CMF lobbying for stable, multi-year funding renewal

The Canada Media Fund (CMF) can count on the Conservative government’s support as the funding organization seeks a commitment in the 2011 federal budget for multi-year funding, Heritage Minister James Moore says. CMF officials were in Ottawa this week to hold meetings with officials and parliamentarians about the fund’s priorities and business plan for the coming year. The CMF’s government funding for the current fiscal year ends in April 2011. At a CMF event in Ottawa on Wednesday, Moore told The Wire Report that the fund’s success indicates its funding should be viewed as stable. “The success and the establishment of this fund will speak for itself and the industry can certainly count on our government to continue our support,” he said. Last April, the Canadian Television Fund (CTF) and the Canada New Media Fund (CNMF) were merged to create the new Canada Media Fund for Canadian broadcasting, digital media, interactive, and software content. CMF CEO Valerie Creighton said in an interview Wednesday that in recent years the fund as received government contributions year-by-year, making it difficult to plan long-term. “If there was the ability to know we’re going to be in the mix beyond one year, that will really help us to be strategic in terms of our planning process,” she said. According to the CMF’s 2008-2009 annual report, the CMF received $302.5 million in funding from contributors that year. Canadian Heritage contributed $120 million, cable companies $96.6 million, and satellite distributors $85.9 million. The CMF’s budget for the 2010-2011 fiscal year is $350 million, with a total government contribution of $134 million. The fund’s annual budgetary appropriation expires April 1, 2011. When asked about multi-year funding for the CMF, Moore noted that the government is coming out of “the worst economic downturn since the Second World War.” Moore would not reveal any figures, but said the next budget will be an important one for the government as it reaches the end of its two-year economic action plan. “In global recessions governments have to be prudent and look at things year-by-year. That’s why the economic action plan was a two-year plan and not a five-year plan,” he said. But he added that the government has maintained its commitments to the CBC, arts organizations and cultural funds and has sustained or increased funding for the arts. “I see no reason why anybody should expect us to do anything different in the coming budget,” Moore said. Moore said he is in regular contact with Creighton to learn about how the fund is evolving. Creighton said the fund’s organizers were in Ottawa this week for meetings with parliamentarians who sit on the House industry and heritage committees to discuss the fund’s priorities, financial expectations and performance. CMF officials will also be meeting with Canadian Heritage, she said. The conversations will inform the government’s budget process. The federal lobbyist registry shows that on Sept. 14, Sandra Graham, a consultant with The Capital Hill Group, registered to lobby the government on behalf of the CMF for “support for the renewal of the Canada Media Fund program.” Creighton said the fund is meeting only about 50 per cent of demand. “We know that the fund is over-subscribed by about 50 per cent regardless of the program. We’re also realistic. The economy is restructuring itself and there’s a lot of pressure everywhere,” she said. “But we’re hopeful that getting a multi-year renewal would be very helpful to us … If there’s more money to be allocated, we’ll grow the industry even further.” Moore said one of the most important things about the new fund is its flexibility and its availability to gaming, interactive and digital media. Moore acknowledged that consumption patterns have changed, and that regulations can only go so far to encourage the viewing of Canadian content in an age of audience fragmentation. “It’s not for us to pretend that we can influence what platform they can watch it on, but we can make a decision to support the development and creation of Canadian content. That’s where the focus should be, so it’s a recognition of the obvious,” Moore said. “Let people choose how they want to consume their media and information, and we will be a government that’s responsible for creating as much Canadian content as possible.” sdoyle@thewirereport.ca

CMF lobbying for stable, multi-year funding renewal

Broadcast | September 30, 2010

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