OTTAWA – Spending on tangible public benefits related to the acquisition of regulated Canadian broadcast television assets increased by 27%, or $29.9 million, to $138.7 million in the 2013-2014 broadcast year, according to new research from Ottawa-based research firm Boon Dog Professional Services.
Of the $138.7 million in television benefits spent in 2013-2014 (the broadcast year ended August 31, 2014), 87% or $120.9 million went to on-screen/programming-related initiatives — primarily the creation of new Canadian programming — and the remaining 13% or $17.8 million went to social initiatives such as funding for digital television upgrades, training programs, and television/film festivals, according to the report.
Of the money million spent in 2013-2014, 92% or $127 million went to English-language initiatives and the rest went to French-language initiatives.
“A total of six benefits packages came to an end in 2013-2014 as final benefits payments were made for these packages, including some large ones,” said Mario Mota, Boon Dog partner and principal author of the research. “As a result of new transactions, however, a significant amount in television benefits — $420.7 million — remains to be spent by 2021.”
(The CRTC usually requires broadcasters to pay 10% of the value of television assets being acquired as “tangible public benefits”, funds primarily meant to be spent on Canadian TV production.)
Some highlights from the 2015 report (based on data for the year ended August 31, 2014) include the following:
- The combined value of the 25 television benefits packages tracked in the report, including those that did not kick in until the 2014-2015 broadcast year, is nearly $1 billion ($995.7 million), of which $575 million had been spent by August 31, 2014, leaving about $420.7 million to be spent by August 31, 2021;
- Of the $420.7 million that remains to be spent, $263.8 million will go to English-language initiatives, $129.9 million will go to French-language initiatives, and $27 million will go to initiatives in which the language is undefined at this time; and
- In total, 82% of benefits funds detailed in the report (excluding benefits packages that did not kick in until the current broadcast year) have been committed to go to on-screen/programming-related initiatives, which is slightly below the CRTC’s standard practice of requiring approximately 85% of benefits funds go to such initiatives.
The latest research is contained in the fifth installment (2015 report) of the annual syndicated research study called the Canadian Television Benefits Monitor: Tracking Spending on Television Benefits Packages, published by Boon Dog. The report is almost 100 pages long and tracks spending for all current television benefits packages (25 in total), using data contained in reports filed with the CRTC.
