OTTAWA – Canadian broadcasters spent a record $177 million on public benefits related to the acquisition of regulated Canadian broadcast television assets in the 2011-2012 broadcast year ended August 31, 2012, according to new research from consulting firm Boon Dog Professional Services.
The level of English-language television benefits spending by various Canadian broadcasters in 2011-2012 more than tripled from the amount ($52 million) spent in the previous year.
That $177 million is roughly the same amount as what was spent on tangible benefits in the previous four years combined – or almost as much as Shaw Media is required to spend ($182.1 million) in television benefits over seven years related to Shaw’s acquisition of Canwest in 2010, says the report’s principal author Mario Mota, who is also co-founder of Boon Dog.
“That’s partly a function of timing and the significant amount of consolidation that has occurred in the television market in the last few years. The end result was a banner year for recipients of television benefits funds, including creators of Canadian programming,” said Mota.
Of the $177 million spent in 2011-2012, 64%, or $113.5 million, went to on-screen/programming-related initiatives – primarily the creation of new Canadian programming. The remaining 36%, or $63.6 million, went to social initiatives such as funding for digital television upgrades, training programs, and television/film festivals.
The research is part of the third installment (2013 report) of Boon Dog’s annual syndicated research study called the Canadian Television Benefits Monitor: Tracking Spending on English-Language Television Benefits Packages. The report tracks spending for all current English-language TV benefits packages (20 in total), using data contained in reports filed with the CRTC.
Highlights from the 2013 report include:
* The combined value of the 20 television benefits packages tracked in the report totals $752.4 million, of which $348.4 million had been spent by August 31, 2012. That leaves about $404 million to be spent by August 31, 2019.
* By August 31, 2019, $355.4 million remains to be spent on screen-based and/or programming-related benefits and $48.7 million must be spent on social and/or other benefits.
* In total, 81% of benefits funds detailed in the report (excluding benefits related to the BCE-CTV transaction in 2000, which are almost fully paid) 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.
