According to the latest data on film and television production in Canada released by the Canadian Media Producers Association, foreign financing of Canadian English-language television production is now far greater than the primary Canadian sources (via Michael Geist).
Foreign financing has surpassed private broadcaster licence fees, public broadcaster licence fees, and Canada Media Fund contributions combined, according to CMPA data.
Last year, foreign sources spent $274 million on fictional English-language Canadian television production, compared with only $46 million from private broadcasters, $114 million from public broadcasters, and $100 million from the CMF.
According to Geist, a free market approach is winning over the regulated approach for investment in Canadian TV production, thusly countering arguments for a Netflix tax, or ‘cultural imperialism’ over the lack of locally-produced content:
While there are concerns about children’s and youth programming, the data tells a similar story: $80 million from foreign sources compared to $26 million from private broadcasters, $18 million from public broadcasters, and $21 million from the CMF. In other words, the unregulated, market-based approach is delivering far more investment into Canadian production than the regulated sector.
In the past five years, while foreign financing has grown from $131 million to $274 million, the public broadcaster funding has remained largely unchanged.
For more details on the report, visit this link.
