annual report - screen producers ireland€¦ · 3 spi progress report 4 policy papers 5 screen...

ANNUAL REPORT

SCREEN PRODUCERS IRELAND | 2015 ANNUAL REPORTPAgE 2

SCREEN PRODUCERS IRELAND | 2015 ANNUAL REPORT

CONTENTs

1 Report from the Chair & the CEO

2 Industry Funding Overview

3 SPI Progress Report

4 Policy Papers

5 Screen Producers Ireland Overview

6 SPI Board 2015

7 SPI Committees 2015

8 SPI Executive & Corporate Structure

9 SPI Financials

REPORT fROm ThE ChAiR & ThE CEO


REP ORT

jOhN hENNEssy

ThE ChAiR

My focus as Chair in 2015 was to ensure the SPI aims and policies were effectively communicated to Government and stakeholders.

In 2015 SPI published six key policy papers outlining the necessary infrastructure required to promote growth in the audiovisual sector. (See page 31 for SPI policies).

Work to communicate these policies included policy meetings held with Ministers in key Departments, a number of senior Government officials and with all stakeholders.

The policy work also informed SPI’s submission to the 2016 Action Plan for Jobs. We were pleased to welcome the commitment from Government in the final plan, to commission an economic analysis of the current value of the Irish audiovisual industry and its potential for growth. We are continuing to ensure Government understand the urgent need for this report to be initiated so that accurate sectoral data can be gathered to inform a sustainable growth strategy for the industry.

Government support is a prerequisite to the implementation of policies to support the sector. In 2016 the effective communication of SPI policies remains a priority as it is the path to growth and securing additional funding for quality content.

In line with the new companies act which was enacted in June 2015, we prepared a new SPI constitution. The new constitution was approved by the membership at the SPI EGM in April 2016 and ensures the company’s adherence to highest corporate governance standards.

The audiovisual sector is one of Ireland’s most

important creative industries. It plays a critical role in preserving our country’s rich cultural heritage. In 2015 Independent production companies made a significant cultural contribution to the centenary commemorations of 1916, producing a number of programmes for all the national broadcasters. Independent productions commissioned for the centenary include ‘Rebellion’ ‘1916’ ‘Seven Women’ ‘Trial of the Century’ ‘Wrecking the Rising ‘A Terrible Beauty’. The quality and breadth of these productions serves to underline the sector’s importance in a cultural context.

In 2016 my focus will be strategy and collaboration. The SPI board will prepare the SPI Strategy 2017 – 2020. Collaboration between all stakeholders will be required to build a strong industry by setting out an action plan to mobilise our vision for the audiovisual industry.

I would like to thank the board of SPI and the SPI committees for their commitment to the organisation during 2015.

John Hennessy

Chairman

SCREEN PRODUCERS IRELAND | 2015 ANNUAL REPORT PAgE 7

REP ORT

2015 was a year of steady trading results for film and television production.

January saw the launch of the amended Section 481 Film Tax Incentive Scheme with an increase in value to 32%. The amendments and the accompanying increase in value was welcomed by the sector.

Analysis of the available statistics indicates that Total S481 relief remained steady when averaged out over 2014 and 2015.

TV Drama remains the outstanding contributor to production activity with an average S481 Irish Expenditure of €100M per annum over the last three years.

Film has grown in 2014 and 2015 with an average S481 Irish Expenditure of €41M per annum.

Animation indicates a decline in activity in the same period with an average S481 Irish Expenditure of €30M per annum.

In 2015 SPI participated on the Section 481 Policy Discussion Group. The group was formed to consider and make recommendations to Government on further amendments to Section 481. The Group made its formal recommendations to the Department of Finance in July. The key recommendation to increase the cap from €50M per project to €70M per project was accepted and announced in Budget 2016.

RTÉ spend on independent production during 2015 remained static at approximately €38M. The number of hours commissioned has been reducing in number since 2012 indicating a return to more sustainable cost per hour levels.

TG4 have been increasing their spend in the independent sector since 2012. Indications are that this trend continued in 2015 with approximately €22M spent in the sector.

The BAI awarded €14M over three rounds in 2015 and the IFB capital grant remained static at €11.2M.

Of central importance for SPI members is the need for local indigenous productions to be supported, alongside the supports for foreign direct investment.

Through the formulation and communication of the SPI policies in 2015, SPI increased awareness of issues which need to be addressed if the sector is to grow. Key among these is the urgent need for Licence Fee reform and the need for the Irish Film Board Capital grant to be substantially increased. We will continue to communicate our policies to Government and stakeholders during 2016.

We made substantial progress in achieving the first industry agreement with Irish Equity/SIPTU covering actors employed on indigenous TV drama productions, in 2015. The pragmatic negotiations brought the parties close to concluding the agreement by the yearend. The final agreement was signed in March 2016.

In 2015 the EU published their Digital Single Market Strategy. In this digital age, the aim of the strategy seeks to break down barriers to online trade between European countries. It presents many challenges to the way audio-visual content is currently financed. The European Commission also launched reviews of a number of EU Directives affecting our sector. The Audio Visual Media Services Directive (AVMS) and the Satellite and Cable Directive (SatCab) determine the rules within which the audio visual sector must operate. The issues to be considered are numerous and complex. In November I was elected Chair of The European Coordination of Independent Producers (CEPI). This appointment ensures SPI has a strong voice in Europe at a time of great change for the industry.

In November SPI made its submission to the Culture 2025 consultation issued by the Department of Arts, Heritage & the Gaeltacht. A copy can be found on the SPI website.

We hosted 10 SPI members’ events in 2015. Our aim to bring about greater stakeholder collaboration was achieved at the RTÉ and IFB events which were attended by all senior commissioning and project management personnel.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Board of SPI and the staff for their continued hard work and commitment to the SPI agenda.

Barbara Galavan

CEO

bARbARA gALAvAN

CEO

iNdUsTRy fUNdiNg


s481

iNdUsTRy fUNdiNg

Ireland’s film and television tax incentive, Section 481 is essential to Ireland’s production landscape.

It is of benefit to indigenous productions, co-productions and gives independent producers leverage to attract incoming productions, thereby creating high value industry jobs in Ireland.

Productions availing of Section 481 relief in 2015 continued to be the main contributors to production activity in the State with a total of €118M certified in the year.

Between 2011 and 2014 the value of S481 certified projects had increased by approximately 25% year on year. In 2015 the legislation governing the delivery of the scheme changed from an investor led model to a Corporation Tax Credit model. This change appears to have had a significant impact on the total value, of projects certified in the year, particularly incoming projects.

In 2015 the value of S481 projects certified decreased from €237M in 2014 to €118M. This represents a 50% decrease. The decrease can be accounted for because some projects which were certified in

2014 did not go into production until 2015. This also accounts for the increase in S481 projects certified in 2014 when compared to 2013. Taking 2014 and 2015 values together indicates the industry is holding steady at an average of €178M certified in each year.

We conclude that material changes to Ireland’s film and television tax incentive scheme should not take place without the provision of a 12 month lead time. This would allow the industry time to adapt to change and avoid such fluctuations in statistics.

In 2015 the project value threshold for eligibility to the S481 scheme widened the scope for smaller budget productions. The 2015 figures indicate an increase in smaller budget projects availing of S481. In the year the average value per project decreased from € 3.5M (2014) to € 1.8M (2015).

TV Drama remains the biggest contributor to production activity in the State with an average of approximately €100M S481 for the last 3 years. This is in line with the growth in this genre being experienced worldwide.

No of S481 projects 57 52 67 67

S481 Projects Certi�ed € 118,248,839 € 142,968,378 € 183,142,646 € 237,387,613

2011 2012 2013 2014

Ani mation Total € 31,982,729 € 32,127,088 € 44,942,020 € 39,104,231

Docume ntary Total € 4,853,720 € 3,797,207 € 2,717,403 € 7,108,573

Film Total € 33,231,456 € 29,243,763 € 35,856,614 € 49,221,388

TV D rama Total € 48,180,934 € 77,800,320 € 99,626,609 € 141,953,421

66

€118,618,238

2015

€ 20,752,709

€ 8,959,749

€ 34,022,510

€ 54,883,270

The year on year increase in S481 projects certified confirms that Ireland’s film and tax incentive scheme works to increase production activity in the State.

