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Profile 2009
Production industry faces challenges ahead
Ottawa, February 19, 2009— The Canadian production industry is facing challenges ahead on two fronts—the current economic crisis, and uncertainty over how Canadian content will reach audiences over digital platforms, according to the latest figures released today in Profile 2009. What is needed to mitigate these factors and maintain the 131,600 jobs the sector creates, says the report, is a balanced approach to policy, regulation and industry funding.
Profile is an annual economic report published by the Canadian Film and Television Production Association (CFTPA) in collaboration with the Association des producteurs de films et de télévision du Québec (APFTQ), and the Department of Canadian Heritage.
The new figures show that there’s been an overall four per cent increase in activity when averaging out the numbers for the industry’s three main production segments: Canadian production, foreign location & service production, and broadcaster in-house production. Looking specifically at Canadian production levels, the figures actually point to a seven per cent decline in Canadian television activity in 2007/2008, and a similar decline in the total volume of theatrical films made by Canadian producers.
While Canadian producers made gains in exports, up 17 per cent to almost $2 billion in 2007/2008. the number of international treaty co-productions dropped by 48 per cent to $298M-- the lowest level in a decade. Without new approaches to access and funding, the current numbers will continue to slide, says the report.
A growth market for Canadian producers is the development of innovative new-media content. However, the report says, copyright reform, on-going terms of trade negotiations with the broadcasters, and a balanced approach to future content licensing are the true key measures needed to ensure the viability of Canadian producers, broadcasters, and other key stakeholders across the country.
The full copy of Profile 2009 is available online at http://www.cftpa.ca/news/publications/
About us:
The CFTPA is a non-profit trade organization that works on behalf of almost 400 companies engaged in the production and distribution of English-language television programs, feature films, and interactive media products in all regions of Canada. More specifically, it promotes the general interests of its members provincially, federally, and internationally; negotiates and manages labour agreements with guilds and unions; administers copyright collectives; trains new industry entrants through four internship programs; and undertakes a number of other specific initiatives that help increase awareness and enhance communication within the Canadian and international production communities.
The APFTQ represents the vast majority of film and independent production companies in Quebec. It represents and defends the interests of its members with governments and film- and television- related organizations, both federal and provincial; offers its members consulting services on industrial relations, copyright, financing and taxation; negotiates collective agreements with Quebec-based artists’ associations and technicians’ unions; organizes an annual convention involving the industry’s key players; publishes an annual economic profile of the production sector; provides various training and professional development opportunities; and intervenes on international issues such as coproduction, copyright and cultural diversity.
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For further information contact:
Anne Trueman, Director of Communications and Media, CFTPA
T: (613) 233-1444 x 227, C: (613) 851-4538