Cogeco Cablesystems of Montreal has created a production fund of roughly $1 million a year for tv movies.

Cogeco’s new Production Program will provide equity investments for mows, two-part miniseries and pilots for dramatic series. Fund executive director Andra Sheffer expects the new fund to contribute to roughly four projects per year while seeking recoupment of its investment and profit participation.

‘Movies are unbelievably difficult to finance, and Cogeco has found a niche that was really underserved, so I think that they were really smart in dedicating this new fund to that format,’ says ctv’s vp dramatic Canadian programming Bill Mustos, who says he had difficulty packaging financing for many of the mows on ctv’s increased Cancon slate this year.

To be eligible for the Production Program, Canadian producers must have produced at least one broadcast Canadian television drama as an independent producer. The project must also have a broadcast licence, a Canadian first window on a domestic broadcaster, and have at least eight out of 10 crtc Cancon points.

There are no official French or English envelopes for the new mow fund, but Sheffer expects roughly one-third of the equity investments to be allocated to French-language projects over time. Sheffer also notes that priority will be given to projects with licences from private broadcasters.

Says Mustos: ‘We’re hoping that between this new fund, access to the lfp, a presale somewhere, a decent distribution advance, a budget that doesn’t have too much fat, and a potential equity investment from us occasionally on top of our licence fee, there will be a way to get good movies made in this country.’

The $1 million slotted for the new mow production fund represents 20% of Cogeco’s 5% of broadcast distribution undertaking revenues that the crtc requires the cable company to contribute to production.

Sheffer notes that the fund was created in part due to an article in the Writers Guild of Canada newsletter written by Jim McKee bemoaning the lack of production and financing of Canadian television movies.

‘We think this is great news,’ says McKee. ‘We were really concerned about the decline in mow production, in part because the major player, the cbc, has had its capacity to fund and develop such projects really cut back due to budget cuts.’

At the same time, the Cogeco Program Development Fund has been opened to include mows and two-part miniseries. Along with dramatic series, they will be eligible for the yearly $400,000 to $500,000 treatment, first and final draft development funding.

‘We hope [the mow production fund] as well as the expansion of the development fund will help the private sector fill in the gaps to broadcast distinctively Canadian stories,’ says McKee.

The Cogeco funds are administered by a six-member board of directors and by an undertaking on behalf of the Independent Production Fund.

Application deadlines for either fund are July 15, Oct. 15, Feb. 1, 1999 and April 1, 1999.

In other company news, Cogeco says it has agreed to acquire Radio Saguenay stations ckrs-tv and cfrs-tv in Jonquiere, Que.

Cogeco Radio-Television will acquire all the assets of Radio Saguenay except its ownership investment in the Television Quatre Saisons network.

Cogeco Cable has entered into an agreement with Hydro-Quebec and Bell Canada to construct a $12-million fiber-optic cable link between Quebec City and Rimouski. Cogeco assumes about a third of the cost and will complete the link by Oct. 31.