
151
181
163
150
191
221
147
115
187
208
148
194
183
128
118
125
99
99
100
50
64
68
66
69
67
2006/07
2007/08
2008/09
2009/10
2010/11
60
66
60
58
2013/14
2014/15
48
0
2005/06
2011/12
2012/13
* Other financing includes contributions from production companies, broadcasters, other government sources and distributors.
Notes: Some totals may not sum due to rounding. Calculations exclude the foreign share of audiovisual treaty coproduction budgets in which Canada was a minority
partner. Statistics for 2004/05 to 2007/08 only include data from the CFFF Production Program and exclude data from the Low Budget Independent Feature Film
Assistance Program. Statistics for 2008/09 to 2012/13 include data for the Production Program and the Low Budget Independent Feature Film Assistance Program.
In 2013/14, the Low Budget Independent Feature Film Assistance Program was rolled into the Production Program.
52The statistics in this section may differ from statistics reported by Telefilm Canada in its annual report. Beginning with the 2012/13 Annual Report,
Telefilm Canada reports only the level of production supported by all of its assistance programs on a combined basis. The statistics in this section include
data from the CFFF Production Program and exclude data from Theatrical Documentary Program and support for post-production.
92 | Profile 2015
Exhibit 2-89 N
umber of Canadian theatrical feature films that received financial support from the
CFFF Production Program, by language
English-language
French-language
80
73
25
70
60
51
Number of films
50
40
44
43
18
17
25
53
20
55
13
26
26
26
2006/07
2007/08
2008/09
60
25
25
19
22
31
30
60
67
33
33
2009/10
2010/11
35
35
2011/12
2012/13
48
48
2013/14
2014/15
20
18
10
0
2005/06
Profile 2015 | 93
n
A U D I OV I S U A L T R E AT Y C O P RO D U C T I O N
Exhibit 2-90 T otal volume* and activity of audiovisual treaty coproduction, theatrical feature
film sub-sector
Audiovisual treaty coproduction volume in the theatrical feature film sub-sector decreased by 12% in 2014 to a
total of $231 million.
Number of projects
300
28
24
250
27
23
22
19
16
14
200
308
303
$ millions
186
150
180
263
245
196
171
122
120
100
110
117
128
144
128
69
79
2005
76
2006
231
131
119
100
87
98
52
0
192
105
148
50
21
18
2007
61
46
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
94 | Profile 2015
Exhibit 2-91 T otal volume and activity of audiovisual treaty coproduction, theatrical feature film subsector, English-language production
Although French-language treaty coproduction was $7 million higher in 2014, a $39 million decrease in Englishlanguage production pulled down the overall level of theatrical feature film treaty coproduction volume.
Number of projects
200
21
18
16
175
15
11
11
8
150
219
8
150
236
$ millions
125
75
201
102
114
130
87
110
158
99
87
86
70
50
195
115
161
101
234
135
134
100
13
15
69
81
71
60
43
40
37
25
23
14
0
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
Profile 2015 | 95
Exhibit 2-92 T otal volume and activity of audiovisual treaty coproduction, theatrical feature film
sub-sector, French-language production
80
8
8
8
9
8
7
70
6
5
3
89
60
59
72
50
$ millions
Number of projects
14
52
40
60
37
44
38
30
29
40
35
20
20
31
30
24
23
16
29
34
20
19
17 17
16
17
13
10
9
0
36
20
2005
9
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
Exhibit 2-93 A
udiovisual treaty coproduction partner countries, theatrical feature film sub-sector,
2005-2014
Between 2005 and 2014, France was Canada’s most popular partner for treaty coproduction in the theatrical
feature film sub-sector, with 75 films and over $800 million in production volume. The UK and Germany were
also popular partners: producers in both countries participated in over $250 million in theatrical feature film
production with Canadian producers over the 10-year period.
France
United Kingdom
Germany
Belgium
Ireland
South Africa
Spain
Switzerland
China
Australia
Italy
Other bipartite
Multipartite*
Total
Canadian share of total global budgets
$ millions
Number of projects
75
837
415
50
25
19
8
7
5
5
5
5
4
4
35
15
212
257
482
33
57
35
62
16
20
12
61
102
186
2,159
110
300
13
41
12
34
7
13
5
48
55
65
1,120
43
62
40
72
36
56
44
67
46
79
54
35
52
96 | Profile 2015
%
BROOKLYN
FROM A STAN DI NG OVATION AT SU N DANCE, TH IS CANADIAN TREATY
COPRODUCTION HAS BEEN WI N N I NG OVER TH E I NTEREST OF CRITICS AN D
AU DI ENCES AROU N D TH E WORLD
The John Crowley-directed Brooklyn, is a UK-Ireland-Canada coproduction with clear potential for the
film awards season.
A romantic drama of an Irish immigrant’s tale of arriving in 1950s Brooklyn to start a new life but as
her past catches up with her, being torn between the two countries and her lives past and present.
Originally penned by well-regarded Irish novelist Colm Tóibín and adapted for the big screen by popular
novelist Nick Hornby, and boasting a roster of known character actors and new talent, the quality
production has already garnered critical and popular acclaim.
The production of Brooklyn included 18 days of filming in Montreal, three weeks of filming in Ireland
and 2 days in New York. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2015, receiving
a rare standing ovation at this year’s festival and triggering a bidding war overnight, ultimately resulting
in Fox Searchlight winning with a $9 million bid for the US distribution rights (and some international
territories) beating out Lionsgate, The Weinstein Co., Focus and CBS Films with one of the highest ever
sales of the festival.
The Canadian premiere was at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2015, where it
was selected as a Special Presentation. This was followed up with a presentation at the Vancouver
International Film Festival, where it won the People’s Choice Award, and interestingly the Audience
Award at the Mill Valley Film Festival, the ‘filmmakers’ film festival’ and a staging post for Academy
Award campaigns. In January 2016, Brooklyn received three Oscar nominations, including Best Picture.
Brooklyn was released in the US, UK, Ireland and Canada in November 2015, with release dates for
the rest of Europe and Australia set for early 2016. The film has quickly garnered critical acclaim with
a Metacritic rating of 87 out of 100 (33 critics) and popular acclaim with a Rotten Tomatoes audience
rating of 91% (8,920 ratings) and an IMDb rating of 7.9 (1,932 users). As of January 1, 2016, it
had earned a box office of over US$20 million in the US53 and US$7.3 million in the UK, Ireland and
Malta54. In fact, in Ireland, the film notched up the biggest opening weekend for an Irish film since
Michael Collins in 1996.
Brooklyn was produced by the UK’s Wildgaze Films and Finola Dwyer Productions and coproduced by
Canada’s Item 7 and, Ireland’s Parallel Film Productions. It also received financing from BBC Films,
Telefilm Canada, Société de développement des entreprises culturelles (SODEC), The Irish Film Board/
Bord Scannán Na hÉireann, the British Film Institute, Ingenious, Broadcasting Authority of Ireland and
RTE. Hanway Films is handling foreign sales and the film is distributed in Canada by Mongrel Media
and Métropole Films.
53IMDb
54Boxofficemojo.com
Profile 2015 | 97
n
N AT I O N A L B OX O F F I C E T R E N D S
Exhibit 2-94 Box office revenues in Canada, by origin of production
The total value of Canada’s theatrical box office was below $1 billion for the first time since 2008. The total box
office in Canada decreased by 9.2% to $946 million in 2014. Across both language markets, French and English,
Canadian films earned $28 million at the Canadian box office, accounting for a 3% share.
Canada
US
Other foreign
1,200
1,094
1,007
1,000
920
858
$ millions
800
28
26
1,030
1,001
34
32
28
889
954
864
1,042
27
902
24
946
923
28
820
815
763
600
400
200
165
0
67
80
84
43
2007
2008
2009
2010
Source: Movie Theatre Association of Canada (MTAC).