SPI will continue to ensure S481 is renewed in 2018 to take account of the long lead time required for film and television production.

s481 irish Expenditure Projects Certified by Revenue Commissioners 2011 - 2015

The principal growth in projects availing of S481, particularly between 2011 and 2014, is in incoming productions. Incoming productions grew by 186% between 2011 (€61M) and 2014 (€174M). The increase of incoming productions highlights

the ability of the Independent Production sector to achieve the high standards required for large scale production and the ability to compete in a global marketplace.


The twin pillars to a successful film and television production industry in Ireland is a competitive tax incentive scheme together with adequate supports for indigenous productions. The value of indigenous Irish projects has not followed the same year on year growth experienced by incoming productions. For example the value gap in 2014 between indigenous projects and incoming projects was €111.6m or 178%. To ensure sustainable growth of the industry the value of indigenous projects needs to grow in tandem with incoming projects.

The trend of continued growth of incoming projects and stagnation of indigenous productions is a potential risk to the continued development of the industry. Indigenous productions

permit new entrants to the sector, they provide the opportunity to develop local creative and production talent, they provide much needed opportunity to train the high quality crews that Ireland has become synonymous with. The development of the indigenous industry is extremely important to avoid the sector becoming overtly reliant on incoming productions.

Implementation of SPI policies to address TV Licence Fee reform and increase funding to the Irish Film Board will address this imbalance by providing the necessary supports to develop the indigenous production sector.

0

30M

60M

90M

120M

150M

Animation Documentary Film TV Drama

32.02011

2012

2013

2014

32.1

44.9

39.1

4.9

3.8

2.7

7.1

33.2

29.2

35.9

49.2

48.2

77.8

99.6

142.0

2015 20.7 9.0 34.0 54.9

0

50M

100M

150M

200M

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

57.1Irish

Incoming 61.1

52.7

90.3

41.1

142.0

62.9

174.5

52.5

66.1

s481 Projects Ceritfied incoming vs irish 2011-2015

growth of s481 Projects Certified 2011-2015


f i Lm

iNdUsTRy fUNdiNg

The total Irish expenditure of S481 film projects certified in 2015 decreased from € 49.2M in 2014 to € 34m.

However, looking at 2014 and 2015 together, the average annual figure of €41M illustrates growth over 2013.

It should also be noted that 2014 was an exceptional year for film in Ireland. Films such as ‘Room’, ‘Brooklyn’, ‘The Lobster’, ‘My Name is Emily’, ‘11 Minutes’, ‘A Date for Mad Mary’, ‘The Secret Scripture’, and ‘Sing Street’ were certified in 2014. Due to the nature of production the success of these productions was not visible on screen until 2016. A number of these productions received multiple Oscar and other prestigious nominations and awards in their first year of release.

It is an indication of what can be achieved by the industry if adequate funding is available.

In 2015 the value of indigenous Irish film projects decreased from € 29M in 2014 to € 13M in 2015. This represents a 54% decrease. The number of projects receiving certification increased in the

same period from 12 in 2014 to 13 in 2015. In 2015 the average value of a S481 certified Irish project was € 1M, the lowest average since 2008. This suggests that a larger number of small budget films are now being made. The average value also suggests that Irish films are mainly micro to small budget films.

The significant decrease in the average value of Indigenous projects in 2015 to € 1M is a worrying trend which indicates a move towards spreading the limited Irish funds available across a large number of projects. The questions must be asked if this is the correct strategy for the sector and is quality being compromised for the sake of quantity.

We conclude that the funding available through local sources is not sufficient to wholly fund medium to large productions, making Irish producers reliant on co-production arrangements.

SPI will continue to lobby Government for an increase in capital funding for the Irish Film Board.

Irish Film

Incoming Film

Total Film

€50,000,000

€45,000,000

€40,000,000

€35,000,000

€30,000,000

€25,000,000

€20,000,000

€15,000,000

€10,000,000

€5,000,000

€0

€20,504,507

€12,726,949

€33,231,456

€14,362,156

€14,881,607

€29,243,763

€12,399,328

€23,457,286

€35,856,614

€29,297,469

€19,923,919

€49,221,388

2011 2012 2013 2014

€13,359,548

€20,662,962

€34,022,510

2015

film 2011-2015

s481 Projects Certified by Revenue Commissioners


iNdUsTRy fUNdiNgANimATiON

The total value of S481 certified animation projects decreased from € 39M in 2014 to € 20.7M in 2015. This represents a 47% decrease and is the lowest level achieved in animation since 2009.

The sharp decrease may be somewhat accounted for by some projects which were certified in 2014 but did not go into production until 2015. However the combined 2014 and 2015 average of €29M still indicates a decline in animation production.

The value of indigenous Irish animation increased from € 5M in 2014 to € 7 M in 2015. This represents a 41% increase. But the value of indigenous Irish animation has yet to reach the highest level achieved in 2011 of € 11.6M.

The lowering of the threshold for access to S481 in 2015 had no impact on the number of Irish animation projects certified in the year. The number of indigenous projects certified decreased from 5 in 2014 to 3 in 2015.

Greater support is required for indigenous animation productions to increase the level and total value of Irish animation production which has not increased from 2011.

Irish Animation

Incoming Animation

Total Animation

€50,000,000

€45,000,000

€40,000,000

€35,000,000

€30,000,000

€25,000,000

€20,000,000

€15,000,000

€10,000,000

€5,000,000

€0

€11,588,733

€20,393,996

€31,982,729

€10,209,245

€21,917,843

€32,127,088

€7,447,823

€37,494,197

€44,942,020

€5,020,803

€34,083,428

€39,104,231

2011 2012 2013 2014

€7,076,047

€13,676,662

€20,752,709

2015

ANimATiON 2011 - 2015



dOCUmENTARy

iNdUsTRy fUNdiNg

Documentary was the only genre to increase in value since 2014. The total value of S481 projects certified for Documentary increased from €7M in 2014 to nearly € 9M in 2015. This represents a 26% increase.

The number of projects also nearly doubled from 11 in 2014 to 20 in 2015. Between 2014 and 2015 the average value per project decreased from € 646k (2014) to € 448k (2015), this indicates an increase in the number of smaller budget projects availing of the scheme in 2015.

After 3 years (2011 – 2013) of decreasing value, documentary projects certified increased in value by 162% in 2014. In 2015, the trend upwards continued with a further increase of 26%.

The total value of documentary projects certified in 2015 was €8.9M Irish expenditure, the highest value achieved to date.

This indicates a positive outlook for documentary projects availing of S481 for 2016.

Documentary

€10,000,000

€9,000,000

€8,000,000

€7,000,000

€6,000,000

€5,000,000

€4,000,000

€3,000,000

€2,000,000

€1,000,000

€4,853,720 €3,797,207 €2,717,403 €7,108,573

2011 2012 2013 2014

€8,959,749

2015

documentary 2011 - 2014



iNdUsTRy fUNdiNgTv dRAmA

TV Drama has seen unprecedented growth from an Irish expenditure of €48M in 2011 to €142M certified for S481 in 2014.

This represents a threefold increase in the period.

The introduction of the new S481 scheme had a negative effect on the value of TV drama projects certified in 2015. The amount certified in the period was €55M. This represents a 61% decrease on the 2014 figure of €142M.

Some of the decrease can be accounted for because some TV dramas which were certified in 2014 did not go into production until 2015. This also accounts for the increase in TV drama projects certified in 2014 when compared to 2013. Taking an average of 2014 and 2015 TV drama values indicates the genre is holding steady at an average of €98M certified in each year.

This compares to €99M certified for TV drama in 2013.

The total value of TV drama projects certified in 2015 continues to surpass the value of film projects certified.

This illustrates the worldwide trend in increased TV Drama production and the high value of recurring TV drama series. TV drama has further potential for growth. Irish producers are key to leveraging and building on the success to date.

To ensure continued growth of this genre the industry needs to continue to highlight impediments to growth.

These include the need to increase film and television studio capacity and the need to ensure adequate training for employees in the sector.

