MONTREAL – The Canada Media Fund (CMF) will release a preliminary program budget for the upcoming year that excludes the $100 million program funding allocation proposed in last week’s Federal Budget.
Noting that it can only release a program budget based on “confirmed sources of revenue”, the CMF said Saturday that the revised program budget will include the projected monthly contributions from BDUs as well as the $34.6 million of funding contained in the Department of Canadian Heritage’s budget which is allocated to the CMF.
“In the event that the CMF receives a further allocation of funding as a result of the adoption…
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OTTAWA – The Canadian Media Production Association (CMPA) said that it applauds the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage for recognizing the importance of fair terms of trade agreements between independent producers and vertically integrated media companies.
As Cartt.ca reported, in a report to the Government of Canada on the impact of private television ownership changes, the Standing Committee recommended that the Government consider the issue of fair terms of trade agreements between independent producers and vertically integrated media companies when reviewing the Canada Media Fund.
“The Committee is to be congratulated for its timely recognition of the need for…
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OTTAWA – Tom Pentefountas, the recently appointed vice-chair of broadcasting at the CRTC, stood firm as opposition MPs on the Standing Committee of Canadian Heritage questioned his ability to fulfill the responsibilities of the position.
He said all the right words in his opening remarks, highlighting the challenges facing the CRTC in the face of convergence and the new realities on online viewing. “Convergence is on the verge of erasing the dividing line between broadcasting and telecommunications,” he said. “That is one of our greatest challenges.
“Moreover, to face this new reality, the CRTC must implement 25 year old legislation….
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OTTAWA – Count CBC, the Canadian Media Production Association (CMPA) and the Canada Media Fund (CMF) in favour of Tuesday’s 2011-2012 Federal Budget, though its ability to be ratified by Parliament appears doubtful.
The public broadcaster said that it was “pleased” that the $60 million in funding that CBC/Radio-Canada been receiving since 2001 for Canadian programming initiatives has been renewed for another year, calling it “crucial” to the implementation of its new five year plan known as ‘Everyone, Every Way’.
"This is great news for Canadians who look to CBC/Radio-Canada for high quality Canadian programming on television, radio and the…
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OTTAWA – Partisan politics were on full display during Minister of Canadian Heritage James Moore’s appearance before the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage yesterday. While Moore was there to talk about the mandate and funding of the CBC/Radio-Canada, a good part of his time was spent responding to criticisms regarding the appointment of Tom Pentefountas as vice-chair broadcasting at the CRTC.
During Moore’s hour in front of the committee, the chair had to interject a number of times to ensure MPs remained on track with their questions. The committee also passed a motion requesting that Pentefountas appear to…
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OTTAWA – Appearing before a Parliamentary committee, Minister of Canadian Heritage James Moore applauded CBC/Radio-Canada for its new five-year strategic plan, but his testimony shed little light on whether the public broadcaster can expect to see any increases in funding from the federal government.
Moore said the government plans to continue its support of the CBC by either maintaining or increasing its budget as it committed to doing in previous election campaigns.
“The Minister of Finance has tabled five budgets in this parliament and in every single one of those budgets we have kept our word. The CBC currently…
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OTTAWA – The government is asking Canadians for feedback on its policy on Audiovisual Treaty Coproduction.
Coproduction treaties enable Canadian and foreign producers to pool their creative, technical, and financial resources to coproduce films and television projects. Treaty coproductions are granted domestic status in their respective countries, which makes them eligible for applicable domestic funding programs and fiscal incentives, plus they qualify for broadcast quotas. Telefilm Canada administers these treaties on behalf of the Department of Canadian Heritage.
"The implementation of Canada’s Policy on Audiovisual Treaty Coproduction is the next step in paving the way for future coproduction treaty negotiations between…
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OTTAWA – The Canadian film and television production industry showed only limited growth in the last year, according to a new report from the Canadian Media Production Association (CMPA).
Profile 2010 is an annual economic report on the screen-based production industry in Canada providing a snapshot of Canada’s three main production segments: Canadian production (which includes Canadian television and theatrical production), foreign location and service production, and broadcaster in-house production.
The report noted a modest overall increase in production volume from $4.8 billion to $4.9 billion between 2008/09 and 2009/10. Total numbers for independent television production were down by 3.4%, despite an…
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TORONTO – A newly formed coalition of Canada’s largest accessibility organizations, called Access 2020, will be asking the CRTC to adopt a new approach to accessibility in its May 2011 policy hearing on vertical integration.
“While current regulatory trends mean that sight- and hearing-impaired Canadians will only obtain complete access to television in thirty years, Access 2020’s goal is to achieve fully captioned and described television content within the next decade,” said Beverley Milligan, on behalf of Media Access Canada which is leading the coalition. “We will be inviting the CRTC to empower Canada’s accessibility organizations to research, test, develop…
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OTTAWA – The Canadian Media Production Association (CMPA) is urging the government to protect independent producers from what it calls “the negative impact (of) consolidation” in the broadcasting industry.
Appearing Tuesday before the House of Commons Standing Committee of Canadian Heritage, the CMPA claimed that the three integrated private broadcast corporate groups in English Canada are “using their dominant position to secure unreasonable terms that undermine independent producers’ businesses and put at risk the thousands of high-skilled jobs”.
“I would like to think that independent producers are well positioned to make a significant contribution to Canada’s burgeoning digital economy”, said CMPA…
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