Study Released on the Digital Rights of Independent Producers
On June 9th the Canadian Film and Television Production Association (CFTPA) released the study, Towards a Framework for Digital Rights. It was shown in the study that independent producers receive little or no compensation for the digital rights of their projects from Canadian Broadcasters.
During the study, both producers and broadcasters were interviewed to gain a better view of the situation. In a press release by the Ontario Media Development Corporation (OMDC) it was said that:
More than half (56%) of respondents indicated that they did not receive any additional compensation for the digital (Internet and mobile) rights to their shows, whether in the form of an incremental licence fee or a revenue share. At the same time, a majority of respondents indicated that they were not confident about their estimates of the market value for digital rights in Canada.
John Barrack commented on this information, saying:
What the study really demonstrates is that independent producers don’t have access to the data they need in order to be full participants in the Canadian digital rights marketplace,
It was also made clear in the press release that many major Canadian broadcasters refused to be interviewed for the study. Reynolds Mastin suggested that greater transparency would be beneficial for all industry stakeholders and that confidential information would not have to be revealed in this process.
This lack of transparency could potentially slow Canada’s goals of a digital economy by 2017. Without accurate estimates of the market value for digital rights, little can be done to create a successful digital economy as producers are unable to effectively negotiate.
