The Canada Media Fund (CMF) and IPF (Independent Production Fund) have renewed the IPF-CMF Short Form Series Development Program for 2025, but the total budget has been lowered from $900,000 to $600,000.

In a statement to Playback Daily, CMF said that the budget update is in response to lower revenues from all sources, including those from BDUs.

“We are adjusting the budgets for many of our funding programs to ensure we maximize the impact of every dollar invested,” read the statement. “Our mandate to support and champion Canadian storytelling and creative talent remains as strong as ever.”

In a separate statement, IPF CEO Jon Taylor said that “overall program demand and application quality” are also factors in determining the number of projects funded. Following the program’s deadline, IPF will access the program’s results and may choose to increase its own program budget commitment, which Taylor said has happened in the past.

At a November 2023 Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission hearing, CMF CEO Valerie Creighton said that BDU contributions had declined by 21% over the past seven years, anticipating that the decline will accelerate to between 6% and 8% over the following three years. BDU contributions decreased by 7.3% in 2023-24, according to CMF’s most recent annual report.

The organization’s expenses also increased 7% year-over-year, from $380.8 million to $407.3 million. Program commitments accounted for 92.4% of all expenses.

The short-form development program, previously known as the Development Packaging Program: Short Form Scripted Series, began in 2020 with a total budget of $600,000. In 2023, the budget was increased to $900,000 which carried over into the 2024 iteration.

Similar to last year, successful applicants will receive a maximum of $30,000 for their project. To be eligible for funding, projects must, among other criteria, consist of original, scripted, short-form episodic dramatic content with episode running times less than 20 minutes.

This year’s deadline to apply for funding is March 3. The applications will be overseen by an IPF selection committee with final decisions made by IPF and CMF representatives. Funding recipients will be notified in April.

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