Happy Friday!

OMDC 2014
Congratulations to all for a terrific 2014 - OMDC 2014 numbers report growth over 2012 and 2013, with 2015 looking to be a very strong year. Huzzah!

Ontario Budget
The Province has approved delaying the budget until after April 1, 2015, though no date has been set thus far. Minister Sousa will be making a 'pre-budget' lunch address hosted by the Toronto Board of Trade on March 31st. Check it out here.

Ontario Tax Credit review, and OFTTC challenges
As noted in previous newsletters to you, FilmOntario continues to work actively and diligently on behalf of Ontario's screen-based content industry to protect stability and competitiveness. Our meetings continue with Culture, Finance and the Premier's office, and are positive thus far.

If you have any questions about the tax credit files, particularly your choices regarding OFTTC options - and producers definitely DO have options - feel free to contact me at 416-993-6066.

Several CRTC announcements
And the CRTC announced some additional changes here.

And here. We are now working with our industry colleagues to unpack the potential impacts to our production landscape.

Sarah Ker-Hornell
CEO & Executive Director

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Weekly Update from Kelly Graham-Scherer, Los Angeles Representative

The other huge news to come out of Canada this week was, of course, the CRTC's long-awaited pick-and-pay TV ruling yesterday. I'm still reading analysis out of Canada and will be sure to bring to your attention any stories or opinions on it which originate from this side of the border. More details on how Canadian broadcasters and cable companies are likely to be affected are found in the Globe and Mail article below.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/broadcasters-to-feel-the-pain-from-crtc-pick-and-pay-tv-ruling/article23547784/

There's no question that the TV business has been disrupted by digital distributors, notably Netflix, Amazon and Hulu, but a recent Hollywood Reporter article points out their potential to upend the feature film business as well. The article below was brought to my attention by an Ontario stakeholder and I agree it's a must-read for its insights on how Netflix in particular is looking to create a new paradigm for watching specialty films.
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/netflix-movies-producers-weigh-hidden-782403

The U.K., which has aggressively courted foreign film and television production business over the past few years, made production tax credits even more lucrative this week. As reported in Variety, a new budget boosts support for video games and increases film and TV tax credits to 25% for all qualifying expenditures.Previously, the tax credit  was 25% of the first £20 million ($29.3 million) of qualifying U.K. expenditure, with any excess receiving a 20% tax credit.
http://variety.com/2015/digital/news/u-k-sweetens-incentives-for-film-tv-videogame-industries-1201455361/

Finally this week, the Los Angeles Times has reported the rather intriguing news that China’s Huayi Bros. studio has reached a deal with an “unnamed American partner” to jointly invest in, shoot and release “no fewer” than 18 films before the end of 2017. The identity of the American partner has not yet been revealed but is reportedly not one of the six major studios nor a “mini-major” such as Lionsgate.
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-et-ct-china-huayi-bros-studio-plans-18-films-with-unnamed-us-partner-20150316-story.html