Since announcing changes to the Certified Independent Production Fund (CIPF) policy framework on Aug. 25, the CRTC’s divisive decision to reduce the number of Canadian certification points required for a production to receive CIPF funding has received the most industry and media scrutiny.

One change that has not garnered as much attention, but which may have just as significant an impact, is the removal of the licensed-broadcaster trigger required for a production to receive CIPF funding.

In its decision, the CRTC wrote that Canadians are increasingly getting their content from places other than BDUs and to maintain the requirement that a producer obtain a broadcast licence or development agreement with a broadcast undertaking could “stifle the production of more innovative projects. “Eliminating this requirement will give more flexibility to producers to have their projects distributed on the platform of their choice,” the decision read.

For many in the industry – including the CMPA, which welcomed the change in its official reaction – this is a necessary evolution of the policy. Industry execs like John Barrack, partner and strategic counsel at Between producer Don Carmody Television and a former CMPA C-suite exec, agree. “It’s 2016,” he noted in an interview with Playback Daily. “Do I think that broadcasting is very relevant? Sure. Do I think they are still a very important customer? Yes. But when we produce now, we’re platform-agnostic.”

Broadcasters, many of which declined to comment or deferred comment on the matter to a later date, may not be quite as keen as the production community to see dollars diverted to digital, but the upside is new funding for digi-only ventures, argues Andra Sheffer, CEO of the Independent Production Fund and COGECO Program Development Fund.

“There’s no question that even our traditional broadcasters are looking for original content for their websites, so this change makes it possible to fund projects directly for CBC Comedy, [for example],” Sheffer said. “I think it’s certainly the way of the future.”

One fund supported by Rogers told Playback that it too appreciates the more flexible trigger framework: “We welcome the changes outlined in the new policy framework, as it gives us added flexibility to fund a variety of content,” Robin Mirsky, executive director, Rogers Group of Funds, said in a statement.

Several broadcasters that submitted comment on the proposed CIPF changes to the CRTC during the review period were less enthusiastic about the change, however. Both the CBC and BCE argued against removing the broadcast trigger altogether, but said more leeway could be given to help fund projects without a broadcaster licence agreement (BCE suggested 10% of funds could be allocated to this content), so long as the distribution platform for that content is owned by Canadians.

While the CRTC ultimately removed the trigger requirement, it did mandate that producers must demonstrate a production will be available on a platform “accessible by Canadians.”

A greater question, some argue, is whether the CIPF trigger change is merely a blip or the tip of an iceberg.

“If the thinking behind this [CRTC] decision is the thinking going forward of the government, then I think it’s a recognition that the broadcasting industry isn’t the only way in which Canadians get content. And that recognition is very overdue,” said Barrack.

And speaking with Playback last week, Michael Prupas, CEO of Muse Entertainment, argued that the Canadian Audio-Visual Certification Office (CAVCO) needs to make similar changes to its rules.

“Will the Canadian content rules for tax purposes be amended to allow for shows that are produced for digital networks to qualify for Canadian tax credits?” Prupas asked. “As the industry evolves, as the broadcasting distribution options become wider – and they have become wider over the last couple of years – are we going to accept the fact that selling something to a digital network is just as good as selling it to a broadcast network in order to get Canadian tax benefits, the largest benefit that we have in this country?”

In February, CAVCO issued a call for comment on a proposed policy to allow productions which are exclusively distributed online to be eligible for CPTC. No policy changes have yet come into force. And the Canada Media Fund (CMF) too is looking for more flexible exhibition funding requirements through its 2016-2017 Contribution Agreement with the Department of Canadian Heritage.

Previously, television programs funded through the CMF’s Convergent Stream had to be broadcast in peak viewing hours by a licensed broadcaster. The new proposal from the CMF, which has not yet been signed or approved by Heritage, asks that next year, programs exhibited on licensed digital services be eligible for funding. It is also hoping to launch an Experimental Stream sub-program that will accept linear web series funding requests.

“There are a multitude of great Canadian stories and ideas that don’t see the light of day due, in part, to the market pressure on the Canadian broadcasters,” CMF CEO and president Valerie Creighton told Playback Daily on the subject of the removal of the CIPF broadcast trigger. “The relaxation of this requirement will provide an opportunity for creators and producers to pitch these story ideas to a wider market.”

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