The Canada Media Fund (CMF,
French: Fonds des médias du Canada - FMC) is a
public-private partnership founded on April 1, 2010, by the
Department of Canadian Heritage and the Canadian cable industry.[1] It is used to fund the creation of original Canadian content and support the Canadian media industry. The fund is composed of contributions made by Canadian broadcasting distribution undertakings (
BDUs)—as mandated by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (
CRTC)[2]—and the federal government. It funds roughly $366 million annually.[3]
History
The creation of the Canada Media Fund was announced by Minister of Heritage,
James Moore in a speech given on March 9, 2009. It was created as a merger between the
Canadian Television Fund (CTF) and the Canada New Media Fund. The fund's origins are rooted to the
Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission's formation of the Cable Production Fund in 1995.[4] From this initiation, the fund was transitioned into the Canada Television and Cable Production Fund (1996), the
Canadian Television Fund (1998), the Canada New Media Fund (2001), and the Digital Media Pilot Program (2008), where the following year the Canada Media Fund was born.[4] The fund was created as a way to "[modernize] government investments to support Canadian content in the new era of
consumer choice, emerging technology, and investing in Canada's future."[5]
Administration structure
As required by the CRTC, Canadian BDUs are required to contribute 5% of their revenues to the Canada Media Fund.[6] While policy, research and communications rest with the CMF, the day-to-day administration of applications rests with a separate entity, that of the CMF Program Administrator, which is part of
Telefilm Canada.[7]
Funded productions
A funded projects database exists on the companies' website.[8]
Television series
Programs produced in association with CMF/FMC include:
In early 2022, a separate YouTube channel called Encore Plus[28] was created, for all current and future French-language content. By then Encore+ had also invested in creating tie-in content original to the service that expanded upon the works on its channels, with cast members providing commentary decades after production.[29]
On November 17 and 18, 2022, official platforms announced that after more than five years of availability, the service (now considered a
pilot project) was to shut down on November 30.[30][31][32] All media was wiped from both YouTube channels on that date, and the
Twitter account[33] and
Facebook page[34] with lists of content and discussion were made unavailable.
^Hank, Melissa (November 9, 2017).
"Encore+ a new YouTube channel for retro CanCon". Canada.com. Retrieved November 27, 2017. The Canada Media Fund collaborated with producers, distributors and unions for the project, as well as Google Canada, Bell Media, BroadbandTV (BBTV), Deluxe Toronto and Telefilm Canada.