Irish TV Drama

Incoming TV Drama

Total TV Drama

€160,000,000

€140,000,000

€120,000,000

€100,000,000

€80,000,000

€60,000,000

€40,000,000

€20,000,000

€0

€20,153,467

€28,027,467

€48,180,934

€24,317,347

€53,482,973

€77,800,320

€18,562,284

€81,064,325

€99,626,609

€21,429,352

€120,524,069

€141,953,421

2011 2012 2013 2014

€23,124,451

€31,758,819

€54,883,270

2015

Tv dRAmA 2011 - 2014



iNdUsTRy fUNdiNgifb

In 2015 the Irish Film Board capital grant from the Department of Arts, Heritage & the Gaeltacht was €11.2M. 2015 represented the first year since 2008 that funding to the IFB was not reduced. In December Minister Heather Humphreys TD announced a €500k increase in 2016 funding for the IFB. While this is a welcome increase the level of funding available to the Irish Film Board is insufficient. IFB funding represents just 5 % of the total value of S481 projects in 2014 and 10 % in 2015. IFB funding available to productions impacts on Indigenous projects which have remained largely stagnant since 2011.

“The primary role of the Irish Film Board is to invest in the development of Irish talent in front of and behind the camera and to ensure that Irish audiences have the opportunity to see Irish stories on film.” - IFB Annual Report 2014.

Without adequate funding for the Irish Film Board, the production sector risks becoming over reliant on incoming productions.

SPI’s Irish Film Board policy calls on the Government to restore funding levels to the 2008 level of €20M.

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5

10

15

20

2016 20142015 20122013 200920102011 2008

11.7Funding 11.2 11.3 11.9 13.2 16.0 16.5 18.8 20.0

irish film board oireachtas grant €’m 2008 - 2016


bAi

iNdUsTRy fUNdiNg

Through the Sound & Vision Scheme the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland distributes 7% of the annual value of the Licence Fee for high quality television and radio programmes on Irish culture, heritage and experience and programmes to improve adult literacy. In 2015 the BAI awarded nearly €14M to 77 television productions over three application rounds. The BAI Sound &Vision scheme makes a significant contribution to Independent productions. In 2015 the total amount available to the Sound & Vision scheme of € 14M was in excess of the amount available to Ireland’s national screen agency, the Irish Film Board. This highlights the inadequacy of current IFB funding.

In 2015 the amount awarded to RTÉ via the Sound & Vision scheme increased from €2.9M in 2014 to €5.7M. This represents a 96% increase. RTÉ, TG4 and TV3 continue to be the top 3 broadcasters receiving more than 80% of the total amount awarded in 2014 and 2015. Drama and Documentary combined received the majority of the funding in 2014 and 2015 at 68% of the total awarded.

In 2015 some of the BAI Sound & Vision notable awards included € 1.3m awarded in Round 23 to projects commemorating 1916. Also three feature films were awarded funding in Round 24 and in Round 25 four feature documentary projects were awarded funding.

#Projects Genre Award € ‘000 % Total T.V.

BAI S&V Genre Overview 2015

6 Drama € 5,314 38%

29 Documentary € 4,124 30%

3 Education € 1,573 11%

18 Animation € 1,500 11%

3 Entertainment € 1,422 10%

Total 77 € 13,933 100%

Summary of BAI S&V Rounds 23, 24, 25

#Projects Broadcaster Award € ‘000 % Total T.V.

BAI S&V Broadcaster Overview 2015

29 RTÉ € 5,758 41%

18 TG4 € 3,753 27%

7 TV3 € 2,025 15%

5 Sentanta Sports € 737 5%

4 UTV Ireland € 736 5%

11 Community TV € 473 4%

1 CBBC € 300 2%

2 Irish TV € 151 1%

Total 77 € 13,933 100%

Summary of BAI S&V Rounds 23, 24, 25


RTÉ

iNdUsTRy fUNdiNg

In 2014, the actual expenditure committed to new commissioning activities during 2014 was € 38.3m (excl. RTÉ attributable overhead). The statutory level for 2014 was €38.2M (i.e.€ 40M subject to CPI), we understand the figures for 2015 have remained largely in line with 2014. The RTÉ new commissioning spend resulted in 490 hours of programming produced by 77 independent production companies.

In addition to the € 38.3M, Drama and Animation programmes attracted funding from other sources to the

value of €11.3M. This additional funding from other sources represents 30% of RTÉ’s committed expenditure. The total value inclusive of all third party funding was € 49.6M.

RTÉjr, RTÉs dedicated commercial-free channel for children under seven, commissioned 35 hours of independently produced programming in 2014.

The RTÉ Commissioning activity table below shows the continued decrease in the Independent Production Unit

activity. The number of programme hours commissioned in 2014 is a reduction of 322 hours from the total of 812 hours in 2010. This decrease represents 34% of the number of hours commissioned in 2014. The Independent production sector has experienced a significant decrease in the RTÉ spend from € 75M in 2008 to € 39.7M (inc RTÉ attributable overheads) in 2014 a decrease of € 35.3M / 47%. During the period RTÉ experienced a decline in advertising revenue and in Licence Fee income.

There is an acute need for reform of the television Licence Fee with evasion levels estimated at 14% of

Irish household now not paying the TV Licence Fee. This equates to €40M in lost revenue each year.

SPI policy advocates for Licence Fee reform and for a doubling of the current statutory spend on independent production from €40M to €80M.

* RTÉ figures for 2015 were unavailable at time of going to print.

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

2009

2008

22% 39.7 178.6M

0 50

Total expenditure RTÉ IPU stat and non stat costs Total RTÉ Grant in aid

100 150 200 250

182M

183.6M

180.9M

196M

200.20M

199M

36.6

41.4

47.5

53.2

57.1

75

23%

26%

27%

29%

38%

20%

RTÉ Commissioning Activities 2011 - 2014

Number of companies that submitted proposals 244 212 224 273 274No of Proposals Received 970 861 973 1,273 1,224No of Commisions awarded 132 150 151 136 144No of Hours Commissioned 490 536 602 405 812

2014 2013 2012 2011 2010

RTÉ grant in aid & expenditure in the independent sector €’m 2008 - 2014


RTÉ receives grant aid of 85% of the revenue generated from the TV Licence Fee. The RTÉ grant in aid has decreased dramatically since 2009 from € 199M to € 178.6M in 2014. This represents an 10% decrease or €20.4M.

The decrease has had the biggest impact on the independent production sector. The total expenditure on independent production reduced by €35.3M between 2008 and 2014. € 75M was spent in 2008 compared to €39.7M in 2014. This represents a 47% decrease in the period.

The decrease in the value of the grant in aid is intrinsically linked to the reduction in the number of TV licences paid year on year. The reduction in the number of licences paid is reducing at a

time when the number of television households has increased.

Ireland has one of the lowest TV Licence Fees in Europe, both on a per household basis and per capita. It has one of the highest TV Licence Fee evasion rates in Western Europe at 14%. There are a further 8% of households that claim they do not have a television and therefore do not pay the Licence Fee. In aggregate circa 22% of Irish households now do not pay the TV Licence Fee. This equates to over €50M in lost revenue each year.

SPI continues to highlight this issue to Government and proposes a legislative change be enacted to enable License Fee reform.

Top Programmes 2015 ranked by Average TVR, Individuals 4+National / Consolidated / Based on Any Day, Any Time, Best Episode (Minimum Duration: 10 Minutes)RTÉ One

Ranking Description Day of week Date Time Dur (r) TVR 000s Share

1 Late Late Toy Show, The Fri 27-11-2015 21:36 - 23:54 139 37.99 1,556.4 72.10 Indigenous Irish 2 Charlie Sun 04-01-2015 21:29 - 22:50 82 20.68 851.7 46.66 Independent Production3 Mrs Brown's Boys: Mammy's Widow's Memories Thu 31-12-2015 22:15 - 22:55 41 18.71 766.5 47.134 Mrs Brown's Boys: Mammy's Christmas Punch Thu 24-12-2015 21:00 - 21:40 41 18.29 749.4 42.61 Co-Production/Enhanced 5 RTE News: Nine O'clock Sun 18-01-2015 21:00 - 21:20 21 17.71 729.3 39.71 Acquisition by RTÉ6 Late Late Show, The Fri 23-10-2015 21:36 - 23:44 129 17.56 719.4 49.857 Voice Of Ireland, The Sun 22-02-2015 18:33 - 19:58 86 16.71 688.1 40.53 In-House 8 Mrs Brown's Boys D'movie Fri 25-12-2015 21:42 - 23:12 91 15.88 650.7 38.25 RTÉ Production9 Room To Improve Sun 08-02-2015 21:29 - 22:29 61 15.87 653.4 39.96

