Convergent Stream
The Convergent Stream supports the creation of multi-platform Canadian projects: these projects must include content intended for distribution on at least two distribution platforms, one of which must be television, and the other, a digital media platform.
More specifically, the stream enables the development and production of television shows and related digital media content in four underrepresented genres: drama, documentary, children’s and youth, and variety and performing arts (VAPA). The required digital media components must comprise rich, interactive content and can include games, interactive web content, on-demand content, podcasts, webisodes, and mobisodes, for example.
As such, the Convergent Stream aims to ensure that Canadians can access the content they want, anytime, anywhere, on the platform of their choice.
The stream comprises a number of different programs and incentives designed to encourage the creation of content from all regions of Canada and in the variety of languages spoken by Canadians.
The majority of funding in this stream is disbursed through the Performance Envelope Program. Through this program, the Canada Media Fund (CMF) allocates funding envelopes to English and French broadcasters in an amount that reflects their track record of supporting Canadian programming. Broadcasters commit these funds to Canadian projects that they believe will appeal to their viewers. Even though broadcasters are allocated a funding envelope, the actual funding is paid directly to the producer according to a payment schedule.
The Performance Envelope Program was designed to provide a greater degree of funding predictability to both broadcasters and producers by allocating funds to broadcasters at the beginning of each fiscal year. For further detail, please click consult the Performance Envelope Calculations appendix.
Convergent Stream Funding
In 2010-2011, the CMF provided $288.3 M in funding for the production of over 450 convergent projects, generating almost 2,500 hours of new content. The highest number of projects supported was in the documentary genre, followed by children’s and youth projects, dramas and VAPA programs. However, the majority of funding went to dramas, pointing to the higher average production budgets in this genre, followed by children’s and youth projects, documentaries and VAPA programs.
| 2010-2011 Television | 5-year average Television | 2010-2011 Digital Media | |||||
| 2010-2011 Television $M Funding | Hours | Average Budget / hour $K | $M | Hours | Average Budget / hour $K | $M | |
| Drama | 111.8 | 273 | 1.408 | 105.8 | 258 | 1.272 | 1.0 |
| Children's & Youth | 37.6 | 304 | 512 | 35.7 | 321 | 520 | 1.6 |
| Documentary | 29.6 | 281 | 356 | 29.5 | 366 | 308 | 0.4 |
| Variety & Performing Arts | 3.6 | 57 | 219 | 3.5 | 44 | 280 | 0.0 |
| English Total | 182.6 | 915 | 174.5 | 989 | 3.0 | ||
| Drama | 47.7 | 383 | 430 | 46.2 | 291 | 479 | 0.5 |
| Children's & Youth | 14.6 | 369 | 147 | 12.4 | 337 | 135 | 0.5 |
| Documentary | 22.0 | 380 | 165 | 22.5 | 409 | 161 | 0.7 |
| Variety & Performing Arts | 9.5 | 359 | 156 | 6.2 | 193 | 193 | 0.4 |
| French Total | 93.8 | 1,491 | 87.3 | 1,230 | 2.1 | ||
| Drama | 0.0 | 0 | n.a. | 0.0 | 0 | n.a. | 0.0 |
| Children's & Youth | 1.2 | 20 | 166 | 0.9 | 12 | 338 | 0.3 |
| Documentary | 3.3 | 40 | 158 | 1.8 | 30 | 173 | 0.6 |
| Variety & Performing Arts | 0.3 | 7 | 77 | 0.5 | 14 | 172 | 0.1 |
| Aboriginal Total | 4.8 | 67 | 3.2 | 56 | 1.0 | ||
| Drama | 0.1 | 3 | n.a. | n.a. | 0.0 | ||
| Children's & Youth | 0.1 | 1 | n.a. | n.a. | 0.0 | ||
| Documentary | 0.7 | 14 | n.a. | n.a. | 0.1 | ||
| Variety & Performing Arts | 0.0 | 0 | n.a. | n.a. | 0.0 | ||
| Diverse Languages Total | 0.9 | 18 | 158 | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | 0.1 |
| Grand Total | 282.1 | 2,491 | 265.0 | 2,275 | 6.2 | ||
Footnotes
Split-cycle projects which were produced over two fiscal years (2009-2010 and 2010-2011) are not included in these results.
Results shown for digital media components include only those that were funded by the CMF: 64% of convergent projects with digital media as a second platform had CMF-funded digital media components; the other 36% did not seek CMF funding for the production of their digital media components.
Eight convergent projects had unfunded television components, i.e., only their digital media components were CMF-funded.
Convergent Stream Funding
(2010-2011 Convergent Projects)
.png)
Second Platform
In 2010-2011, projects were deemed convergent if the television program met one of the following three conditions:
- it was complemented by one or several digital media components;
- it was made available on a digital distribution platform non-simultaneously with its original broadcast (non-simultaneous streaming); or
- it was made available on a CRTC-licensed video-on-demand (VOD) service.
