OTTAWA – Spending on tangible public benefits related to the acquisition of regulated Canadian broadcast television assets declined significantly to $108.8 million (all for English-language benefits initiatives) in the 2012-2013 broadcast year, according to new research from research and consulting firm Boon Dog Professional Services.
For the year ended August 31, 2013, spending on television benefits by various Canadian broadcasters dropped 39% ($68.3 million) from a record high of $177.1 million in 2011-2012. Of that $108.8 million, 76% ($82.7 million) went to on-screen/programming-related initiatives – primarily the creation of new Canadian programming – and the remaining 24% ($26.1 million) went to social initiatives such as funding for digital television upgrades, training programs, and television/film festivals.
“The sharp drop in spending on television benefits in 2012-2013 compared to the previous broadcast year was partly due to timing and the fact that some benefits packages came to an end,” said Mario Mota, the report’s principal author and Boon Dog co-founder. “Also, the record spending in 2011-2012 was a bit of an anomaly as funds expended in 2011-2012 alone equaled roughly the same as that spent in the previous four years combined. Spending levels returned to normal in 2012-2013.”
The research is part of the fourth installment (2014 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 television benefits packages (22 in total), using data contained in reports filed with the CRTC.
Highlights from the 2014 report include:
– The combined value of the 22 television benefits packages tracked in the report totals $755 million, of which $440.3 million had been spent by August 31, 2013. That leaves about $314.7 million to be spent by August 31, 2019 ($292.1 million on screen-based and/or programming-related benefits and $22.7 million on social and/or other benefits);
– When television benefits funds related to Rogers Media’s acquisition of The Score (now Sportsnet 360) and BCE’s acquisition of Astral Media are factored in, which kick in beginning in 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 respectively, the total value of television benefits is $947.6 million ($826.7 million in English-language benefits and $121 million in French-language benefits), with $507.4 million remaining to be spent by August 31, 2021; and
– In total, 82% of benefits funds detailed in the report (excluding benefits related to the BCE-CTV transaction in 2000, which are now 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.