10 Rose Of Tralee International Festival 2015, The Tue 18-08-2015 21:37 - 23:30 114 15.85 652.9 47.99 Acquired Programme11 RTE News: Six One Wed 30-12-2015 18:01 - 18:26 26 15.63 640.2 45.0812 RTE Investigates Mon 07-12-2015 21:36 - 22:31 56 15.52 635.8 41.8413 Fair City Sun 18-01-2015 20:00 - 20:27 28 14.86 611.8 32.9214 At Your Service Sun 22-02-2015 20:31 - 20:57 27 13.83 569.6 30.5315 Prime Time - A Stolen Life Sun 29-03-2015 21:35 - 22:12 38 13.78 567.5 31.2316 EastEnders Thu 19-02-2015 19:30 - 20:24 55 13.16 541.9 30.3617 Nathan Carter Show, The Wed 30-12-2015 21:31 - 22:36 66 12.83 525.8 31.1518 Ireland's Fittest Family Sun 13-12-2015 18:32 - 19:29 58 12.76 522.7 33.4519 Well Holy God It's Glenroe Sun 27-12-2015 21:30 - 22:26 57 12.66 518.6 32.9420 Saturday Night Show, The Sat 10-01-2015 21:42 - 23:01 80 12.57 517.8 33.4721 Operation Transformation Wed 21-01-2015 20:30 - 20:57 28 12.53 515.9 29.4222 Prime Time Special Sat 14-11-2015 21:47 - 22:21 35 12.31 504.2 32.9823 Million Euro Challenge, The Sat 10-01-2015 20:12 - 21:07 56 11.87 488.9 30.8824 Mrs Brown's Boys Christmas Special: Mammy's Tickle Tue 22-12-2015 21:36 - 22:12 37 11.78 482.7 28.8125 Ray D'Arcy Show, The Sat 26-09-2015 21:47 - 23:08 82 11.76 481.8 33.9326 Arthur Christmas Sat 05-12-2015 20:05 - 20:18 14 11.72 480.0 28.0927 Santa Clause, The Sat 28-11-2015 20:06 - 20:18 13 11.60 475.3 29.2728 Recruits Tue 01-09-2015 21:41 - 22:31 51 11.20 459.1 31.4129 Better Off Abroad: The Irish In Dubai Sun 25-10-2015 21:30 - 22:25 56 11.19 458.5 30.4730 At Your Service Revisited Sun 15-03-2015 20:30 - 20:57 28 11.19 460.6 28.90

* Source Nielsen/TAM Ireland consolidated: Any Day, Any time, Best Episode, Ranked by TVR, National Individuals 4+, Programme duration greater than 10 minutes, RTÉ only.

RTÉ One | Top 30 Programmes | 2015

Programming made by independent producers for RTÉ continues to rate very highly and consistently performs success-fully across digital and social media platforms. In 2015, 3 of the top 10 and 9 of the top 30 rating programmes on RTÉ One were produced by independent producers. The independent production sector in Ireland continues to deliver quality, di-verse, innovative and cost-efficient programming for the national broadcaster. See further details in table below

Top Programmes 2015 ranked by Average TvR, individuals 4+ National / Consolidated / based on Any day, Any Time, best Episode

(minimum duration: 10 minutes) RTÉ One


iNdUsTRy fUNdiNgTg4

According to their 2013 & 2014 Annual Reports “TG4 invests over €20m annually in original Irish programming from the independent production sector in Ireland. This investment supports 350 posts in small private sector companies throughout the island.”

In 2015 TG4 received €32.24m in the form of a grant via the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources. The 2015 funding represented a reduction of €.5M on 2014/2013/2012. TG4 sources content from over 100 Irish independent production companies. Over 300 highly skilled and creative full-time jobs in the sector are directly sustained by TG4 commissions. Most of these are small companies and many but not all of these jobs are located in Gaeltacht areas. In 2014, TG4 commissioned 680 hours of new Irish language programming and almost 700 hours of re-voiced material and subtitling from the independent sector. Expenditure with the sector increased

to almost €22M in 2014. Independently produced programmes include ‘Ros NaRun’, ‘Corp agus Anam’ and ‘An Klondike’.

TG4 continue to increase the total funding to the independent production sector from 51% of the total TG4 grant in aid in 2008 to 68% in 2014 (€ 18.1M in 2008 to € 22M in 2014). The system clearly works well for TG4 and is an indication of the success of the publisher broadcaster model.

In 2015 the Government committed to providing funding of €32.54m to TG4 for 2016.

*TG4 figures for 2015 were unavailable at time of going to print.

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30

35

2011 2010 2009 20082012201320142015

22.0Independent

TG4 10.2

Total 32.2

21.7

11.1

32.7

21.5

11.3

32.7

17.8

15.0

32.7

17.5

15.3

32.7

17.0

15.3

32.2

18.0

17.2

35.2

18.1

17.3

35.5

Tg4 grant in aid spend on independent production

sector €’m 2008 - 2014


iNdUsTRy fUNdiNgTv3

The TV3 schedule comprises approximately 40% of Irish produced content. TV3 has a substantial in-house production unit which produces mainly news, current affairs, daytime programming and studio based programming. In recent years, TV3 has increased the volume of commissioning from independent producers.

In 2015 TV3 commissioned the second series of the channels independently produced flagship soap ‘Red Rock’ for transmission in 2016, ‘Red Rock’ has proved a major success for the channel in terms of ratings and also in terms of exports, with sales in the US to Amazon Prime and in the UK to the BBC who acquired 80 episodes.

Independently produced programmes commissioned by TV3 in 2015 also include ‘The Great Irish Bake Off’, ‘Doctor in the House’, ‘Temple Street Children’s Hospital’, ‘The Lazy Chef’, ‘Prison Families’, ‘Print and Be Damned’ the Irish Feature Film ‘The Guarantee’.

Expenditure figures by TV3 on independent production are not currently published. Under their 2009 contract with the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (now BAI), TV3 undertook to spend between 15% – 25% of its annual programme budget on independent productions.

In 2015 TV3 was sold to UPC, UPC Ireland is part of Virgin Media, Liberty Global’s UK subsidiary.


UTv

iNdUsTRy fUNdiNg

On January 2015 the new channel UTV Ireland went on air, the channel holds Republic of Ireland broadcasting rights to key programming from ITV Studios Global Entertainment, including Emmerdale, Coronation Street and The Jeremy Kyle Show.

This new television channel obtained a licence on February 27th 2014, for a ‘Content Provision Contract’ to the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland.

The contract signed between the BAI and UTV Ireland Limited is provided for under Section 71 of the Broadcasting Act 2009. There are a number of elements to a contract granted under this section of the Act which differ from the regulatory regime applied to the public service broadcasters, RTÉ and TG4, and the commercial broadcaster, TV3 and its sister station, 3e, specifically in the areas of carriage, content, and levy.

UTV Ireland was awarded 5% of the total BAI Sound & Vision fund in the 2014 Rounds 20 and 21. This increased by 5.24% in 2015. The funding they were awarded in 2015 was for ‘Home Truths From Abroad’ and ‘Along Home Shores’ both independent productions. Other Independent productions commissioned in 2015 include ‘Pat Kenny In the Round’.

sPi PROgREss REPORT


PROgREss REPORT

sPi

SPI POLICY The priority for SPI during 2015 was the formulation of strong policies to support the sector. During the period we identified the most important policies to be addressed in order to support growth. Six key policy documents were published (see page 31). Key among these is the urgent need for Licence Fee reform and the need for the Irish Film Board Capital grant to be substantially increased. Work to communicate our policies to Government included meetings with Ministers in key Departments, meetings with senior Government officials and with all industry stakeholders.This work provided us the opportunity to highlight the economic value of the independent production sector, its importance in preserving Ireland’s rich cultural heritage, the significant role it plays in attracting tourism to Ireland and the potential for growth should the SPI policies be implemented.