98 | Profile 2015
109
2011
2012
95
97
2013
2014
Exhibit 2-95 Share of total box office revenues in Canada, by origin of production
Canada
US
Other foreign
Share of total box office at theatres in Canada (%)
100%
80%
3.3
2.9
3.3
3.1
2.8
2.5
2.3
3.0
88.9
88.4
88.3
92.7
86.3
82.4
88.6
86.7
7.8
8.7
8.3
9.1
10.3
2007
2008
2009
2013
2014
60%
40%
20%
0%
4.2
2010
10.9
2011
15.1
2012
Source: MTAC.
Exhibit 2-96 Number of new-release feature films playing in theatres in Canada, by origin of
production
Canada
US
Other foreign
800
748
696
652
Number of films
466
400
122
582
600
83
229
485
97
553
89
470
230
217
137
129
93
94
269
273
226
209
181
342
263
200
154
0
2007
294
2012
2013
250
196
171
2008
304
2009
2010
2011
2014
Source: Department of Canadian Heritage analysis of data from MTAC.
Note: Data only include feature films released for the first time in theatres in a particular year. For example, the statistics for 2014 only include the number of films
released in Canadian theatres for the first time in 2014.
Profile 2015 | 99
n
B OX O F F I C E B Y L I N G U I S T I C M A R K E T
Historically, Canadian feature films have displayed contrasting box office performance patterns in Canada’s two
major language markets. In this section, we examine separately the box office statistics for theatres in Canada’s
French-language and English-language markets.55
Exhibit 2-97 Box office revenues and market share at theatres in Canada, by linguistic market
Canadian films’ share of the box office in Canada rose in both language markets in 2014. Canadian films share
of the French-language market increased to 10%, while Canadian films’ share in the English-language market
increased to an eight-year high of 2%.
French-language market
($ millions)
Box office of Canadian films presented in French
Box office of foreign films presented in French
Total box office of films presented in French
Canadian films' share
(Number of feature films playing in theatres in Canada)
Canadian films playing in Canadian theatre
Foreign films playing in Canadian theatre
Total films playing in Canadian theatre
Ratio of foreign to Canadian films
English-language market
($ millions)
Box office of Canadian films presented in English
Box office of foreign films presented in English
Total box office of films presented in English
Canadian films' share
(Number of feature films playing in theatres in Canada)
Canadian films playing in Canadian theatre
Foreign films playing in Canadian theatre
Total films playing in Canadian theatre
Ratio of foreign to Canadian films
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
20.8
107.6
128.5
16.2%
17.4
108.5
125.9
13.8%
27
118
145
18.5%
20.1
129.8
149.9
13.4%
19.8
127.3
147.1
13.5%
12.9
130.2
143.1
9.0%
12.6
126.7
139.3
9.0%
12.1
108.4
120.5
10.0%
84
328
412
3.9
79
293
372
3.7
78
316
394
4.1
74
293
367
4.0
76
279
355
3.7
78
310
388
4.0
97
301
398
3.1
91
280
371
3.1
6.9
722.2
729.1
1.0%
8.5
786.0
794.5
1.1%
6.8
855
862
0.8%
12.1
867.9
880
1.4%
8.1
845.8
852.9
0.9%
13.9
937.2
951.2
1.5%
11.2
893.0
915.3
1.2%
16.3
809.1
825.3
2.0%
63
438
501
7.0
72
436
508
6.1
71
422
493
5.9
70
406
476
5.8
76
568
644
7.5
80
803
883
10.0
111
867
978
7.8
121
870
991
7.2
Source: MTAC.
55In Canada, the French-language market refers to all films presented in French. This includes films for which the original language of production was French,
as well as other films dubbed into French, or presented with French subtitles. The English-language market refers to all films presented in English (original
language, dubbed or subtitled).
100 | Profile 2015
EX H I BITION SECTOR I N CANADA
The exhibition sector includes theatre chains and independent theatres that exhibit theatrical feature
films. Despite the growth in online digital distribution platforms, the theatrical exhibition industry
remains an important window for the release of feature films in Canada.
Total revenue in the exhibition sector
In 2014, the exhibition sector in Canada earned estimated total revenue of $1.74 billion.
2,000
1,750
1,500
1,384
1,484
1,534
2008
2009
1,770
1,648
1,609
2010
2011
1,835
1,736
$ millions
1,250
1,000
750
500
250
0
2007
2012
2013E
2014E
Source: Nordicity estimates based on data from MTAC, Cineplex Inc. and Statistics Canada, catalogue no. 87F0009X.
E — Estimates made in lieu of statistics published by Statistics Canada.
Note: See Motion Picture Association-Canada and Canadian Media Production Association (2013), The Economic Contribution of the Film and Television
Sector in Canada for additional description of methodology.
Sources of revenue in the exhibition sector, 2014
Total revenue in the exhibition sector in 2014 included $946 million in box office revenue, and estimated
$527 million in food and beverage sales, and an estimated $263 million in revenue from other sources.
Food and beverage
30%
Other
revenue*
15%
Total revenue:
$1.82 billion
Box office
55%
Source: Nordicity estimates based on data from MTAC, Cineplex Inc. and Statistics Canada, catalogue no. 87F0009X.
* Includes revenue earned from sale of in-theatre advertising, other advertising sales, merchandise sales, private screenings and parties, and
corporate events.
See Motion Picture Association-Canada and Canadian Media Production Association (2013), The Economic Contribution of the Film and Television Sector
in Canada for additional description of methodology.
Profile 2015 | 101
n
T O P F E AT U R E F I L M S B Y L A N G U AG E O F P R E S E N TAT I O N
Exhibit 2-98 Top 10 feature films presented in
the English-language market, 2014
Title
Box office
receipts*
($ millions)
Country
of origin
1. Guardians of the Galaxy
33.29
US
2. The Lego Movie
27.66
US
3. Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part I
24.05
US
4. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
23.34
US
5. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
US23.27 New Zealand
6. X-Men: Days of Future Past
20.81
US
7. 22 Jump Street
19.27
US
8. Transformers: Age of Extinction
18.47
US
9. The Amazing Spider-Man 2
18.30
US
10. Dawn of the Planets of the Apes
17.31
US
Source: MTAC.
* Box office receipts earned between January 1 and December 31, 2014.
This amount may under-represent a particular film’s total box office
receipts, if the film played in Canadian cinemas across two calendar years.
Exhibit 2-99 Top 10 feature films presented in
the French-language market, 2014
Box office
receipts*
($ millions)
Country
of origin
1. Hunger Games : La révolte partie 1
(Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1)
3.43
US
2. Le hobbit : La bataille des cinq armées
(The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies)
US3.22 New Zealand
Title
3. Mommy
2.98
Canada
4. L’aube de la planète des singes
(Dawn of the Planets of the Apes)
2.94
US
5. Les gardiens de la galaxie
(Guardians of the Galaxy)
2.90
US
6. Dragons 2 (How to Train Your Dragon 2)
2.71
US
7. 22 Jump Street
2.49
US
8. Capitaine America : Le soldat de l’hiver
(Captain America: The Winter Soldier)
2.46
US
9. 1987
2.46
Canada
10. X-Men : Jours d’un avenir passé
(X-Men: Days of Future Past)
2.36
US
Source: MTAC.
This amount may under-represent a particular film’s total box office receipts,
if the film played in Canadian cinemas across two calendar years.
Exhibit 2-100 Top 10 Canadian-produced
feature films presented in the English-language
market, 2014
Six Canadian feature films earned over $1 million
at the box office in the Canadian English-language
market in 2014. In fact, Pompeii led all Canadian
films, with over $4 million at the box office in Canada,
including $3 million in the English-language market.
Exhibit 2-101 Top 10 Canadian-produced
feature films presented in the French-language
market, 2014
Three feature films earned over $1 million in the
smaller French-language market. Mommy led all
films in this market, earning just under $3 million.
Title
Title
Box office
Official
receipts* language of
($ millions) production
1. Pompeii
3.00
English
2. The Grand Seduction
2.73
English
English
3. Trailer Park Boys 3: Don't Legalize It
2.01
4. Dr. Cabbie
1.79
English
5. Brick Mansions
1.50
English
6. The F Word
1.20
English
7. The Captive
0.97
English
8. Enemy
0.52
English
9. Hector and the Search for Happiness
0.45
English
10 Mommy
0.32
French
Source: MTAC.
