TORONTO – The Canada Media Fund (CMF) has set its 2016-2017 program budget at $371.2 million, down $4 million from last year’s budget, and has also revised its program guidelines.
The CMF program budget is supported by revenue estimates for the coming year based on contributions from the Government of Canada; Canada’s cable, satellite and IPTV distributors; and recoupment and repayment revenues from funded productions. The program budget reflects a stable contribution from the Government of Canada and an expected decline in Broadcast Distribution Undertakings’ contributions to the CMF for the year to come.
“The changes to the 2016-2017 guidelines are aligned with recommendations outlined in Canadian Heritage’s positive program evaluation of the CMF and the openness shown by Canadian Heritage to provide increased flexibility to the CMF”, said president and CEO Valerie Creighton, in the news release. “In addition to changes implemented this year, we will build on the momentum obtained during the cross-country industry consultation last fall to ensure the CMF is responsive to the industry’s changing needs. Stakeholder feedback is crucial to the overall success of the CMF and the industry it serves.”
The breakdown of the 2016-2017 program budget may be viewed here, and the main changes to the CMF program guidelines are available here.
The CMF will host webcasts on April 12, 2016 to provide an overview of changes to the programs and to answer any questions. The French-language webcast will be at 11:00 AM ET and the English-language webcast will be at 2:00 PM ET. Details on how to join the webcasts will be communicated shortly.
