TORONTO – The popularity of TV content and applications funded by the Canada Media Fund (CMF) is just one indication of how the Fund is meeting the needs of Canadians, according to an evaluation report by the Department of Canadian Heritage.
The report, released last month but made public Monday, covers the first four years of the CMF, from 2010-2011 to 2013-2014. Its objective was to provide Canadian Heritage with comprehensive and reliable evidence to support its decision-making.
Based on an array of evaluation methods, including a literature review, key informant reviews, case studies and an expert panel, the report covers a wide range of areas, including the relevance, performance, economy and efficiency of the CMF.
“In the foreseeable future, television is expected to continue to be the primary platform by which Canadians are accessing Canadian content”, reads the report. “As digital technology continues to expand the delivery methods by which content is made available, the Fund is seen to be vitally relevant to ensure that Canadians continue to have access to a wide range of content and cultural experiences on a variety of platforms.”
Between 2010-2011 and 2013-2014, the CMF contributed a total of $1.42 billion to Canadian convergent television and leading-edge non-linear content and applications, leveraging $3.40 dollars of activity for every dollar invested, for a total of $4.8 billion in industry activity, continues the report. This represents 10,560 hours of original television programming in the underrepresented genres (i.e. drama, documentary, children and youth and variety and performing arts), for which convergent digital content was developed for or distributed on a second platform, as well as over 300 digital media projects created for the Internet, mobile devices and other platforms.
The report can be found in English and in French.
The CMF receives financial contributions from the Government of Canada and Canada’s cable, satellite and IPTV distributors.