102 | Profile 2015
Box office
Official
receipts* language of
($ millions) production
1. Mommy
2.98
2. 1987
2.46
French
French
3. Pompéi
1.07
English
4. La petite reine
0.91
French
5. Assaut extrême
0.46
English
6. Le vrai du faux
0.43
French
7. Les maîtres du suspense
0.42
French
8. Le coq de St-Victor
0.41
French
9. Tom à la ferme
0.37
French
10. Le règne de la beauté
0.35
French
Source: MTAC.
n
V I E W I N G O N A LT E R N AT E P L AT F O R M S
While the movie theatre window represents a key platform for the exhibition of feature films, other platforms
such as home video rental and sales (i.e., Blu-ray Disc and DVDs), and various television-release windows (i.e.,
VOD, pay-per-view, specialty and pay television, and conventional television) also account for a large share
of the overall audience for feature films. In fact, these post-theatre platforms often account for the majority of
viewing and revenues earned by a feature film.
The statistics in this section are drawn from the methodology developed by the Department of Canadian Heritage as part of its report, Seen on Screens: Viewing Canadian Feature Films on Multiple Platforms 2007 to 2013.
The statistics include the market share held by Canadian feature films on home video and television platforms,
and therefore present a better picture of Canadian feature films’ market share within Canada than simply theatrical box office. However, the statistics in this section do not include online platforms and thereby exclude a
fast-growing platform for feature film viewing in Canada.
Exhibit 2-102 Market share of Canadian feature films in Canada, home video vs. theatrical box office
In recent years, Canadian films’ share of domestic home video sales and rentals has tracked the trends at the
theatrical box office. In 2014, Canadian films’ share of domestic home video sales and rentals rose from 2% to
2.6%, just as Canadian films’ share of the theatrical box office rose from 2.3% to 3%.
DVD/Blu-ray sales and rentals (share of total copies)
Theatrical box office (share of box office receipts)
4.0%
3.4
3.2
3.0%
3.1
2.8
3.0
2.8
2.5
2.3
2.0%
2.3
2.3
2.4
2.6
2.2
2.1
2.0
1.9
1.0%
0.0%
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
Source: Department of Canadian Heritage analysis of data from Nielsen VideoScan (sales), Rentrak Corporation (rentals) and MTAC (theatrical box office).
Note: Home video sales market share based on share of top 3,000 feature film titles that had a theatrical release; home video rentals market share based on share
of top 800 feature film titles that had theatrical release. Market shares are based on the share of total copies.
Profile 2015 | 103
Exhibit 2-103 Market share of Canadian feature films exhibited in Canada, television windows vs.
theatrical box office
Canadian feature films’ share of audiences exceeded their 3% share of the theatrical box office on all television
platforms except the specialty television platform in 2014. The shares of views held by Canadian films on pay
television (8.9%), conventional television (7.3%) and VOD (6.1%) were all more than double the share they held
at the theatrical box office.
Conventional TV (share of total views)
Specialty TV (share of total views)
Pay television (share of total views)
VOD (share of viewer orders)*
10%
8.9
8.6
8.0
7.8
7.6
7.2
6.1
8.9
8.5
8.0
8%
6%
8.9
8.6
7.4
7.1
7.3
6.9
6.1
5.9
4.7
4.0
4%
3.5
3.3
3.3
2.9
3.4
3.1
2.8
2.6
2%
3.1
2.3
2.5
2.2
3.0
2.1
1.3
0%
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
Source: Department of Canadian Heritage analysis of data from Numeris (television markets), CRTC (VOD) and MTAC (theatrical box office).
Note: For the television markets, the total number of views was estimated by dividing the total number of minutes spent watching a feature film by the average
duration of the film. Only feature films that had a theatrical release were considered in this analysis. Market shares are based on total views.
* Includes free and paid orders. Data not available prior to 2012.
104 | Profile 2015
Exhibit 2-104 M
arket share of Canadian feature films exhibited in English in Canada, television
windows vs. theatrical box office
In the English-language market, Canadian feature films’ share of audiences exceeded their 2% share of the
theatrical box office on all television platforms except the specialty television platform in 2014. Canadian films’
share of audiences on the conventional television (9.1%) and pay television (8.4%) platforms was more than four
times their share of the theatrical box office (2%).
10%
9.2
7.4
6.7
6%
7.6
7.5
7.1
6.8
5.6
5.2
4%
6.9
6.7
8.4
8.1
8.0
8%
3.9
4.9
4.2
3.9
3.6
3.0
3.1
2.9
2.2
2%
0%
9.1
1.0
1.1
2007
2008
0.9
0.8
2009
1.9
1.5
1.4
2010
2011
2012
1.2
2013
2.0
1.7
2014
Profile 2015 | 105
Exhibit 2-105 Market share of Canadian feature films exhibited in French in Canada, television
windows vs. theatrical box office
In contrast, in the French-language market, Canadian feature films’ share of audiences on television platforms
was either equal to or lower than the 10% market share held at the theatrical box office.
20%
18.5
16.2
16%
13.8
13.4
12%
8%
11.5
11.3
10.7
10.8
8.6
8.0
13.4
8.7
8.8
9.4
11.3
10.0
10.0
9.0
7.3 7.6
7.7
8.2
10.0
8.5
9.0
8.9
7.6
6.7
5.8
6.5 6.3
6.2
5.1
4.9
4%
0%
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
106 | Profile 2015
3. FOREIGN LOCATION AND SERVICE
PRODUCTION
The foreign location and service (FLS) production sector comprises feature films and television programs
filmed in Canada by foreign producers or Canadian service producers.56 The sector also includes the
visual effects (VFX) work done by Canadian VFX studios for foreign films and television programs. For
the majority of FLS projects, the copyright is held by non-Canadian producers; however, for approximately
10% of projects, the copyright is held by Canadians (Exhibit 3-8).
During the past five years, Canada’s FLS production sector has contributed to numerous films that
achieved successful global box office runs. Some recent Hollywood films that have either shot in
Canada or had their VFX work done in Canada include Godzilla, Iron Man 3 and The Walk. Canada has
also become a destination for the filming of many American television series and mini-series such as
Arrow, Suits and The Strain, which have been commissioned by the networks as well as online video
streaming services.
• The total volume of FLS production in Canada rose by 42.4%,
to $2.6 billion.
• Ontario’s FLS production increased by 22.2% to $545 million
and accounted for 21% of the national total.
• There were a total of 279 FLS production projects in Canada —
a 19.2% increase.
• Quebec’s FLS production rose by 87.1% to $275 million and
accounted for 11% of the national total.
• FLS production activity increased as the value of the Canadian
dollar continued to decline in 2014/15.
• Canada hosted the production of 115 FLS television series,
representing just over half of the sector’s total production
volume.
• FLS production generated a total of 54,600 full-time
equivalent jobs (FTEs), including 21,500 direct FTEs in film
and television production and a further 33,100 spin-off FTEs.
• FLS production generated gross domestic product (GDP) of
$3.3 billion for the Canadian economy, including $1.3 billion
in direct GDP and over $2 billion in spin-off GDP.
• Canada also hosted the production of 111 FLS feature films,
representing just over 40% of the sectors’ total production
volume.
• United States (US) producers were the source of 71% of all
FLS projects.
• British Columbia’s FLS production increased by 54.8% to a
total of just under $1.7 billion; it represented 64% of the
national total.
56 Canadian service producers include producers who provide production and/or post-production services in Canada on behalf of non-Canadian producers.
F O R E I G N L O C AT I O N A N D S E R V I C E P R O D U C T I O N
The overall volume of FLS production rose by 42.4% to reach $2.6 billion (Exhibit 3-1). British Columbia led the
way in terms of growth in 2014/15 with a 55% increase, bringing its total volume to over $1.6 billion (Exhibit
3-5).57 Indeed, British Columbia accounted for three quarters of the overall growth in FLS production volume
in 2014/15. However, Canada’s other main provinces for FLS production — Ontario and Quebec — also posted
healthy increases in FLS production.
