Producers address concerns amidst threat of ACTRA strike

As contract renewal talks between the Canadian Film and Television Production Association (CFTPA) and the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA) headed toward government mediation in late October, CFTPA president and CEO Guy Mayson told delegates at Insight Information’s Entertainment Industries Summit in Toronto that it’s never been harder to keep a Canadian production company afloat. At a panel titled "Is the Independent TV Production Model Broken and How Can it be Fixed?" CFTPA co-chair of broadcast initiatives and Galafilm president Arnie Gelbert said unions are looking to Canada’s producers for higher salaries but, due to Canadian Television Fund rules, the money lies with the broadcaster, not the creator. "Right now, Canadian production is more of a lifestyle than an industry," he argued, adding he would like the CRTC to arbitrate and create a fairer playing field between producers and broadcasters. That perceived imbalance is behind the current rift between almost 400 production and distribution companies and the national organization of professional performers. CFTPA’s contract agreement with producers expires on December 31, 2006, and the main points of contention during recent negotiations include a decline in drama production in favour of cheaper lifestyle and reality programming, government funding models, and the role of residual payments in an evolving media landscape. After two days of negotiation, ACTRA walked away from the bargaining table and called for third-party mediation, saying CFTPA proposed pay rollbacks for low-budget productions and residual cuts across the board. The producers and distributors association, meanwhile, argues there’s a rationale behind these proposed changes to the collective agreement. For his part, Mayson said the Canadian Film and Video Production Tax Credit program and the Television and Cable Production Fund do not reflect the current landscape of foreign competition, increased demand for product, and non-linear rights. "The equation is out of whack," he said. "Labour costs have gone up and there’s pressure from broadcasters to create high-end product with low budgets. It’s making independent producers squeezed at the centre of this sandwich to find the money." Despite the funding models developed to assist indie production in Canada, the creators behind television series argue there’s still not enough cash to keep the industry afloat. Panelist Daniel Iron, producer at Foundry Films and former legal counsel at Telefilm Canada, said there’s always a 5% to 10% hole in the Canadian financing model, right up to the point where a series is about to wrap. This leaves producers going from province to province for the best tax credit, or dealing with foreign sales agents to get funding from abroad. "Documentary producers take out second mortgages just to get a cash flow," he said. For the past 20 years broadcasters have contributed 10% to 20% towards the average production budget, but Mayson believes they should follow the example of their counterparts in Germany and France and assume a greater portion of a production’s budget, especially given rising costs across the board. Without the extra help at home, producers are left to scour international markets to top up budgets, and are selling what rights they may have left outside of the country to get a program made. "We value the money from the government and broadcasters, but producers are being pressured to give away more rights for the same money," he said. He suggests TV commissioners agree to a new deal that includes an equitable sharing of rights and a fair licence fee, particularly when it comes to new media. The evolving multimedia environment is also a source of frustration for indies. Iron says broadcasters want to take all of the new media rights – even for platforms that have yet to be invented – and are sometimes offering little to no extra payment. Additionally, the Canadian Television Fund recently shifted its English-language drama funding over to the broadcasters through its envelope allocation initiative, and Iron fears producers will increasingly lose control over their production models. "They control the government money, so we don’t have a leg to stand on," he said, adding the CRTC will look at how to fix the drama incentive program this November. "They’ve admitted there problems with the system, and that drama has been in steady decline in Canada." Gelbert suggests the Canadian model should look to the UK for inspiration. For example, broadcaster rights are regulated to first-run only, giving producers more power over the future of their own creations, a policy that’s helping ramp up the number of independent distribution outlets and attract venture capital. He says the British government has taken on the interest of indie producers, but the CRTC has not. As Canadian Communications Reports was going to press, Reg Pearson was appointed to mediate the negotiations (see CCR People, p.7). ACTRA and the CFTPA have also agreed to a sidebar meeting with Pearson present on November 14.

Producers address concerns amidst threat of ACTRA strike

Broadcast | November 7, 2006

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