A report says Canadian scripted shows, children’s programs and documentaries are projected to see a nearly $200-million drop in financing from the country’s private broadcasters over the next five years.
Conducted by consulting firm Nordicity for the Directors Guild of Canada, the analysis warns that could result in Canadian production budgets getting slashed by more than a billion dollars.
The report examined how private broadcasters allocate funds to “programs of national interest” (PNI), which includes Canadian dramas, comedies and documentaries, under current CRTC policies. Under these rules, broadcasters must dedicate a percentage of their annual revenue to such programming.
However, if broadcast revenues continue to decline as market projections show, the report estimates expenditures will drop to $167-million by 2028, a 23 per cent decline from $216-million spent in 2023. The cumulative difference over those five years amounts to about $200-million.
Dave Forget, the guild’s national executive director, says that each dollar broadcasters invest in production can generate up to six times its value through global licensing, tax credits and additional financial support. So a $200-million reduction in domestic financing can equate to gutting Canada’s TV and film industry by more than a billion dollars, he says.
The report notes the CRTC is now weighing proposals to reduce or eliminate funding for PNI altogether. Last year, the federal regulator granted Corus Entertainment’s request to reduce its required spending on scripted dramas, comedies and children’s programs to five per cent of revenues, trimming its contribution by about $35-million.
In another 2024 decision, the CRTC mandated that foreign streaming platforms allocate 5 per cent of their Canadian revenues to a fund supporting Canadian content. Several streamers –including Netflix, Disney and Paramount – have challenged the order in the Federal Court of Appeal.
More regulatory changes could be on the horizon as the CRTC moves forward with its plan to modernize the framework and implement the Online Streaming Act, designed to “ensure the sustainability and growth of Canada’s broadcasting system.”
But some creators are worried. The guild points to a notice for a key CRTC hearing in March suggesting that the addition of global streamers to the Canadian marketplace means that the “current approach to PNI is no longer needed.”
The guild says that’s not the case. It’s urging the CRTC to set spending requirements on Canadian content at 8.5 per cent of the previous year’s revenue, with the requirement extending to include online streaming platforms.
If such changes are made, the report says total English-language private sector investment in PNI could reach an estimated $500-million by 2028.
“It will always be easier for broadcasters to buy American dramas, instead of taking the risk to tell original Canadian stories, but our stories are the most important projects to make and protect,” Forget said in a statement.
“The current commission has an opportunity to head off a disastrous blow to our industry and culture, and build a modern, robust system that guarantees audiences a vibrant, diverse range of original Canadian programming for decades to come.”
Several Canadian directors and actors have made statements in response to the Nordicity report, released Thursday, including filmmaker Atom Egoyan, who said the CRTC needs to take this opportunity “to safeguard and strengthen (the) legacy of Canadian storytelling, and not let it wither.” Toronto actress Katie Boland said she’s worried about the future of Canadian film and TV workers.
“My friends and I need and want jobs. We are starting families and contributing to society in an uncertain time for our industry and we all want to believe in our futures,” she said.
“We need Canadian content to be made.”