The Canadian dollar did continue to drift lower in 2014/15, and thereby made filming in Canada more affordable
for foreign producers; however, the scale of the increase in production volume appears to have gone beyond
what could be explained by the exchange rate alone. Historically, the relationship between annual changes in
the value of the Canadian dollar and volume of FLS production has been inconsistent. As Exhibit 3-2 shows,
the volume of FLS production was almost as likely to move in the same direction as the Canadian dollar than
in the opposite direction. Between 2005/06 and 2014/15, FLS production volume and the Canadian dollar
moved in the same direction in four of the nine year-over-year changes. The fact that the Canadian dollar was
probably only part of the story in 2014/15 and the fact that there were no increases or enhancements to federal
or provincial production services tax credits would suggest that other factors may have been underpinning
Canada’s recent performance in the FLS market.
In fact, Canada may be a beneficiary of a resurgence in the production of scripted drama and comedy in recent
years by US networks and cable channels.58 US networks and cable channels are now commissioning 400 scripted series annually, up from 370 in 2014 and nearly double the level in 2009.59
British Columbia led the way, as its volume of FLS production rose by $592 million to just shy of $1.7 billion
For the better part of the last decade, FLS production in British Columbia has hovered around the $1 billion level,
although the province nearly reached $1.4 billion in 2010/11 (Exhibit 3-5). However, it has never seen its volume
of FLS production reach just shy of $1.7 billion as it did in 2014/15. Both feature film and television production
contributed to the $592 million increase in production volume in 2014/15; however, it was television production
that accounted for nearly three-quarters of the year-over-year growth. The number of television series shot in
British Columbia only went up marginally — from 49 to 55. However, the value of that television production
practically doubled from $441 million to $871 million in 2014/15. The province was the host to several bigbudget US network and cable series, including, Cedar Cove, Arrow, Once Upon a Time and Bates Motel.
All this television production did not take away from the province’s FLS feature film activity. In 2014/15, the
province hosted the filming of Tomorrowland, Night at the Museum 3: Secret of the Tomb and Warcraft.
VFX has also been a big part of British Columbia’s growth, as Vancouver becomes a global hub for VFX alongside
California, New York and London. In March 2014, Industrial Light & Magic, which already had a satellite office
in Vancouver, moved to a larger Vancouver facility where it completed some of the VFX work for Star Wars:
The Force Awakens, Warcraft and Tomorrowland.60 In the process, it increased its staff count in the province
from 130 to 200.61 In May 2014, Sony Pictures Imageworks moved its head office from Culver City, California
to Vancouver’s Pacific Centre, increasing its British-Columbia-based workforce from around 350 to 700 in
the process.62 In fall 2014, the UK-based VFX house, Double Negative, opened a studio in Vancouver.63 And
in November 2014, California-based VFX shop FuseFX announced the opening of a new Vancouver studio.64
57Note that Creative BC tabulates production volume on the basis of the fiscal year in which a film or television project receives approval for its tax credit
application and not necessarily the fiscal year in which the project’s filming has taken place. As a result, the statistics for 2014/15 may include projects
that were filmed in an earlier fiscal year.
58 Garber et al. (2015).
59 Garber et al. (2015); Sepinwall (2015).
60 Mark Dillon (2014), “How Vancouver ran away with L.A.’s VFX…,” Playback, September 22, 2014.
61 Ibid.
62Etan Vlessing (2014), “Sony Pictures Imageworks moves head office to Vancouver,” Playback, May 30, 2014; Bruce Constantineau (2014), “Sony Pictures
Imageworks to move head office to Vancouver,” Vancouver Sun, June 4, 2014.
63 Vancity Buzz Staff (2014), “Double Negative Vancouver Studio opening this fall,” Vancity Buzz, July 2, 2014.
64 Julianna Cummins (2014), “FuseFX expands to Vancouver,” Playback, November 26, 2014.
108 | Profile 2015
According to Creative BC, the total volume of VFX and computer animation production in the province increased
from $249 million in 2013/14 to $380 million in 2014/15.65
Ontario continued to grow as an FLS production destination, particularly for television series
Ontario continued to grow as a key destination for FLS television production — not only within Canada but
across North America. Overall, FLS production rose by just under $100 million to reach a 10-year high of
$545 million in 2014/15 (Exhibit 3-5). Ontario’s growth in 2014/15 was entirely attributable to television production. In just one year, the number of television series shot in the province nearly doubled, from 21 to 41.
Toronto was the host to several series airing on the US cable channel Syfy, including The Expanse, 12 Monkeys
and Defiance. Other notable television series shot in Toronto included Fox TV’s Damien, FX’s The Strain, Starz’s
The Girlfriend Experience, and USA Network’s Suits. Altogether, these television series, along with the production
of FLS mini-series and pilots, generated $456 million in production volume for the province, or 83% of its total
FLS volume in 2014/15. Feature film production, meanwhile, was down in Ontario in 2014/15. It dropped from
$145 million to $88 million. Nevertheless, the province still hosted the production of 13 feature films in 2014/14,
including the big-budget feature, Pixels.
Feature film production propelled Quebec to a 10-year high in FLS production
In contrast to Ontario, Quebec’s FLS activity in 2014/15 was concentrated in the feature film segment, as it has
been in previous years. Overall, Quebec’s FLS production increased from $147 million in 2013/14 to $275 million
in 2014/15 — an 87% increase (Exhibit 3-5). Over 90% of this growth in the province’s FLS production came from
feature film production — the province’s historical strength. The Walk and X-Men: Apocalypse were among the
28 feature films that were either filmed in Quebec or had their VFX done in the province. Indeed, like Vancouver,
Montreal has established itself as a destination for inward investment in VFX studios. One of the UK’s leading
VFX shops, Framestore, chose to open its North American base in Montreal in 2013.66 California-based VFX
studio Atomic Fiction also opened a studio in Montreal and is expected to ultimately grow to 100 employees.67
And London-based Cinesite opened a VFX studio in Montreal in January 2014.68
Whether it has been an appreciating Canadian dollar or expanding number of production incentives available around the world, the Canadian sector has been able to weather the storms. Canada’s skilled production
workforce, modern studio infrastructure and stable system of incentives will help the sector to remain globally
competitive in the years to come, regardless of the value of the Canadian dollar.
65Creative BC (2015), “2014/2015 Tax Credit Certification Activity,” accessed at: http://www.creativebc.com/database/files/library/Final_Tax_Credit_
Certification_2012_2015_Tables_Version_3_June_10_2015(1).pdf. Note that these statistics only include the value of VFX production based on projects
for which live action filming did not also take place in BC. As a result, the VFX statistics under-report the total volume of VFX production in the province.
66 Danielle Ng See Quan (2013), “VFX co Framestore expands with Montreal launch,” Playback, January 28, 2013.
67 Julianna Cummins (2014), “Atomic Fiction expands to Montreal,” Playback, September 25, 2014.
68 Cinesite (2014), “Cinesite Opens Studio in Montreal,” January 20, 2014, www.cinesite.com/press-release-cinesite-opens-studio-in-montreal/.
Profile 2015 | 109
n
VO L U M E
Exhibit 3-1 Total volume of foreign location and service production
The total volume of FLS production rose 42.4% to $2.6 billion in 2014/15. About three quarters of this increase
was due to a $592 million increase in FLS production in British Columbia; however, both Ontario and Quebec
contributed to the rise with increases of $99 million and $128 million respectively.
3,000
2,600
2,500
2,000
$ millions
1,445
1,433
1,500
1,874
1,770
1,669
1,687
1,740
2011/12
2012/13
1,826
1,508
1,000
500
0
2005/06
2006/07
2007/08
2008/09
2009/10
2010/11
2013/14
2014/15
Source: Association of Provincial Funding Agencies.
Exhibit 3-2 Total volume of foreign location and service production vs. Canadian dollar
Total volume (real 2013 dollars) (left axis)
Value of Canadian dollar (right axis)
3,000
110
2,500
100
$ millions
90
1,500
80
1,000
70
500
0
2005/06
2006/07
2007/08
2008/09
2009/10
2010/11
Source: Bank of Canada, Statistics Canada and Association of Provincial Funding Agencies.