Of the more than 450 convergent projects funded, approximately 40% were accompanied by digital media components and approximately 40% were streamed, while less than 20% aired on a VOD service. In terms of funding, however, convergent projects with digital media components received over two thirds of total convergent funding.
| $M Funding | # of Convergent Projects | % Share of Language Total | |
| Digital Media | 127.8 | 82 | 69 |
| Digital Distribution | 22.0 | 62 | 12 |
| Video on Demand | 35.8 | 68 | 19 |
| English Total | 185.6 | 212 | 100 |
| Digital Media | 64.3 | 82 | 67 |
| Digital Distribution | 28.6 | 124 | 30 |
| Video on Demand | 3.0 | 10 | 3 |
| French Total | 95.9 | 216 | 100 |
| Digital Media | 5.4 | 15 | 93 |
| Digital Distribution | 0.4 | 1 | 7 |
| Video on Demand | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Aboriginal Total | 5.8 | 16 | 100 |
| Digital Media | 0.6 | 5 | 56 |
| Digital Distribution | 0.0 | 0 | |
| Video on Demand | 0.4 | 3 | 44 |
| Diverse Languages Total | 1.0 | 8 | 100 |
| Grand Total | 288.3 | 452 |
Sources of financing for Convergent Stream projects
Television
Sources of financing for English and French-language television programs totalled over $990 million, of which the CMF provided $276.4 million, or 28%. This percentage was identical in both language markets, with CMF contributing $182.7 million to English-language television programs and $93.7 million to French-language programs.
English
In the English market, broadcasters provided the highest share of overall funding, at 29%, followed closely by the CMF at 28%. Provincial governments were the third largest funding contributor, at 19%, followed by the federal government at 10%. Other financing sources provided the remaining 14%.
The percentage contribution of the various sources of financing varied significantly by genre. For children’s & youth programs, the CMF provided 24% of total funding, the lowest share amongst all other genres, while distributors and foreign financing sources together provided 10% of financing, pointing to the international market appeal of these shows. For documentary programs, the CMF provided 30% of total funding, the highest share amongst all genres. For drama programs, the CMF provided 29% of total funding, the highest source of financing for the genre. For variety and performing arts (VAPA) programs, broadcasters contributed proportionally more than in any other genre, at 39% of total financing.
Footnote:
Results shown exclude projects funded through the Aboriginal Program and Diverse Languages Program, which are provided further in this report.
French
In the French market, broadcasters provided the highest share of overall funding, at 39% (ten percentage points more than broadcasters in the English market), followed by CMF at 28%. Provincial governments were the third largest funding contributor, at 19%, followed by the federal government at 11%. Other financing sources provided only 3%.
The percentage contribution of the various sources of financing varied significantly by genre. For children’s & youth programs, the CMF provided 27% of total funding, while broadcasters contributed 40%. For documentary programs, the CMF provided 35% of total funding, the highest share amongst all genres, while broadcasters contributed 27% their lowest contribution amongst all genres. For drama programs, the CMF provided 29% of total funding, and broadcasters 39%. For variety and performing arts (VAPA) programs, broadcasters contributed proportionally more than in any other genre, at 54% of total financing, while the CMF contribution, at 17%, was its lowest amongst all genres.
Footnote:
Results shown exclude projects funded through the Aboriginal Program and Diverse Languages Program, which are provided further in this report.
Broadcaster Detail
Results shown in this table attest to the important distinctions in the broadcast landscape in the English and French-language markets.
English
In the English market, the majority of production funding was provided by specialty and pay broadcasters, at 62%, followed by CBC/Radio-Canada at 24%, other conventional broadcasters at 13% and educational broadcasters at 1%. Contributions however varied significantly by genre.
While specialty and pay broadcasters were active in all genres, outspending other broadcasters in all genres except VAPA, CBC/Radio-Canada directed the highest share of their resources to drama programs - while also being the primary contributor to VAPA programs. Other conventional broadcasters also directed the highest share of their resources to drama programs. Educational broadcasters directed their resources to children’s & youth programs and documentaries.
French
In the French market, the contribution shares of the four broadcaster categories were not as widespread as in the English market. The majority of production funding was provided by CBC/Radio-Canada, at 44%, followed by other conventional broadcasters at 25%, specialty and pay broadcasters at 17% and educational broadcasters at 14%. As in the English market, contributions varied significantly by genre, but in a different manner.
CBC/Radio-Canada was particularly present in the drama genre, providing 61% of total broadcaster funding to the genre. Other conventional broadcasters also directed their resources to drama, but outspent all other broadcasters in the VAPA genre. Specialty and pay broadcasters were active in the children’s & youth and particularly the documentary genre, for which they provided 52% of total broadcaster financing. Educational broadcasters for their part played a pivotal role in funding children’s & youth programs, providing 50% of total broadcaster funding.
Digital Media
English
The CMF was the primary source of production funding for digital media projects, providing 43% of total budgets. Broadcasters contributed the next highest share of financing, at 23% - a significant amount considering the minimum threshold was set at 10%. Private funds for their part provided 14%, followed by provincial governments at 11%, while other financing sources contributed the remaining 9%.
French
The CMF was the primary source of production funding for digital media projects, providing 33% of total budgets. Broadcasters contributed the next highest share of financing, at 27% - also significant considering the minimum threshold mentioned previously. Private funds were an important player in the funding of French digital media productions, providing 24% of total budgets, while provincial governments played a lesser role, contributing only 4%. Other financing sources provided the remaining 12%.
Facebook
Twitter