INDUSTRY STATISTICSThe SPI policy work also served to inform our submission to the 2016 Action Plan for Jobs. We were pleased to welcome the commitment from Government in the final plan, to commission an economic analysis of the current value of the Irish audiovisual industry and its potential for growth. We are continuing to ensure Government understand the urgent need for this report to be initiated so that accurate sectoral data can be gathered to inform a sustainable growth strategy for the industry.

FILM & TELEVISION TAX INCENTIVE S481January 2015 saw the launch of the amended Section 481 Film Tax Incentive Scheme with an increase in value from 28% to 32%. The increase was welcomed by the sector.During the year, SPI was a key participant on the Section 481 Policy Discussion Group. There were 6 meetings of the S481 Policy Discussion Group held in 2015, all of which SPI attended. The group was formed to consider and make recommendations to Government on, further amendments to Section 481. The Group submitted its formal recommendations to the Department of Finance in July. The key recommendation to increase the cap from €50M per project to €70M per project was accepted and announced in Budget 2016. This was a good outcome for the sector.

RTÉ2015 provided the first full year of the application of the RTÉ Code of Fair Trading Practise. The Code, agreed between SPI and RTÉ in 2012 provides for the retention of copyright by producers for independent TV commissions from RTÉ.

In September SPI carried out a survey of members to assess the impact of the Code on companies. The survey determined that the Code has had a positive impact for production companies with the majority of participant’s reporting compliance with the new Code.

Key issues raised by producers through the survey were:

1. The need for longer lead times between Calls for Ideas and the deadline for submissions.

2. The need for adequate time to be set aside in order for contracts to be signed 4 weeks ahead of principal photography, a stipulation of the Code.

3. The need for producers to be better informed of the terms of the RTÉ Code of Fair Trading Practice.

4. We met with and shared the SPI Survey findings with RTÉ. RTÉ committed to address both issues during 2016. SPI is committed to addressing the need for producers to be better informed of the terms of the Code.

TG4 Negotiations continued between SPI and TG4 in an effort to agree a TG4 Code of Fair Trading Practise. The Code must accurately reflect the BAI Guidance Note to Public Service Broadcasters published in April 2011.

We were disappointed that agreement could not be reached during the period. SPI cannot agree to a Code which seeks rights over and above those recommended in the BAI Guidance Note. We will continue to press for the TG4 Code of Fair Trading Practice to reflect the BAI Guidance Note to PSB’s.

IRISH FILM BOARD2015 was a year tinged with sadness for the Irish Film Board with the sudden passing of Chairman Bill O’Herlihy in May. Bill had been a driving force for the development of the Irish Film Board Strategy which we understand will be published in 2016. In Bill’s absence Annie Doona was appointed acting Chair.

In December Minister Heather Humphreys TD announced an additional funding allocation of €500K for the year 2016. Given that capital funding for the Irish Film Board has been reduced by 44% since 2008, SPI has been lobbying for an in-crease in funding. While the amount announced is nowhere near enough, we were pleased to welcome the development as a move in the right direction. We see it as an acknowledge-ment by Government of SPI’s message that there is an acute need for increased funding for the IFB to support the sector.

SPI EVENTS 2015Every year SPI aims to hold quality events geared towards the specific business and creative needs of member companies. In 2015 we hosted 10 SPI members’ events (see page 28). Our aim to bring about greater stakeholder collaboration was achieved at the RTÉ and IFB events. Both these event were attended by all senior commissioning and project management personnel and provided useful networking opportunities for attendees.


CORPORATE GOVERNANCEThe new Companies Act 2014 was enacted into law in June 2015. In line with our aim to adhere to high standards of corporate governance SPI prepared a new constitution in accordance with the new Companies Act. The new constitution was approved at the December Board meeting for presentation to the members at an EGM early in 2016. The new constitution provides for new rules restricting the period of time board members can serve consecutive terms and a more structured approach to how board members declare their interest in running for election to the SPI Board.The Regulation of Lobbying Act was enacted into law in March 2015.The purpose of the Act is to provide for a web-based Register of Lobbying to make information available to the public on the identity of those communicating with designated public officials on policy or legislative matters. Lobbying returns are required to be made every four months. SPI registered with the lobbying register during 2015 and made its first return in accordance with the Act in January 2016. In 2015 SPI also registered with the newly constituted Charity Regulator. SPI is required to supply relevant information to the Charity Regulator on a regular basis. The Charity Regulator was established in 2014 and requirements to register were enacted in 2015. Benefits of being a Registered Charity: Assurance that SPI is complying with the law. Demonstrate that we operate to high standards of governance and administration. Highlight our commitment to transparency and accountability Be in a better position to retain and attract statutory funding and contracts. Be able to apply to Revenue for charitable tax exempt status and associated benefits.. All of the above work enhances the SPI Corporate Governance Manual published in 2014.

CULTURE 2025The Department of Arts, Heritage & the Gaeltacht published its Culture 2025 discussion paper in September. The aim of the discussion paper is to have a national discourse on the role of culture in modern Ireland and what should be done to foster and develop it. The consultation process seeks to inform and underpin the first ever National Cultural Policy which will articulate the important role of culture in Ireland and which will set out a road map for the cultural sector for the next 10 years leading up to 2025. SPI was pleased to represent member’s contribution to Ireland’s creative industries through our submission to Culture 2025 which was made in October. The submission is available on the SPI website.

DEVELOPMENT OF A NATIONAL SKILLS STRATEGYIn September Crowe Horwath were commissioned by a coalition of the Irish Film Board & the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, to undertake the development of a National Strategy for Skills Development in the Audiovisual Industry in Ireland. This is a welcome development and SPI was pleased to participate in the consultation through face to face meetings with the Crowe Horwath team and by arranging meetings with member companies and crew.

The National Strategy for Skills Development in the Audiovisual Industry in Ireland is due to be published in 2016.

DEVELOPMENTS IN EUROPEIn November SPI CEO Barbara Galavan was elected Chair of The European Coordination of Independent Producers (CEPI).

In May the EU published their Digital Single Market Strategy. The aim of the strategy seeks to break down barriers to online trade between European countries. It presents many challenges to the way audiovisual content is currently financed and traded across borders and presents fundamental challenges to copyright enforcement.

The European Commission also launched reviews of a number of EU Directives affecting the sector. The Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMS) and the Satellite and Cable Directive (SatCab) determine the rules within which the audiovisual sector can operate. The issues to be considered as part of these reviews and the Digital Single Market Strategy are numerous and complex. The appointment of the SPI CEO as Chair of CEPI ensures that SPI members have a strong voice in Europe at a time of great change for the industry.

ATTENDANCE AT EVENTSSPI attended all key industry events during 2015 including Media Con the first Irish media conference aimed specifically at the audiovisual sector in September. SPI also attended the Canadian Ireland Trade Mission, the Cannes Film Festival, MIPCom, the Galway Film Fleadh, the Cork Film Festival and the Fastnet Film Festival.

INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS2015 was dominated by efforts to achieve the first ever Collective Agreement covering actors working on indigenous TV drama productions. The process to achieving agreement included two appearances by the parties before the Labour Court.

Substantial progress and pragmatic negotiations followed which brought the parties close to concluding the agreement by the yearend. The final agreement was signed in March 2016.

This was an excellent outcome for employers and employees as issues relating to the lack of agreement had affected a number of productions including those unrelated to TV drama.

We are continuing to pursue industry agreements covering employees working in the film and TV drama sector.

SPI MEMBERSHIP NUMBERSAt the end of 2015 SPI had 113 Members up from 105 in 2014, 7 animation company members left in 2015 to join the newly established Animation Ireland.


EvENTs 2015

sPi EvENTs

EVENT BAI Briefing Sound & Vision Presentation - Briefing on Sound and Vision Scheme with Ciaran Kissane, BAI Sound & Vision Fund

Producing outside the M50 - Brief presentation and networking opportunity, with Ciaran Kissane, BAI Sound & Vision Fund; James Hickey, CEO Board Scannnan na hEireann/ Irish Film Board; Michael O’Meallaigh Stiurthoir Coimisiunaithe, TG4; Colm O’ Callaghan, Executive Producer; Ceannasai Claracha Gailge, Education & Sience RTÉ.

TV3 Briefing Seminar with Lynda McQuaid, Director of Content o commissioning plans for 2015-2016. Networking opportunity.

