Convergent Stream

The Convergent Stream supports the creation of multi-platform Canadian productions. They must include content intended for distribution on at least two 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. The required digital media components must comprise rich and substantial interactive content and can include games, rich interactive media such as web series, ebooks, and social media projects, for example. The Convergent Stream is designed to support access to Canadian-produced content, anytime, anywhere, on the device of the user’s 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.

Convergent Stream Funding

In 2012-2013, the CMF provided $322.1M in funding for the production of 489 convergent projects, an increase of 3.1% over 2011-2012, generating almost 2,700 hours of new content. Total 2012-2013 television funding at $300M remained relatively flat from 2011-2012 funding.  Funding to digital media components rose by 139.8% adding 46 more projects compared to 2011-2012. The number of digital media components has almost doubled  (223 vs. 117) since 2010-2011. Total convergent budgets triggered were 2.5% lower than in 2011-2012. In 2011-2012, the funding budget ratio was 3.9 to 1 but in 2012-2013, the ratio was 3.7 to 1.  In light of the considerable variance in of television component budgets as compared to digital media component budgets, the increasingly higher number of DM components being supported in the convergent stream has diluted the funding budget ratio. The steady rise in the size of digital media budgets over the 3 years is noteworthy, as average budgets climbed by 18.2% from 2011-2012.

English

English drama received the greatest share of funding among the supported genres at 58.2%, with children's & youth at 19.7%, documentary at 17.5%, and variety & performing arts at 4.6%. The average budget per hour of English TV programming has retreated slightly and is reflected in the erosion in aggregate budgets,  one notable exception being in the children’s and youth genre, where the average hourly budget has risen to a 3-year high of $518K. Funding to English documentary digital media components has grown eightfold, from $0.7M in 2011-2012 to $5.5M in 2012-2013, and 42 projects were funded through access to the Convergent Digital Media Incentive (CDMI). Documentary second screen components totaled  $8M in budgets and captured a 42.1% share of all convergent digital media component activities.  DM funding  has increased in all English genres over 2011-2012.

French

In the French market, drama received 47.0% of overall French funding, documentary was at 25.4%, children's & youth at 18.6%, and variety & performing arts at 9.0%. Children’s & youth has risen by 1.5 share points while documentary funding has added 0.9 share point over last year. French drama reported a marginal funding contraction compared to 2011-2012. Over the last 3 years, variety & performing arts was the only genre to show a significant rise in average budgets, from $156K in 2010-2011 to $210K this year. Digital media components received an injection of funds from CDMI, adding $4.5M in funding compared to 2011-2012.

Convergent Summary Production: 2012-2013

Convergent Summary Production: 2010-2011 and 2011-2012

Average Television Budget per Hour Trends

Convergent Project CMF Funding/Production Budget Ratio

Second Platform

In 2012-2013, 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.

The share of funding going towards convergent projects with digital media components has increased over all languages, with a greater increase in English (+6.9 points) than in French (+3.1 points). All funded Aboriginal and Diverse language projects used digital media as their second platform, rather than digital distribution or video-on-demand. Most convergent projects  with DM components received more funding than those with other second platforms, hence, convergent projects using DM comprised a higher % share of CMF funding  than as a % share of the total number of convergent projects.

Digital Media as Second Platform Funding

Digital Media as Second Platform Trends by Number of Projects

Average Digital Media Budget

Sources of financing for Convergent Stream projects

Television

While it varied by genre, broadcasters provided either the highest or second highest share of financing to English television projects, the highest rate of broadcaster financing being in documentary at 40.6%. Overall, the CMF provided 26.3% of English production financing, the second highest contributor overall. Provincial tax credits and agency funding provided the third highest share of English production funding at 18.4% overall. Distributors were significant contributors in English drama (12.9%) and children’s and youth (13.3%). English producers did not account for more than 2.6% in any one genre.

Broadcasters contributed at a greater rate to French projects (39.9% overall) than to English projects, with the exception of documentary.  French documentary was also the only genre in which the CMF contributed at a higher rate than broadcasters (38.5% vs. 26.1%). Overall, the CMF accounted for 27.5% of financing to French-language projects, the lowest CMF participation being 13.7% in the variety & performing arts genre. Producers' investment was 1.9% of overall French-language production financing.

Television Financing - English

Television Financing - French

Digital Media

Digital media components had fewer financing partners than television. Broadcasters provided more than the minimum trigger required, on average, broadcaster contribution made up 19.9% of digital media budgets.

English

In English DM projects, the CMF was the dominant contributor overall (69.6%). English broadcasters overall provided 19.3%  of digital media financing. Private funds contributed around 4.8%. English producer investment in digital media projects mirrored television levels at 3.1%.  Provincial funding was minimal at 2.9%.

French

Private funds played an important role in French digital media financing, providing 18.1% of support. French broadcasters accounted for 20.8% of digital media financing, whereas CMF was the primary financier at 57.3%. French Producer investment was comparatively small, overall around 2.7%.Provincial support was negligible in French digital media, contributing 1.0% on average.

Digital Media Financing  - English

Digital Media Financing  - French

Digital Media Component Types: 2012-2013