110 | Profile 2015
2011/12
2012/13
2013/14
2014/15
60
US cents per C$
2,000
n
Exhibit 3-3 Number of FTEs generated by foreign location and service production
FLS production generated 54,600 FTEs in 2014/15 and generated $3.13 billion in GDP for the Canadian economy.
Direct jobs
Spin-off jobs
60,000
54,600
33,100
50,000
40,000
44,300
44,500
43,700
26,900
27,000
26,500
37,200
FTEs
22,600
35,100
35,900
21,300
21,800
37,900
38,200
39,100
23,000
23,200
23,700
30,000
20,000
21,500
17,500
17,400
14,600
10,000
0
2005/06
2006/07
2007/08
17,200
13,800
14,100
2008/09
2009/10
2010/11
14,900
15,000
15,400
2011/12
2012/13
2013/14
2014/15
Source: Estimates based on data from the Association of Provincial Funding Agencies, Statistics Canada and Conference Board of Canada.
Exhibit 3-4 Summary of the economic impact of foreign location and service production, 2014/15
Employment (FTEs)
Direct
Spin-off
Total
21,500
33,100
54,600
1,222
1,291
2,513
GDP ($ millions)
1,274
2,040
3,313
Source: Estimates based on data from data from the Association of Provincial Funding Agencies, Statistics Canada and the Conference Board of Canada.
Note: Some totals may not sum due to rounding. See the Notes on Methodology section for a description of methodology.
Profile 2015 | 111
n
Exhibit 3-5 Volume of foreign location and service production, by province and territory
British Columbia led the way with a 54.8% increase in what was already a billion-dollar-a-year industry in the province. The
province cemented its position as Canada’s leading centre for FLS production, accounting for 64% of the national total.
British Columbia’s growth did not come at the expense of Canada’s other leading centres for FLS production, however.
Ontario and Quebec posted increases of 22.2% and 87.1%, respectively in 2014/15. As the location for the filming
of Klondike and Fargo, Alberta maintained its position as Canada’s fourth largest centre for FLS production in
2014/15.
($ millions)
2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15
Share of
2014/15
total
British Columbia
973
861
1,174
900
1,092
1,364
1,102
1,076
1,080
1,672
64%
Ontario
455
288
350
206
225
224
382
399
446
545
21%
11%
Quebec
99
125
120
211
122
240
157
212
147
275
Alberta
37
54
24
20
7
4
13
4
88
92
4%
Manitoba
34
38
56
2
15
11
8
23
47
11
<1%
Territories*
4
3
5
6
0
1
3
2
2
3
<1%
New Brunswick
0
0
0
10
0
n/a
n/a
0
0
1
<1%
0
0
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
0
0
<1
<1%
Saskatchewan
n/a
n/a
13
9
n/a
0
1
1
0
0
0%
Newfoundland and
Labrador
n/a
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0%
61
63
29
80
43
31
22
25
17
n/a
–
1,669
1,433
1,770
1,445
1,508
1,874
1,687
1,740
1,826
2,600
100%
Nova Scotia
Total
n/a — Data not available or suppressed for confidentiality.
112 | Profile 2015
IMAG E ENG I N E
Based in Vancouver, British Columbia., Image Engine Design Inc. is one of a growing number of VFX
companies that have seen increasing growth and success in the past few years. Image Engine is involved
in concept designs, pre-visualization, supervision and VFX production and worked on productions such
as District 9, Zero Dark Thirty, Chappie, Jurassic World and Game of Thrones.
The company has worked extensively with other VFX companies such as Industrial Light & Magic
(ILM). Oftentimes the creation of VFX requires the expertise of many different specialty VFX areas.
On recent work for Jurassic World, ILM teamed up with Image Engine who were brought on to work on
280 shots, comprising environment extensions, FX elements, jungle simulations and highly detailed
matte paintings. The team even worked on the creation of the dinosaurs themselves, which posed a
number of visual challenges.
British Columbia has emerged as a hotspot for VFX in film and television industry. Those working in the
industry suggest that this is largely due to three reasons: talent, tax credits and its Hollywood-aligned
time zone.69 The combination of these three factors has ensured a steady stream of production
work for big-budget films. However, in order for the industry to meet growing demand and increased
competition, companies like Image Engine must invest in developing talent.
“Our most important asset is our talented people, so at Image Engine we believe it is important to invest
proactively in the training and cultivation of the city’s next generation of artists,” says Greg Holmes,
Image Engine’s Chief Executive Officer.
Image Engine’s trajectory is also telling of another recent occurrence in British Columbia’s VFX market:
the entrance of larger foreign players looking to merge or acquire the British-Columbia-based firms.
In the case of Image Engine, this was a merger with the UK-based VFX studio, Cinesite, in July 2015.
The companies state that their complementary strengths will allow them to move into new areas of
animation and VFX.
Image Engine’s most recent projects include: The Last Witch Hunter, Deadpool and Independence
Day — Resurgence.
69 Adrian Mack (2014), “Vancouver’s visual effects industry blossoms,” The Georgia Straight, May 28, 2014.
Profile 2015 | 113
n
TYPES
Exhibit 3-6 Total volume of foreign location and service production, by type
An increase in the number of television series shot in British Columbia and Ontario lifted overall television series
production to $1.3 billion. Feature film production also surpassed the $1 billion mark for only the third time during
the past decade.
Feature films
TV series
TV other (e.g., MOWs, mini-series)
3,000
2,600
2,500
1,067
2,000
$ millions
1,669
1,500
1,874
1,770
1,096
1,012
1,687
933
1,433
1,445
742
667
1,508
1,740
1,347
675
969
380
278
0
857
642
841
1,000
500
1,826
2005/06
605
519
806
720
703
507
446
186
228
260
228
222
2006/07
2007/08
2008/09
2009/10
2010/11
143
2011/12
129
2012/13
163
185
2013/14
2014/15
Exhibit 3-7 Annual number of foreign location and service projects, by type
2005/06
2006/07
2007/08
2008/09
2009/10
2010/11
2011/12
2012/13
2013/14
Feature films
87
74
103
89
53
66
99
93
91
111
TV series
28
32
62
57
61
76
78
85
92
115
TV other*
Total
92
56
63
71
67
81
58
42
51
53
207
162
228
217
181
223
235
220
234
279
Note: Totals are based on available data and make no allowance for unavailable data.
* Includes MOWs, mini-series single-episode programming and pilots.
114 | Profile 2015
2014/15
n
C O U N T RY
Exhibit 3-8 Number of foreign location and service projects, by country of copyright
Number of projects
United States
United Kingdom
France
Germany
Other
Canada*
Total
2007/08
2008/09
2009/10
2010/11
2011/12
2012/13
2013/14
2014/15
165
158
139
2
4
4
6
4
14
37
228
1
4
14
36
217
1
4
18
15
181
194
4
7
1
1
16
223
185
5
8
2
8
27
235
171
3
9
1
9
27
220
177
7
7
4
13
26
234
197
33
3
2
19
25
279
72%
1%
3%
2%
6%
16%
100%
73%
2%
0%
2%
6%
17%
100%
77%
2%
1%
2%
10%
8%
100%
87%
2%
3%
<1%
<1%
7%
100%
79%
2%
3%
1%
3%
11%
100%
78%
1%
4%
0%
4%
12%
100%
76%
3%
3%
2%
6%
11%
100%
71%
12%
1%
1%
7%
9%
100%
Percentage of total
United States
United Kingdom
France
Germany
Other
Canada*
Total
* Canadian projects in the FLS sector include projects made by Canadian producers primarily for foreign audiences, or as part of international co-ventures.
International co-venture production includes films and television programs made as international coproductions, but outside of the auspices of an audiovisual
coproduction treaty.
Profile 2015 | 115
COPERN ICUS STU DIOS
BRI NG I NG TH E WORK OF SOM E OF ATLANTIC CANADA’S FI N EST AN IMATORS TO
DIG ITAL SCREENS ALL OVER TH E WORLD
Copernicus Studios Inc. is a Halifax-based computer animation studio that develops and produces
original screen content, including cinema-quality 2D animation, for television, feature film, video
games and digital platforms.