Irish Film Board Briefing & Networking Event - James Hickey CEO and Treasa McGrane, deputy CEO of the Bord Scannán na hÉireann/ Irish Film Board discuss current project funding activities followed by an informal networking session with Project Managers, Mary Callery, Keith Potter, Rory Gilmartin and Emma Scott, Production & Distribution Manager.

SPI AGM -Annual General Meeting with guest speaker David McRedmond, CEO of TV3 Group, addressed the SPI Membership.

Maximising TV Audience Recruitment - Briefing on recent successful social and digital media strategies for TV shows. Speakers: Glen Killane MD RTÉ Television; Michelle Spillane, Director RTÉ Global & Marketing. Case studies: Leah Yeung Digital Producer, Operation Transfromation; Jason Butler, Writer/ Producer “Republic of Telly” and Steven Courtney Digital Director of “The Voice”. Followed by Paul Loughrey, Head of Audience Insights presentation on audience behaviour patterns on TV, online and social platforms. Networking opportunity with Genre Heads & Commissioning Editors.

RTÉjr Event in association with SPI - Developing Live Action programmes for Children - Briefing Workshop session on producing programmes and developing ideas for young children with RTÉjr.

Working Time Act Briefing Seminar with Gareth Kyne, Employee Relations Consultant, to update members, line producers, production managers and production accountants on correct implementation of the Organisation of Working Time Act for productions.

RTÉ Briefing & Networking Event - The Channel Controllers for RTÉ One, RTÉ Two and RTÉjr outline their Vision and Commissioning Requirements for the next 18 months. Speakers: Adrian Lynch, Bill Malone, Sheila DeCourcy and Glen Killane, MD RTÉ Television. The following Genre Heads attended the networking session : Roger Childs, Religion; Eddie Doyle, Comedy, Music & Talent; Jane Gogan, Drama; Niamh O’Connor, Factual; Cliona O’Leary, Sport; Gráinne McAleer, Daytime & Lifestyle; Ray McCarthy, Education & Regional; John McHugh, Entertainment.

YouTube seminar in collaboration with Screen Training Ireland: Presentation by Joe McDermottroe, Manager of YouTube Next Lab Programmes, about how to maximise opportunities for exposure and revenue on YouTube followed by Case Study by Mike Cook, Producer of YouTube success ‘Simon’s Cat’.

2015DEC

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sPi POLiCy PAPERs

Screen Producers Ireland have identified a number of policy areas which are of key importance to indigenous producers. The organisation has produced a number of policy papers on these issues for distribution to government and other relevant stakeholders.

1. Policy on Section 481

2. Policy on Public Service Broadcasting

3. Film Policy for Ireland’s National Broadcaster

4. Policy of Fair Regulation of Broadcasters

5. Policy on Irish Film Board Funding

6. Policy on Cable Re-Transmission and the Cable Copyright Exemption


ON s481

POLiCy

KEY POINTS: • Section 481 has a positive impact on the creation

of indigenously produced content.

• Section 481 attracts incoming production and has a positive impact on the creation of high end jobs.

• Section 481 contributes to Ireland’s reputation as a global hub for high-tech digital and creative content.

• SPI is calling on Government to ensure that Section 481 is continued and extended two years in advance of 2020 to take account of the long lead time required in the international production sector.

CORE POLICYA fiscal incentive such as Section 481 is necessary if Ireland’s content production industry is to continue to thrive. Section 481 is a scheme intended to provide relief in the form of a corporation tax credit related to the cost of production incurred in Ireland. Those countries with which Ireland competes have similar or comparable incentives. It is imperative for the Irish film and television industry that a fiscal incentive is maintained and modified as required to keep apace of international market conditions.

Ireland has a long history of supporting its film and television industry through fiscal incentives, dating back to 1980. Since then the Irish film and TV sector has evolved into a vibrant industry with a sophisticated infrastructure of production companies, studios, service companies and personnel, all of which provide valuable employment in the Irish economy.

In the recent years, there has been a 25% increase year on year in Section 481 funding raised. Irish productions committed to

spend €237m in 2014 (the highest level ever achieved) in the Irish economy as a direct result of Section 481 certified projects.

SPI believes that maintaining Section 481, updating it to ensure it remains internationally competitive and improving it when necessary, is essential to ensure further growth in the sector.

Section 481 provides high end jobs, it helps to position Ireland as a leader in the creative industries, it promotes Ireland’s rich culture around the world, it contributes to Ireland’s reputation as a global hub for high-tech digital and creative content and it has a direct impact on attracting tourism to our country.

PRINCIPLES ON wHICH THIS POLICY IS BASEDIreland has a long history of fiscal incentive for film and television dating back to 1980. It was one of the first countries to introduce an incentive. Now countries with which Ireland competes have similar or comparable incentives. The UK, Hungary, Luxembourg, Germany, the Czech Republic, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa are some of the countries that now provide attractive incentives. In addition, within the US, individual states have introduced incentives in order to try and draw production activity away from the most dominant and traditional location of California.

The result is that Ireland has become an attractive location for incoming film and television production while also supporting indigenous production.

The expenditure in the Irish economy as a result of Section 481 clearly illustrates the need for Ireland to maintain and continue to improve its fiscal incentive, as required.

The table below illustrates the growth in Section 481 funds raised between, 2011 – 2014.

No of S481 projects 57 52 67 67

S481 Projects Certified € 118,248,839 € 142,968,378 € 183,142,646 € 237,387,613

2011 2012 2013 2014

Animation Total € 31,982,729 € 32,127,088 € 44,942,020 € 39,104,231

Documentary Total € 4,853,720 € 3,797,207 € 2,717,403 € 7,108,573

Film Total € 33,231,456 € 29,243,763 € 35,856,614 € 49,221,388

TV Drama Total € 48,180,934 € 77,800,320 € 99,626,609 € 141,953,421

To maintain expenditure and promote growth in the sector, Ireland must: 1. Ensure the continuance of the film and tel-

evision tax incentive Section 481.2. Secure the extension of Section 481 in advance

of 2020 to take account of the long lead time re-quired in the international production industry.


ON PUbLiC sERviCE bROAdCAsTiNg

POLiCy

KEY POINTS: • Public service broadcasters, RTÉ and TG4, need

security of funding to meet their obligations under the Broadcasting Act and should not be reliant on advertising and commercial revenues.

• SPI proposes legislative change be enacted to counteract the current high evasion levels of the TV License.

• RTÉ should move towards the emerging trend of the publisher-broadcaster model by doubling the statutory spend on independently produced content from the current level of €40M p/a to €80M p/a.

CORE POLICYIreland’s public service broadcasters need to be adequately funded.

The provision of a well-funded public service broadcaster is an important principle for most national governments. SPI believes Ireland should move towards the European norm where PSB’s are funded principally from licence fee revenue with little or no reliance on advertising and commercial revenues.

Public service broadcasters RTÉ and TG4, need security of funding to meet their obligations under the Broadcasting Act.

This can be achieved through introducing a Household Media Charge and by initiating plans to decouple RTÉ and TG4 from the advertising market.

Efficiencies and value for money for the tax payer must be a condition of this policy and for this reason we believe RTÉ should move towards the emerging trend of the publisher-broadcaster model. Publisher-broadcasters out-source programme production, leading to content diversity and reduced costs.

The publisher-broadcaster model operated by Channel 4 in the UK is recognized as a more cost-effective and innovative way of producing quality content, while supporting the enterprise economy and giving audiences access to a wider range of programming and creative talent. The BBC is currently moving in this direction by restructuring its organizational model and re-purposing its entire in-house production

Plans should be initiated to decouple RTÉ and TG4 from reliance on advertising income. RTÉ should move towards the emerging trend of the publisher-broadcaster model by doubling the statutory spend on independently produced content from the current level of €40M p/a to €80M p/a.

PRINCIPLES ON wHICH THIS POLICY IS BASEDHousehold-based media Charge

The current licence fee model is no longer fit for purpose, as acknowledged in the Programme for Government 2011-2016. SPI supports the introduction of a household-based media charge to ensure a stable funding base for Irish public service broadcasting.

Dual funding model

The dual funding model of licence fee and high levels of dependency on advertising/commercial income leaves Ireland’s public service broadcasters open to significant fluctuations in their annual budget. It gives rise to uncertainty in the sector through not having long term visibility on income levels to guarantee compliance with public service commitments.

