OTTAWA — With television and film production at a standstill in Canada due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the negative impact on the country’s production sector could amount to as much as $2.5 billion in lost revenues and affect up to 172,000 jobs, according to the CMPA.
That’s according to a new Nordicity report commissioned by the Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA) that looks at the potential impact that a shutdown lasting from mid-March until the end of June could have on the production industry.
Nordicity’s analysis was based on its estimates of production spending that was expected to occur from March 16 to June 30, which was drawn from monthly data provided by CAVCO (Canadian Audio-Visual Certification Office) and a list of projects currently in production from the CMPA, AQPM (l’Association québécoise de la production médiatique) and DGC (Directors Guild of Canada).
“Much like the retail, hospitality and tourism sectors, Covid-19 has brought media production in Canada to a screeching halt,” said Reynolds Mastin, president and CEO of CMPA, in the news release. “These numbers should serve as a wakeup call for what’s at stake, and motivate us all to work together to ensure the industry can get back on its feet as quickly as possible once this crisis ends.”
Here’s a summary of Nordicity’s key findings:
- $2.5 billion in screen-based media production volume — made up of both domestic and foreign location production — is at risk of disruption or permanent loss
- Of that amount, $1.4 billion relates to spending on labour
- 73,000 to 81,000 cast and crew will be affected by work disruptions or stoppages
- 155,000 to 172,000 workers across the Canadian economy will be affected by disruptions
CMPA notes in its news release the timing of the pandemic shutdown is hitting the production industry particularly hard given the spring and early summer is one of the busiest times of year for the sector, when production ramps up and the hiring of cast and crew reaches one of its peak periods.
The Nordicity report can be downloaded here.
The CMPA also said in the coming days it will release the results of its national production impact survey, developed to quantify the corporate costs associated with the production shutdowns and forced delays caused by Covid-19.