Copernicus was founded in 2003 with the belief that computer-based productions were a path to
creating content for clients anywhere in the world. To that end, it has formulated a production pipeline
involving proprietary, streamlined digital processes developed in combination with world-class handdrawn animation and design expertise. It has also adopted a partnership model under which it can
deliver content with partners using its own original intellectual property (IP), through coproductions or
co-ventures, or as a service producer.
This partnership model has resulted in Copernicus’ work reaching a variety of global markets. Its
most notable international work includes the award winning US Teen Titans Go!, part of the DC Comics
universe, which has been commissioned for a third season; the prestigious Children’s BAFTA Drama
Award-winning, Roy, for RTÉ in Ireland; and Wild Grinders, for Nicklelodeon. Copernicus has also worked
with the Mexican studio, Anima Estudios, to produce feature film animations El Santos, and most
recently, La Leyenda de las Momias. The latter was the first feature film to be released in Mexico using
the 4DX motion picture technology that augments the cinematic experience with environmental effects.
Copernicus’ work extends into the music industry as well. It has produced music videos for Nelly
Furtado, Weird Al Yankovic, Jack Black/Tenacious D and others. It has also worked with corporate
clients such as Toyota to produce online commercials, and with gaming companies such as Mind
Candy and Bandai Namco, to produce animated interactive content.
As a Halifax-based business that proudly proclaims itself to be an “artist-driven animation production
studio,” Copernicus maintains a workforce of over 110 technicians, half of whom were recruited
as graduates from educational institutions within Nova Scotia. The company is committed to the
province and region. It has recently opened a new studio in Halifax, so that it could have an additional
facility to house its teams working on interactive content work and the application of voice-recognition
technology into its content.
This new studio is part of a recent strategic move by Copernicus to develop original IP content for
the gaming industry. In recent years, Copernicus has successfully secured funding under the CMFs
Experimental Stream, which has allowed it to develop new interactive content such as Alphabots and
LANGA — the latter of which involves the experimental use of disruptive LANguage GAming software
to assist in language learning through the use of automated speech recognition in online video games.
By bringing together the creativity of animation with the innovative application of cutting edge
technology to screen content, Copernicus is yet another example of a production company that helps
keep the Canadian screen-based production industry globally competitive.
116 | Profile 2015
4. B ROADCASTER IN-HOUSE
PRODUCTION
Broadcaster in-house production (“in-house production”) refers to television programs made internally
by private conventional television broadcasters, public broadcasters, and specialty and pay television
services.70 In-house production largely comprises news and sports programming, but can also include
production in other genres.
HIGHLIGHTS FROM 2014
• In-house production increased by 11.1% during the 2014
broadcast year (September 1, 2013 to August 31, 2014)
to $1.52 billion.
• In-house production increased at both private and public
conventional broadcasters (15.1%) as well as in the
combined specialty, pay, pay-per-view (PPV) and video-ondemand (VOD)71 sub-sector (5.8%).
• In-house production generated a total of 31,800 full-time
equivalent jobs (FTEs) in Canada, including 12,500 direct
FTEs in the sector itself.
• The sector generated an estimated $1.91 billion in gross
domestic product (GDP) for the Canadian economy,
including $788 million of direct GDP and over $1.1 billion
in spin‑off GDP.
• Ontario accounted for the majority (59%) of the total volume
of in-house production, with $890 million.
• Quebec accounted for 22% of the total volume of in-house
production, or $331 million.
70 Note that the statistics in this section exclude data for provincial educational (television) services.
71 The VOD statistics in this section only includes data for VOD services licensed by the CRTC.
Profile 2015 | 117
BROADCASTER IN-HOUSE PRODUCTION
After dipping in 2013, in-house production resumed its long-term upward trend. In fact, over the past decade —
i.e. from the 2005 broadcasting year through to the 2014 broadcasting year — the total volume of in-house
production experienced year-over-year declines only twice. First, in 2009, following the 2008 financial crisis,
and then again in 2013 (Exhibit 4-1).
What is notable about the increase in 2014 is that it was largely concentrated in the conventional television segment. Up until 2014, there had been very little growth in the volume of in-house production in that segment.
Between 2005 and 2013, conventional television broadcasters spending on in-house production increased by a
total of 8.5%, or a compound annual growth rate of only one percent (Exhibit 4-1).
Increased expenditures on sports programming at CBC/Radio-Canada’s conventional television services
was the primary driver of the overall increase
In 2014, however, in-house production in the conventional television segment rose by 15.1% (Exhibit 4-1).
As one delves into the expenditure statistics, it becomes clear that this increase was almost entirely due to a
confluence of expenditures on sports programming by one broadcaster: CBC/Radio-Canada. In 2014, CBC/
Radio-Canada’s expenditures on sports programming doubled from $127 million to $258 million. During that
year, CBC/Radio-Canada not only held the rights to Hockey Night in Canada, but it also televised the Sochi
Winter Olympics, Winter Paralympics, FIFA World Cup and Commonwealth Games. In previous years, some
of these sporting events would have been televised on specialty sports services or even a combination of private
conventional networks and their affiliated specialty sports services.
Expenditures on sports programming were also higher in the specialty television segment
While CBC/Radio-Canada’s increased expenditures on sports programming in 2014 accounted for most of the
overall gain in the volume of in-house production, the specialty television segment did continue its long-term
trend of growth. Broadcaster in-house spending in the specialty television segment increased by $36 million, or
5.8% (Exhibit 4-1). As in previous years, most of this increase was accounted for by higher spending at sports
and news services. Category C news and sports services accounted for $25.8 million, or nearly three-quarters
of the increase.72 Among the Category C sports services, the largest increases in in-house spending were at TSN
($11.5 million), RDS ($6.5 million) and Sportsnet ($5.2 million).73Among the Category C news services, only
the French-language services increased their in-house spending. RDI’s spending was up by $5.6 million and Le
Canal Nouvelles’s spending was up by $858,000. All three English-language Category C news services — CBC
News Network, CTV News Channel and Sun News — reduced their in-house spending in 2014; on the other
hand, the Category A news services, Business News Network, did increase its in-house spending by just over
$2 million.74
With fewer major global sporting events in the 2015 broadcast year, expenditures on in-house production
are likely to drop
While conventional broadcasters’ in-house spending was higher in 2014, for a variety of reasons this gain will
likely reverse in 2015. Given the periodic nature of the sporting events televised by CBC/Radio-Canada in
2014, and given that it no longer holds the rights to NHL hockey games, its in-house expenditures are expected
to drop in 2015. Expenditures on news programming are unlikely to offset this drop in spending on sports.
In 2014, private and public broadcasters’ combined expenditures on news production were relatively stable —
they decreased from $553 million to $552 million.75 Indeed, with the elimination of the Local Programming
Improvement Fund, it is possible that conventional television news expenditures will actually decline in 2015,
as there will reduced financial resources available to produce local news.
72 CRTC (2015), Pay, Pay-per-View, Video-on-Demand and Specialty Services: Statistical and Financial Summaries 2010-2014, p. 8.
73 CRTC (2015), Individual Pay, Pay-per-View, Video-on-Demand and Specialty Services: Statistical and Financial Summaries 2010-2014.
74 Ibid.
75CRTC (2015), Conventional Television: Statistical and Financial Summaries 2010-2014, pp. 7 and 19; and CRTC (2014), Conventional Television: Statistical
and Financial Summaries 2009-2013, pp. 7 and 19.
118 | Profile 2015
While it is almost certain that conventional broadcasters’ in-house spending will drop in 2015, the industry’s
overall in-house spending could still increase. The closure of Sun News will remove approximately $10 million
in in-house spending from the system; however, the transfer of NHL games to Sportsnet and Rogers’ other
broadcasting properties may result in higher in-house spending within the specialty television segment.
n
VO L U M E
Exhibit 4-1 Total volume of broadcaster in-house production, by segment
After a decline of 2.9% in 2013, in-house production grew by 11.1% in 2014, reaching an all-time high of over
$1.5 billion. The sharp rise in in-house production was almost entirely due to a $130 million increase spending
on sports programming by CBC/Radio-Canada, which televised the Winter Olympics, Paralympic Winter Games,
Commonwealth Games and FIFA World Cup in 2014.