Of the 43 countries surveyed by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) in 2014, Ireland’s public service broadcaster is the third most dependent PSB on advertising income, after Poland and Malta.


The table below outlines the funding mix of public service media in the 43 territories surveyed.


RTÉ’s dependency on commercial income (45% in 2014) also contributes to a distortion in the media and advertising mar-ket in Ireland. Competitor broadcasters, regional radio, news-papers and other media outlets claim unfair advantage.

Since the economic downturn, RTÉ’s total income has fallen from €441M in 2008 to €328M in 2014, a fall of €113M or 26%. The principal reason for the decrease is the dramatic drop in advertising revenue during the period. Ireland’s primary public service broadcaster dependency on advertising income means a large proportion of its income is vulnerable to fluctuations. This is not the case in most European territories where the income is stable. RTÉ’s funding needs to be stabilized and TG4’s fund-ing needs certainty. Currently a significant percentage of TG4 funding is discretionary government funding. Stability can be achieved through eliminating evasion of the TV Licence Fee.

PUBLISHER-BROADCASTER MODELEfficiencies and value for money must be a condition of this policy and for this reason we believe RTÉ should move towards the emerging trend of the publisher-broadcaster model, retain-ing core functions of news and current affairs within RTÉ.

The publisher-broadcaster model such as Channel 4 and TG4 is an efficient and cost-effective model to deliver qual-ity public service broadcasting in the rapidly changing digi-tal media environment, as evidenced internationally.

SPI believes that programming made by independent produc-ers is high quality, cost-effective and makes the best use of the public money. Independent producers have consistently delivered some of the highest rating and valued programmes for Irish audiences since the introduction of the minimum statutory spend in 1993 (see table below). The independent production sector offers diversity of ideas, innovative and quality content, transparency and accountability for every euro of the licence fee spent on programmes commissioned.

RTÉ as a publisher-broadcaster would be a better use of the licence fee and would result in a greater volume of quality, original Irish programming available for Irish audiences.

Plans should be initiated to decouple RTÉ and TG4 from reliance on advertising income. The statutory spend on independently produced content should be doubled from the current level of €40M p/a to €80M p/a to pave the way for RTÉ to move towards the emerging trend of the publisher-broadcaster model.

RTÉ ONE, RATINGS FOR TOP 30 PROGRAMMES IN 2014

Locally produced content tends to resonate well with Irish audiences and generally enjoys very successful TAM rat-ings (as shown below). This indicates strong audience (and licence payer) demand for indigenous productions.

7 of the top 20 titles were produced by Irish independent producers.

11 of the top 20 were in-house RTÉ productions.

Position Programme TitleTransmission Date

1 The Late Late Toy Show 28-11-2014

2 Love/Hate Episode 6 09-11-2014

3 Amber Episode 4 22-01-2014

4 Mrs Brown's Boys: Mammy's Gamble 31-12-2014

5 The Sunday Game Live Hurling Final 07-09-2014

6 Mrs Brown's Boys Christmas Special: Mammy's Tickle

25-12-2014

7 RTE News: Nine O'clock 02-03-2014

8 The Voice Of Ireland 02-02-2014

9 The Late Late Show 28-02-2014

10 Rose Of Tralee 19-08-2014

11 Prime Time Inside Bungalow 3 09-12-2014

12 Fair City 04-02-2014

13 RTE News: Six One 06-01-2014

14 ROG - The Ronan O'Gara Documentary 02-01-2014

15 Operation Transformation 04-02-2014

16 At Your Service 12-01-2014

17 New Years Eve Live 31-12-2014

18 Michaella Peru, And The Drugs Run 07-07-2014

19 RTE News (Late) 28-11-2014

20 Reeling In The Years 03-01-2014

21 The Fall 17-12-2014

22 The Santa Clause 2 20-12-2014

23 Mrs Brown's Boys 09-02-2014

24 EastEnders 11-02-2014

25 The Nolan's 10-02-2014

26 Up For The Match 20-09-2014

27 Quirke 16-02-2014

28 The Saturday Night Show 01-02-2014

29 Tony O'Reilly - The Real Deal 03-11-2014

30 Winning Streak 25-01-2014

Acquired Programme

Indigenous Irish/Independent Productions

In House RTÉ Productions

Co-Production/ Enhanced Acquisition by RTE


RTÉ ONE, RATINGS FOR TOP 30 PROGRAMMES IN 20139 of the top 20 titles were produced by Irish independent producers 8 of the top 20 were in-house RTÉ productions:

RTÉ One: 2013 Top 30 Programmes for All Individu-als Any Day/Any Time/Best Episode/Ranked by TVR

Position Programme Title Transmission Date

1 Late Late Toy Show

2 Love/Hate (Drama) 10-11-2013

3 Mrs Brown's Boys 02-02-2013

4 Eurovision Song Contest 18-05-2013

5 RTE News: Nine O'Clock 20-01-2013

6 Voice Of Ireland, The 20-01-2013

7 RTE News: Six One 13-03-2013

8 Operation Transformation 27-02-2013

9 Fair City 02-01-2013

10 Raw (Drama) 10-02-2013

11 Late, Late Show, The 25-01-2013

12 Rose Of Tralee, The 20-08-2013

13 At Your Service 20-01-2013

14 Late Late Show, The 18-10-2013

15 Prime Time 28-05-2013

16 Toy Story 3 16-02-2013

17 Irish Film And Television Awards, The 09-02-2013

18 Voice Of Ireland - Results, The 17-03-2013

19 Life On The Inside 18-02-2013

20 Hector Goes... 14-01-2013

21 RTE News (Late) 18-05-2013

22 Saturday Night Show, The 26-01-2013

23 Room To Improve 02-01-2013

24 Eastenders 08-01-2013

25 Dragons' Den Junior 28-04-2013

26 Leap Year 02-01-2013

27 Tommy Bowe's Bodycheck 24-02-2013

28 Reeling In The Years 02-01-2013

29 Dragons' Den 21-04-2013

30 Santa Clause, The 09-11-2013

Acquired Programme

Indigenous Irish/Independent Productions

In House RTÉ Productions

Acquisition by RTÉ


f i Lm POLiCy fOR i RELANd’s NATiONAL bROAdCAsTER

POLiCy

KEY POINTS: • In contrast to most European countries, Ireland

has no legislative or regulated commitment from its’ national broadcaster, RTÉ, to spend a mini-mum amount on locally produced films.

• This places Irish producers at a competitive disadvan-tage and results in fewer Irish films being made.

• SPI proposes that 1.5% of RTÉ revenue allocated to the Television Integrated Business Division in the preceding financial year, and in any case no less than €2.5m per annum, be allocated to spend on Irish feature films and feature documentaries.

CORE POLICYIn most European territories Public Service Broadcast-ers play a pivotal role in the success of their domestic film production industries. This role is underpinned either by legislation, regulation or a formalised minimum spend com-mitment on local film, on the part of the national broadcast-ers. The result is a healthy support and strong broadcaster demand for indigenous films from the local territory.

Ireland has no such legislation or regulated commit-ment. SPI believes Ireland’s national broadcaster RTÉ should be compelled to play this pivotal role in Ireland.

Film is a costly medium when compared to other programme genres and for this reason, Ireland’s national broadcaster will often overlook film in favour of lower cost programme genres to support. For this reason, in order to support their indig-enous film industries, other territories have legislated or pro-vide regulation for minimum spend requirements for locally produced films. Ireland has no such legislation or regulated commitment. Not having such legislation or regulation puts the Irish film industry at a fundamental disadvantage.

In 2014 the Irish Film Board invested just under €10 million in production activity. This permitted Irish producers to leverage this funding to generate production expenditure of over €42 million in relation to IFB funded projects in that year. Support for a greater number of feature films and feature documen-tary films by RTÉ would result in more production activity in the State due to the producer’s ability to leverage funding.

A principal factor when seeking co-production partners for the financing of film is that a local broadcaster, particularly the national broadcaster, is an investment partner. Produc-ers and financiers in other territories operate on this basis and therefore they find it difficult to understand why Irish producers do not enjoy the support of Ireland’s national broadcaster. It is problematic for Irish producers to explain to international partners why the national broadcaster does not support Irish film projects at the early financing stage.

