Scripted storytelling, children’s television, and feature documentaries are facing a $200 million decline in financing from Canadian broadcasters over the next five years, according to a new projection released by the Directors Guild of Canada (DGC).
With 55% of English-language Canadian PNI (Programs of National Interest) programming funded by large private broadcasters like Bell, Rogers and Corus Entertainment over the past decade, the Nordicity analysis indicates that those Canadian programming contributions are falling in line with broadcaster revenue.
“Any decline in PNI contributions is a function of broadcaster revenue, and data provided by the large ownership groups confirm a decline in their aggregate revenue from 2013 to 2023,” the report states. “The decline in large ownership group revenue in the English-language services is 24% in current dollars; and consequently, PNI contributions have declined 23%.”
The analysis says under current CRTC regulatory mechanisms, a further decline of $194 million or 23% is projected over five years – from $216 million in 2023 to $167 million by 2028.
“On average, every dollar that broadcasters put into production gets multiplied six times over with global licencing, tax credits and other sources of financing,” said DGC National Executive Director Dave Forget. “When domestic financing is reduced by $200 million, that’s more than a billion dollar blow to our cultural industry.”
The DGC is cautioning that with the CRTC now considering changes to how PNI programming is funded as part of efforts to modernize the broadcasting system under the Online Streaming Act, it doesn’t want to see the downturn in financing that followed a previous policy change in 1999. The organization says financing for scripted storytelling, children’s television, and feature documentary programming declined by 26% in five years after the rules governing “under-represented programming” were watered down.
“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,” said Forget. “The government has been clear on the importance of protecting Canadian storytelling and, this time around, we have the advantage of being able to learn from history and avoid the mistakes of the past. 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.”
The CRTC’s upcoming hearing on defining Canadian programming in the audio-visual sector is set to begin March 31.