Conventional TV
Specialty, pay TV, PPV and VOD
2,000
1,515
$ millions
1,500
1,000
1,406
991
1,139
1,147
717
717
1,184
717
1,103
1,249
1,265
730
725
519
540
2010
2011
771
1,365
863
750
641
691
500
422
430
2006
2007
468
463
635
616
2012
2013
652
301
0
2005
2008
2009
2014
Broadcasting year ending
Source: Estimates based on data from CRTC and CBC/Radio-Canada.
Profile 2015 | 119
n
Exhibit 4-2 Number of FTEs generated by broadcaster in-house production
In-house production supported 31,800 FTEs in 2014 and generated $1.91 billion in GDP for the Canadian economy.
Direct jobs
Spin-off jobs
35,000
29,600
30,000
26,400
25,000
18,000
31,800
30,800
28,900
28,800
17,500
17,500
16,000
29,100
26,200
17,700
28,500
18,700
19,300
29,200
17,700
17,300
15,900
FTEs
20,000
15,000
10,000
10,400
11,600
11,400
11,300
2006
2007
2008
10,300
11,400
11,200
2010
2011
12,100
12,500
11,500
5,000
0
2005
2009
2012
2013
2014
Source: Estimates based on data from CRTC, CBC/Radio-Canada, Statistics Canada and the Conference Board of Canada.
Exhibit 4-3 Summary of the economic impact of broadcaster in-house production, 2014
Direct
Spin-off
Total
12,500
19,300
31,800
758
753
1,511
GDP ($ millions)
788
1,122
1,910
Employment (FTEs)
Source: Estimates based on data from CRTC, CBC/Radio-Canada, Statistics Canada and the Conference Board of Canada.
Note: See the Notes on Methodology section for a description of methodology.
120 | Profile 2015
n
Exhibit 4-4 Broadcaster in-house production, by province and territory
2012
2013
2014
2014 share
of total
729
811
767
890
59%
252
293
291
331
22%
93
100
104
103
101
7%
64
79
86
92
92
91
6%
14
12
29
28
31
32
27
2%
18
18
16
22
24
26
28
27
2%
13
13
12
19
21
23
24
24
2%
8
7
7
5
11
11
12
13
11
<1%
8
5
6
6
9
9
9
10
11
10
<1%
2
3
2
2
2
3
3
3
3
3
<1%
1
1
1
1
1
2
2
2
2
2
<1%
991
1,139
1,147
1,184
1,102
1,249
1,265
1,406
1,365
1,515
100%
2005
2006
2008
2009
2010
2011
Ontario
563
680
Quebec
210
239
674
692
649
739
258
273
245
242
British Columbia
94
90
88
89
86
Alberta
63
65
67
68
Nova Scotia
16
17
15
Saskatchewan
13
16
Manitoba
13
14
New Brunswick
8
Newfoundland and
Labrador
Territories*
($ millions)
Total
2007
Source: Estimates based on data collected from CRTC, CBC/Radio-Canada, and Statistics Canada.
Note: See the Notes on Methodology section for a description of methodology. Statistics published by provincial funding agencies may differ from those in
Profile 2015. Please see Notes on Methodology for additional information. Some totals may not sum due to rounding.
Profile 2015 | 121
NOTES ON METHODOLOGY
Estimates of Canadian Production
The estimates of Canadian production are based on data from the Canadian Audio-Visual Certification Office
(CAVCO) of the Department of Canadian Heritage. In order to account for the fact there is a 42-month window
in which producers may submit their application to CAVCO,76 Nordicity applied a gross-up factor of 10.5% to
the raw CAVCO statistics for 2014/15. This rate of 10.5% was based on historical rates of under-coverage observed in the CAVCO statistics over the past decade, with particular weight given to the rates of under-coverage
observed in recent years.
Estimates of CRTC-Certified Canadian Television Production
The estimates of Canadian television production include an estimate of CRTC-certified television production
(i.e. television production exclusively certified by the CRTC). Research conducted by Nordicity and the Department of Canadian Heritage in 2009 indicated that CRTC-certified television production accounted for an
estimated 13.5% of total Canadian production. This rate was used in Profile 2015 to estimate the total volume of
CRTC-certified production.
Revisions to Historical Statistics
Due to the 42-month application lag at CAVCO, it is possible that the data from CAVCO may not provide a
comprehensive indication of production volume until up to four years after the end of a particular fiscal year.
As a result, the Canadian production statistics reported in Profile 2015 for the previous three years (2011/12,
2012/13 and 2013/14) have been revised to reflect all currently available data from CAVCO.
Short films
Short films include films under 75 minutes in length. In Profile 2012 and earlier editions, data for theatrical short
films was included in the overall statistics for Canadian theatrical production. Beginning in Profile 2013, data
for theatrical short films was included in the statistics for Canadian television production for 2012/13, 2013/14
and 2014/15. The historical statistics for 2009/10 through 2011/12 have also been revised to reflect this change.
For the years prior to 2009/10, data for theatrical short films remains within the statistics for Canadian theatrical
production, since we were unable to implement historical revisions for those years.
Although the definition of theatrical short films would imply that they should be included in the Canadian theatrical production statistics, by removing them, we can better isolate data on theatrical feature films. Furthermore,
we note that the low volume of theatrical short film production reported in previous editions of Profile suggests
that applicants had, in fact, reported many theatrical short films in the Canadian television production category.
Canada Media Fund
The statistics reported for the CMF include data for Convergent Stream production supported by the CMF starting in 2010/11. The data for prior years correspond with production supported by the Canadian Television Fund.
In-house Production
A complete set of provincial statistics was not available for private broadcaster in-house production in the Prairie
Provinces and Atlantic Canada. For the Prairie Provinces, Nordicity developed estimates based on the historical
shares observed in the CRTC statistics prior to 2001 — before the CRTC began to suppress the provincial statistics. The breakdown of private broadcaster in-house production among the provinces in Atlantic Canada was
also based on the development of estimates. Because no historical data existed, each province’s share of Atlantic
Canada’s total GDP was used as the proxy variable for the estimate.
76The guidelines for the Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit (CPTC) allow producers to submit their CPTC application to CAVCO up to 42 months
after the end of the fiscal year in which principal photography started.
122 | Profile 2015
Reconciliation with Statistics Published by Provincial Funding Agencies
Certain provincial funding agencies in Canada also publish statistics for film and television production activity
within their provinces. Their statistics may differ from those in Profile 2015 for a variety of reasons.
• Some provincial funding agencies publish production statistics on a calendar-year basis rather than on a
fiscal-year basis, as they are reported in Profile.
• Some provincial funding agencies report production activity on the basis of the fiscal year in which a film
or television project receives approval for its tax credit application rather than the year in which the project’s principal photography starts (i.e. the practice used by CAVCO).
• Statistics reported by provincial funding agencies exclude broadcaster in-house production.
• Provincial funding agencies typically report production activity on the basis of the province in which the
film or television project occurred; whereas the statistics in Profile are reported on the basis of the province
in which the producer of the project is based (i.e. the practice used by CAVCO).
Convergent Digital Media Production
The convergent digital media production statistics are derived from the collection of data from funding agencies
in Canada supporting that type of production (i.e., CMF, Bell Fund, OMDC and Shaw Rocket Fund). Projects
funded by more than one agency are counted only once in the derivation of the estimate of production volume
and tabulation of the total number of projects.
The collection of the data for convergent digital media production began in 2011, therefore only five years of
data are available at this time.
For the 2013 and 2014 editions of Profile, a survey was conducted of CMPA and AQPM members in order to obtain data that could be used to estimate the number of convergent digital media projects and production volume
that was made without financial support from CMF, Bell Fund, OMDC or Shaw Rocket Fund. These estimates
have been incorporated into the statistics from 2012/13 and 2013/14. As a result, the statistics for 2012/13 and
2013/14 are not directly comparable to the statistics for other years. No survey was conducted for Profile 2015,
and therefore, no estimates have been made for convergent digital media projects that did not receive support
from CMF, Bell Fund, OMDC or Shaw Rocket Fund.
