No More Bets - Applicants Wait For A Decision On CMF's Experimental Stream

Posted on December 9, 2010 by Paul Chodirker

All funding applications for the CMF's Experimental Stream program have been submitted and now the waiting begins. According to the CMF, the fund received almost 200 applications for digital media and interactive software applications. 

As applicants wait patiently, a jury of Canadian and international experts and the CMF Program Administrator at Telefilm Canada will sift through hundreds of applications and base their decisions on the following Evaluation Matrix:

15% - Production Team: Experience and achievements of producer and management team.

40% - Innovation & Originality: Originality of the content and potential for legacy to the industry.

30% - Business Plan: Viability of the project and financial stability of the applicant.

15% - Distribution Plan: Marketing and promotion plan.

(Note: The complete Evaluation Matrix can be found at Article 2.4 of the Experimental Stream Guidelines 2010-2011)   

The CMF hopes that projects selected for funding will be announced by the end of February 2011.

Tags: , ,

The CMF and Eligible Distribution Fees

Posted on August 25, 2010 by Paul Chodirker

You can say that weaving through the system at the CMF can be a frustrating process, but you can't say the staff at the CMF aren't helpful. After coming across a question regarding the CMF's eligibility requirements for distribution fees and having difficulty in finding an answer on their website, a staff member with the CMF was more than willing to help me with my task. In fact, this staff member seemed almost excited at the prospect of helping me. I think the staffer's motivation came from the fact that I would become one less person confused about the new rules with the CMF and therefore, one less person inclined to call their offices for assistance.

Well, friendly CMF staffer - I've decided to help you out and pass on the information.

When submitting a distribution agreement for CMF's approval, if the distributor in question is taking a distribution commission of anything more than 15%, the distribution terms will be rejected. The CMF will only allow non-eligible distributors to receive 15% of revenues. So, in order to receive distribution fees in excess of 15%, one must either be an eligible distributor or a broadcast-affiliated eligible distributor. Distribution fees for such entities include 30% of gross revenues for television (conventional, pay) and 35% for television (syndicated).

According to the CMF, an eligible distributor must demonstrate the following to the CMF:

  • A level of experience and expertise
  • Sufficient volume of business and financial viability
  • That it regularly attends international television markets
  • That it has distributed productions of a similar size and nature
  • That it is Canadian-controlled within the meaning of the Investment Canada Act (for the projects it will distribute in Canada)

According to the CMF, an eligible distributor affiliated with a broadcaster, may distribute a project if it meets certain requirements of the CMF and follows various "safeguards", which include the following: 

  • The negotiation for traditional distribution rights are conducted separately from the negotiation for a broadcaster license fee
  • There is a delay after the producer and broadcaster have completed a short form broadcast agreement and before the broadcaster-affiliated distributor and producer commence negotiations of a distribution commitment
  • The broadcaster-affiliated distribution company is prohibited from accessing information from its affiliated broadcaster that would give it an advantage in negotiating with the producer.

Attached is the CMF Eligible Distributor questionnaire and checklist, which is used by the CMF to evaluate those distributors that want to be included on the CMF’s list of eligible distributors. It usually takes about 4 weeks for the CMF to review the form.

 

Tags: , ,

CMF Reveals its Business Policies

Posted on May 26, 2010 by Paul Chodirker

Considering the fact that I have become the de facto spokesperson for the Canada Media Fund (CMF) on this blog, I couldn't resist making available the CMF's new business policies, which were made public on May 20.

The CMF's Business Policies (2010-2011), available here, includes the following information:

  • Default Policy;
  • Accounting and Reporting Requirements;
  • Producer’s Fees and Corporate Overhead Policy;
  • Completion Protection Policy;
  • Production Insurance Policy;
  • Standard Recoupment Policy; and
  • Treatment of Tax Credits.

Producers should also note the following with regards to Producer's Fees and Corporate Overhead for projects in the Experimental Stream:

For projects in the Experimental Stream, the producer’s fees included within the budget shall be a maximum of 10% of Sections B+C of the budget. The corporate overhead included within the budget shall be a maximum of 10% of Sections B+C of the budget and must be comprised of costs directly related to the project.

Producers should note the following with regards to Producer's Fees and Corporate Overhead for the production of television components of projects in the Convergent Stream:

The producer’s fees and corporate overhead (“PFCO”) included within the production budget shall be a maximum of 20% of Sections B+C of the production budget, with the exception of productions with budgets of less than $500,000 (Low Budget Productions) for which the percentage is 30%. Beyond these percentages, there is a maximum dollar amount of $1.4 million per project which is pro-rated up for series of more than 13 hours (13 one-hour episodes or 26 half-hour episodes).

Slowly but surely, it appears that producers are finally receiving the information they need from the CMF....even if it's only one step at a time.

Tags: , ,

CMF Releases Its Experimental Stream Application

Posted on May 13, 2010 by Paul Chodirker

After launching on April 1, 2010, the Canada Media Fund has now released the Experimental Stream Application Form, which can be found by clicking here. Better late than never, I suppose.

The CMF's contributions are divided into two streams of funding:

The Experimental Stream and the Convergent Stream.

The Experimental Stream of the CMF is intended to support digital content that is innovative and interactive. It's important to note that projects must include these characteristics to be eligible for this stream of funding. 

According to the CMF's Experimental Stream Guidelines 2010-2011, the definitions of innovative and interactive are as follows:

Innovation: Eligible projects must be innovative. Innovative may be expressed in terms of innovative business models, innovative content, or innovative technology. The CMF does not define or limit what is innovative - applicants are encouraged to pursue their own vision of innovation and articulate to the CMF how their project is innovative.

Interactivity: Eligible projects must be interactive. Interactivity is defined as a participatory experience between the user and a product/technology or the user and other users as enabled by the product/technology. Projects that use the internet or mobile platforms to distribute linear content without any significant interactive feature(s) are not eligible.

While the definitions of "innovative" and "interactive" are not entirely clear, what is apparent is that a simple interactive website wont be eligible for funding. The CMF are clearly looking for producers to invest a great deal of time and money in their digital content in order to be eligible under the Experimental Stream of funding. Digital content should now include sophisticated features and interesting and distinct technologies.

      

 

Tags: , , , ,