Canadians favour funding for international CanCon success: PIAC poll

Canadians are broadly in support of making domestic film and TV productions successful internationally and being provided the funding to do so, but don’t share a consensus on where that money should go, according to a public opinion survey conducted by the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC). PIAC presented the results of the poll as part of its submission to Canadian Heritage’s review of Canadian cultural industries in a digital world. According to the survey, watching domestic content at home isn’t a major priority for Canadian audiences, with only nine per cent of respondents saying most of what they watch is Canadian films and TV shows, while 36 per cent said very little is Canadian, and 47 per cent saying “some” is Canadian. The top priority for Canadian film and TV producers should be creating content that can be sold to the rest of the world, according to 73 per cent of respondents, with 25 per cent saying the focus should be creating content for Canadian consumption. “Canadians do not therefore always watch a lot of Canadian content, and presumably would not want their choice of content to be restricted to or necessarily prioritize Canadian content,” said PIAC’s submission to the public consultation, which wrapped up Nov. 25. Heritage Canada posted copies of contributions to the consultation's website Thursday. “Nonetheless, they still want Canadian films and television to succeed internationally.” Seventy per cent of respondents also agreed there should be more financial support for Canadian productions, the survey suggests. What form that support should take was fairly evenly distributed, with 36 per cent saying there should be more promotion and marketing of programs required, 31 per cent agreeing a certain number of Canadian programs should be included in broadcast schedules and online catalogues, and 20 per cent saying more funding should be funnelled in from the industry and/or the government. The source of additional funding most strongly supported was from incumbent media players, such as broadcasters and TV providers, the survey found, while support for out-of-pocket funding, such as adding to monthly online video service subscription prices, was less plentiful, with 46 per cent saying they would be willing to add “nothing” to their bills. “In sum, Canadians still see ‘traditional media players’ as gaining the most — and therefore ought to be contributing the most — from the Canadian media market,” said PIAC’s submission. “However, they also recognize the ecosystem as one that is evolving and which increasingly embraces digital media players. Canadians far prefer additional support for Canadian content coming from these players rather than from other sources such as government funding and especially ISPs.” The results were compiled from a phone survey of 1,228 English-speaking Canadian adults on Nov. 3-4, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.3 per cent, 19 times out of 20. The concept of either levying taxes on foreign digital services, such as over-the-top video providers like Netflix Inc., or requiring them to contribute to CanCon funding schemes was a common thread through submissions from advocacy groups. PIAC said it was against an additional tax on Internet Service Providers (ISPs), citing previous PIAC research about low-income households already trading off other household goods in order to afford communications services. In its submission, OpenMedia said imposing a new levy on ISPs is something that should be “avoided at all costs,” since providers will “almost certainly pass any additional fees on to their customers, raising the price of what is, for many, already an unaffordable necessity to function in today’s digital society.” OpenMedia pointed to the impact of the Wireless Code as an example, with wireless providers raising cell phone plan prices to compensate for contracts being shortened from three to two years. The group also looked overseas to Hungary, where a “proposed ISP levy resulted in mass protests involving thousands of citizens demonstrating in the streets, and the government withdrew it in response,” its submission said. The group expressed favour for having a sales tax requirement on foreign services and directing both those revenues as well as directing part of spectrum auction proceeds to finance Canadian content. In its submission, Netflix said it already plays a positive role in the production of Canadian content, despite not having mandated contribution requirements. OpenMedia also recommended providing “greater institutional support” to digital media and online creators, independent producers and marginalized voices with things such as funded community media centres, revisiting community TV licences. The government could also remove the “fear that may incur legal liability through incorporating another person’s work” by having publicly funded projects attach Creative Commons licensing. The Canadian chapter of the Internet Society, a not-for-profit organization focused on a goal of “barrier-free access to an open Internet,” said it is “unqualifiedly opposed to the application of broadcasting regulatory principles to the Internet, and is resolutely opposed to the imposition of any levy or tax on either access to the Internet or on online services to support Canadian content.” However, the group said it is in favour of requiring foreign services to remit and collect sales tax, calling it a “concern” that this isn’t already a practice and that it would level the playing field in addition to raising “general tax revenues that could provide a source of funding to enhance existing measures to support Canadian content in all media, including online.” The Canadian Association of Community Television Users and Stations (CACTUS) also weighed in on the issue of a Netflix or ISP tax, but noted the group hadn’t studied the issue in detail. “Since Canadians financially contribute to foreign streaming services such as Netflix, we support investigations by our government into ways to tax these services through the billing process and Canadian banking system,” adding that the Internet should be treated as a neutral pipe, whose cost structure should be kept as low as possible.” — With reporting by Charelle Evelyn at cevelyn@thewirereport.ca and editing by Ahmad Hathout at ahathout@thewirereport.ca

Canadians favour funding for international CanCon success: PIAC poll

News | 12/09/2016 9:02 pm EST

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