Export Value
Export value tracks the value of international financial participation in the film and television production industry in Canada. Export value includes foreign presales and distribution advances for all projects certified by
CAVCO; estimates of presales and distribution advances for non-CAVCO-certified productions; and the total
value of foreign location production in Canada. Export value as opposed to just exports better reflects the nature
of film and television production in Canada. It acknowledges that film 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 data used to estimate export value only include the financing of the Canadian budget of treaty coproductions. As a result, the foreign budgets for treaty coproductions do not directly contribute to export value. Treaty
coproductions contribute only to export value if the financing of the Canadian budget includes a foreign presale or distribution advance.
Direct Jobs Multiplier
Nordicity calculated the number of direct jobs by estimating the share of total production volume that was paid
as salary and wages and then divided this estimate by an estimate of the average salary of an FTE in the film and
television production industry.
Profile 2015 | 123
Nordicity multiplied total production volume by 50%, to estimate the portion of production budgets which was
paid as salary and wages. This assumption of 50% is based on data provided by CAVCO on the average portion
of production budgets comprised of Canadian labour expenditures.
The average FTE salary assumption for 2014/15 was $60,552. Nordicity developed the average FTE salary assumption based on data from Statistics Canada’s 2006 Census. Nordicity makes annual adjustments to the average FTE
assumptions based on data from Statistics Canada’s Survey of Employment, Payroll and Hours for annual changes
in the average hourly wage (excluding overtime) of employees paid by the hour in Canada (see Statistics Canada,
CANSIM Table 281-0030).
Average FTE salary in the film and television production industry
2005/06
2006/07
2007/08
2008/09
2009/10
2010/11
2011/12
2012/13
2013/14
2014/15
$47,869
$48,922
$50,488
$52,305
$53,404
$54,578
$56,543
$57,900
$59,423
$60,552
Average FTE salary
Source: Nordicity calculations based on data from Statistics Canada, Census 2006, and Statistics Canada, Survey of Employment, Payroll and Hours, CANSIM Table
281-0030.
Spin-off Jobs
The number of spin-off FTEs is equal to the sum of indirect and induced FTEs.
Indirect Jobs Multiplier
Nordicity used a multiplier of 1.17 to estimate the number of indirect jobs; that is, for every direct FTE in
the film and television production industry, 1.17 additional FTEs were employed in other industries supplying goods and services to film and television production.
Nordicity obtained this multiplier from Statistics Canada’s 2004 multiplier tables. The multiplier is based on
the ratio of indirect and direct jobs generated per $1 million dollars of output in the industry group, Motion
Picture and Video Production, Distribution, Post-Production and Other Motion Picture and Video Industries,
which is the closest industry grouping to film and TV production (and excludes exhibition).
Induced Jobs Multiplier
Nordicity applied a multiplier of 0.17 to estimate the number of induced FTEs attributable to film and television production; that is, for every direct and indirect FTE generated by film and television production, an
additional 0.17 FTE was employed in other industries in the Canadian economy because of the re-spending
of income by the direct and indirect workers.
Nordicity derived the induced-jobs multiplier by using the ratio of the total-GDP multiplier (1.87) and
indirect-GDP multiplier (1.54) derived by the Conference Board of Canada and applied to its analysis of
the economic impact of the Canadian cultural industries in Valuing Culture: Measuring and Understanding
Canada’s Creative Economy (2008). To adopt this approach, Nordicity assumed that the GDP-to-FTE ratio
for induced jobs was equal to that for indirect jobs.
Provincial Jobs Estimates
To estimate the number of direct FTEs in each province, Nordicity used a similar approach to that used to derive
the national estimates of direct FTEs. However, Nordicity adjusted the average FTE salary in each province to
reflect general differences in economy-wide wages across the provinces.
124 | Profile 2015
Thus, for provinces where the average wage in the provincial economy across all industries was higher than the
national average, Nordicity used a higher average FTE salary to estimate the number of direct jobs. The adjustment was equivalent to the province’s overall wage premium or discount compared to the national average. The
provincial wage adjustment factors are presented in the table below. An adjustment factor of greater than one
indicates that average wages in the provincial economy are higher than the national average.
To estimate the number of indirect jobs, Nordicity used the provincial-level indirect-job multipliers available from
Statistics Canada. These multipliers are based on the ratio of indirect and direct jobs generated per $1 million
dollars of output in each province in the industry group, Motion Picture and Video Production, Distribution, PostProduction and Other Motion Picture and Video Industries.
Provincial adjustment factor for average FTE salary
2005/06
2006/07
2007/08
2008/09
2009/10
2010/11
2011/12
2012/13
2013/14
2014/15
Alberta
1.057
1.073
1.091
1.134
1.122
1.126
1.125
1.124
1.136
1.126
British Columbia
0.998
1.011
1.008
1.005
1.013
0.999
0.986
0.997
0.997
0.999
Manitoba
0.924
0.922
0.920
0.934
0.939
0.934
0.945
0.946
0.926
0.940
New Brunswick
0.908
0.906
0.906
0.901
0.891
0.892
1.020
0.926
0.931
0.925
0.907
Newfoundland and
Labrador
0.972
0.980
0.988
0.969
0.955
0.959
0.987
1.004
1.027
Nova Scotia
0.934
0.927
0.925
0.884
0.868
0.901
0.903
0.907
0.899
0.911
Ontario
1.036
1.028
1.020
1.010
0.992
1.001
1.001
0.992
0.988
0.984
0.832
0.823
0.835
0.825
0.864
0.856
0.860
0.850
0.843
0.832
Quebec
0.951
0.945
0.948
0.945
0.984
0.971
0.972
0.971
0.969
0.975
Saskatchewan
0.942
0.950
0.958
0.996
1.019
1.025
1.029
1.048
1.064
1.063
Territories
1.134
1.118
1.124
1.124
1.172
1.179
1.185
1.173
1.184
1.259
Source: Nordicity calculations based on data from Statistics Canada, CANSIM, table 281-0030.
Nordicity then summed the estimated number of indirect FTEs and compared this total to the national estimate
of total spin-off FTEs employed by the film and television production industry in Canada. Nordicity calculated
the differential between these two numbers and then allocated the difference across the provinces in proportion
to each province’s share of the national total of indirect FTEs.
Economic Impact of Production
Labour Income
Direct production industry labour income was derived by multiplying the number of direct FTEs by the
average production-industry FTE cost of $60,552. The estimate of spin-off labour income was derived by
multiplying the number of spin-off FTEs by an economy-wide average FTE cost of $39,000.
Gross Domestic Product
Economic modelling of the overall economic impact of film and television production, using Statistics
Canada’s input-output tables, indicates that direct GDP in the film and television production industry is
equal to approximately 1.13 times total labour income. This ratio was multiplied by our estimate of direct
labour income to arrive at an estimate of direct GDP in the film and television production industry. For
broadcaster in-house production, we used a rate of 1.17, which better reflected the higher rate of profitability in the Canadian broadcast industry.
Profile 2015 | 125
Similar economic modelling (also based on Statistics Canada’s input-output tables and analysis found in the
Conference Board of Canada’s Valuing Culture: Measuring and Understanding Canada’s Creative Economy)
points to a GDP-wage relationship of 1.49 for the spin-off impact. We used this ratio to derive an estimate of
spin-off GDP by multiplying our estimate of spin-off labour income by 1.49.
Research Interviews and Case Studies
In addition to the data analysis and modelling, seven research interviews were conducted with representatives from the media sector in Canada. The interviewees included representatives from production companies,
broadcasters, distributors, the production services industry, and federal and provincial funding agencies. The
information gathered through these research interviews was used to interpret the trends in the data. The case
studies were prepared on the basis of secondary research and consultation with the case study subjects.
126 | Profile 2015

Profile 2015

Transcription

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