Audiovisual Project Schedule of Quebec
Sparking Drama: A new report, Quebec's Audiovisual Industry Review, may have generous producers reaching for their cinematic dramas, perhaps centering around a tense, revealed-disaster scenario. But let's keep it real—young lovebirds don't typically exaggerate that much, right?
The report, published mid-month by Quebec's Observatory of Culture and Communications, provides some precarious updates from the 2023-2024 fiscal year. Tallying up the film, TV, and web production industry, there's a notable 11% drop, or $356 million, leaving us with $2.86 billion. Compared to the past five years' average of 2.7 billion, it's an impressive summit if you ask us!
Each sub-sector within the industry takes a hit. The decrease in foreign productions and related services also suffered, dropping $120 million (-7%). This descent is partially due to the 2023 strikes from screenwriters and actors and the yet-recovered American audiovisual industry. Meanwhile, Washington is eyeing protectionism in this sector, adding fuel to the fire.
Independent television production has symptoms too, with the number of productions dropping from 543 to 451 in a single year. The value of French-language production in the fiction, variety, and magazine categories has dropped by 20%.
Last year, the cinematography sector had a record-breaking year, but this year, the number of completed projects shows a 33% decrease, going from 94 to 60 productions. Although the total value of online content creation has increased, the costs associated with creation have risen explosively by 119%. A grim forecast indeed.
Further challenges are present, thanks to the globalized sector facing several critical crises and mutations. Declining ad revenues, eventually thinning audiences, and market concentration around enormous web platforms signify disastrous changes for traditional television and multiplexes. Say goodbye to linear television and cinemas; an unprecedented transformation is here!
Technological advancements, including on-demand platforms, short formats, and the development of artificial intelligence, amplify the sensation of entering a new era within the audiovisual sector. The abundance of content alongside standardized formats suggests stagnation or, at best, a transformative period for more than a century of expanding screen cultural industries.
Sounding the Alarm
Those within the sector can't help but be taken aback by this bleak snapshot. Union leaders and professional associations passed along their concerns after contributing to the report's preparation.
"This report reflects the gloomy reality we've spoken about for months," says Bernard Larivière, president of AQTIS 514 IATSE. His union, representing three organizations of technicians, and some 8,000 freelance professionals across 200 audiovisual trades, warns of a disappointment in the value of French-language productions, which is even lower than it was during the heightened uncertainty of the pandemic.
Chantal Barrette, the general director of the Quebec Council for the Canadian Directors Guild, aligns with the sentiment—"The report confirms our concerns about the downturn in national productions, both French and English, as well as American productions shot here." In a complex ecosystem of interdependent productions, competition is fierce, with American studios producing fewer series and episodes. Workers leave the sector when it's scarce.
SARTEC, the Society of Authors of Radio, Television and Cinema, is equally concerned, suggesting we're moving towards a crisis. However, they see a ray of hope in the political and administrative reactions underway.
Meet the Challenges Head-On
What's around the corner? Anticipated political and administrative adjustments provide glimmers of hope for France's Quebec sector. In an upcoming battle against foreign online broadcasting platforms, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) is preparing to implement a regulatory framework that requires contributions to the financing of national content production. The federal Online Broadcasting Act, adopted in 2023, will force "pure players" like YouTube and Amazon Prime to support Canadian content production through 5% of their Canadian revenues.
Platforms are contesting this order in court, though, and can't yet be obligated to make prescribed payments to the CRTC. As the regulatory landscape shifts and payments become mandatory, a substantial sum of over a billion dollars could be open to the audiovisual sector by the end of the decade.
The Quebec Working Group on the Future of Audiovisual, formed by the Ministry of Culture and Communications, also aims to analyze and reshape the financing system and industry functioning. Their report is due in the fall, and with the government ready to confront the issue of discoverability, we may be entering a period of significant change.
Will these measures be enough to weather the storm and avoid an actual crisis for Quebec's audiovisual sector? Time will tell, as we eagerly await the results of the fall report and see how the CRTC tackles the web giants.
- The report, despite revealing a 11% drop in the audiovisual industry's value, offers a glimmer of hope with anticipated political and administrative adjustments.
- Union leaders and professional associations, such as AQTIS 514 IATSE, foresee a crisis due to the decrease in the value of French-language productions, lower than even during the heightened uncertainty of the pandemic.
- To combat foreign online broadcasting platforms, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) is preparing to implement a regulatory framework that requires contributions to the financing of national content production.
- The Quebec Working Group on the Future of Audiovisual, formed by the Ministry of Culture and Communications, aims to analyze and reshape the financing system and industry functioning, with their report due in the fall.