Consequently, Irish producers operate at a competitive dis-advantage when compared to their European counterparts as the international market interprets this as a fault with the project. This results in fewer Irish films being made.

SPI proposes a change to the 2009 Broadcasting Act to provide for the following minimum spend by RTÉ on Irish feature films and feature documentaries.

1.5% of RTÉ revenue allocated to Television Integrated Busi-ness Division (i.e. licence fee + commercial income) in the preceding financial year (e.g. 2014: €172,862,000 = @1.5% = €2.59m) and in any case no less than €2.5m per annum.

PRINCIPLES ON wHICH THIS POLICY IS BASEDWe set out how such legislation, regulation or formal-ised minimum spend is achieved in individual ter-ritories. The outcome is a vibrant economic environ-ment for the local indigenous film industry.

Ireland by contrast has no such legisla-tion or regulated commitment.

The 2009 Broadcasting Act states:

RTÉ: “114.—(1) The objects of RTÉ´ are— (4) the principal express powers of RTÉ´ in pursuance of the objects outlined in subsec-tion (1) are……(n) to invest in, originate or procure films,”

The Irish Broadcasting Act 2009 recognises film as a distinct genre, underlining the importance of film to Irish audiences but it makes no distinction between Irish film and foreign films and it imposes no obligation on the national broad-caster to fund or support Irish feature films or feature length documentaries. SPI believes that this issue must be rectified in order to support the growth of the Irish film industry.

Cultural Benefits of Film

Heritage and culture are important determinants of na-tional identity. It is therefore vital to create and preserve Irish heritage and contemporary society on screen for audiences both in Ireland and abroad. To tell stories by Irish filmmakers for Irish audiences and the world.

Films matter, they provide historical perspectives on events, a mirror of contemporary society, they allow us to reflect on the past, assess the present and imagine the future. They provide an opportunity to showcase Ireland as a tourism destination and provide tangible benefits for Ireland’s valuable tourism industry. Examples of important Irish films which have reso-nated deeply with audiences in Ireland and across the world include ‘The Quiet Man’, ‘Michael Collins’, ‘The Crying Game’, ‘My Left Foot’, ‘In the Name of the Father’, ‘In America’, ‘Once’, ‘What Richard Did’, ‘The Guard’, ‘Song of The Sea’ and documen-taries ‘The Summit’, ‘Lón sa Spéir’, ‘One Million Dubliners’.

There is no specific reference to supporting Irish film in the 2009 Broadcasting Act and there is no mini-mum requirement to invest in Irish productions.

Screen Producers Ireland calls on the Irish Government to legislate on this important issue to Ireland’s film makers.


INTERNATIONAL COMPARISONSMany European countries have had far greater success at nurturing their respective indigenous film industries than Ireland has. The following are some examples of this:

FRANCEUnder French law, PSB’s and Private Broadcast-ers must invest in cinema movies by Direct Con-tribution and an Indirect Contribution.

Direct Contribution: Broadcasters must invest 3.2% of their turnover per year in European productions. 2.5% of the turnover must be invested in feature films origi-nally made in the French language (“EOF” works).

Canal Plus is required to invest more as it is a cinema chan-nel. Canal Plus must spend 12% of its total resources on pre-purchase of European films and at least 9% on pre-purchase of “EOF works”. In addition, at least 17% of its “EOF” obligation must be spent on low-budget films.

A special scheme applies to ARTE (Franco-German channel), where there are no obligations to cin-ema film. However, the channel typically invests 5% of its turnover in ARTE France Cinema.

More details here: http://bit.ly/220kAPu

Indirect Contribution (“soutien antenne” ): This is a tax paid by all broadcasters into a specified account in the Centre National de la Cinematographie (CNC). The tax is calculated by applying a rate to the amounts paid by the television services in perfor-mance of contracts for the transfer of broadcasting rights.

France, key Film Stats 2013:

• 270 feature films were produced in France during 2013• Of which 154 were fully financed by France• Investment in French production totaled €1.3 billion• French PSB’s contributed €101.5m (un-

der legislative requirements) • Private Films Channels (incl. Canal+) €190m

(under legislative requirements)• Over 42% of films aired on television were French• The largest viewership for film on TV was recorded by

a French film ‘Rien à déclarer’ (‘Nothing to Declare’)

FINLANDYLE has a published strategy to invest €6m per annum 2014-2016 for films (incl. documentary). This is part of a declaration of intent on a minimum number of fea-ture film projects with the Finnish Film Foundation.

GERMANYFederal : In principle, there is no requirement on the PSB’s to invest in Federal film aid. However, there is a Film Support Act (‘FFG’) which states that contributions and grants are to be agreed between the PSB’s and the German Federal Film Board (FFA).

ZDF and ARD have undertakings in their individual Film Aid Agreements (FF-Abkommen), renewed every 4 years, to sup-port co-productions and contributions in cash and in kind. The private broadcasters have an agreement with the FFA, (the VPRT Abkommen), whereby the broadcasters provide cash contributions and media services to the film fund.

Regional: In principle, there is no requirement on re-gional PSB’s to invest in regional film aid. Except for WDR (which belongs to ARD). WDR must assign an amount of its licence fee to the Westfalia Film Foundation.

DENMARKThe two Danish PSB’s Danmarks Radio & TV2 Danmark are regu-lated by the Radio and Television Broadcasting Act and their ob-ligations are specified in a contract with the Ministry of Culture, including the obligation to strengthen Danish film production.

Every 4 years parliament agrees a “Media Policy” which cov-ers all aspects of the PSB’s obligations and their licence fee. Amongst other issues, the agreement issued by the Ministry of Culture establishes the obligation of the PSB to have finan-cial involvement in “indigenous” film, not as an obligation to “invest”, but an obligation to buy a license to transmit. In the last 4 years this figure was on average 53m. dkr (€ 7.1m) for feature (80%) and documentaries (20%) per annum.

AUSTRIAThere has been a non-legal voluntary treaty „Film-Fernseh –Abkommen“ between the Austrian PSB ORF to contribute €8m p/a to the Austrian Film Instutute (additional to AFI budget of €20m.). Between 2000 and 2013, the ORF got ex-tra money from the government and one of the conditions was to fulfill the „Film-Fernseh –Abkommen“. This condi-tion was set up into the ORF-Law and expired in 2013.

The programme of the new government (elected in 2013) included the announcement to support the production of film by the PSB. There is currently a draft law being discussed whereby the ORF has a legal obligation to the „Film-Fernseh –Abkom-men“ with a binding minimum budget of €8m per annum.


POLANDPoland Act on Cinematography 2005, is a comprehensive 16 page document which “… defines the principles in respect of support-ing film creativity and other activities in the field of cinematog-raphy and the protection of film art resources.” Chapter 1. Article 19. (7) Public television broadcasters are required to earmark at least 1.5% of their annual proceeds from subscriptions from television owners for film produc-tion purposes. The broadcaster shall submit to the Director an annual report on discharging this duty by the end of the first quarter of the calendar year. If the amount referred to in the first sentence is not fully expensed on film production, the broad-caster shall transfer to the Institute the difference resulting.

The Act also stipulates that cinema exhibitors, distributors, commercial television broadcasters, digital platforms, cable television stations each contribute 1.5% of specified revenues to the Polish Film Institute. More details here: http://bit.ly/1ONjr6h

Poland key Film Stats 2014:

Poland produced over 40 feature films in 2014. The average budget of a domestic film is 4 - 4.5m PLN (c. €1m). The Polish Film Institute (PISF) is the largest source of funding in Poland, with additional funds coming from television, a well-developed network of regional film funds as well as private sources. By December of 2014 the number of titles distributed in Poland surpassed 240, with the three top spots in the box office held by Polish productions (‘Gods’, ‘Warsaw 44’, ‘Jack Strong’).

SwEDENAccording to the Public service regulation, SVT shall “con-tribute to the development of Swedish film production”. In the Swedish Film Agreement (between the government and the industry), SVT has committed to 42,1 MSEK (€4.7M) per year to the Swedish Film Institute for the Swedish film funds. In addition, SVT has a minimum guaranteed spend of 41,3 MSEK (€4.6) on co-production or purchases of new Swedish feature films or new Swedish shorts and documentaries.

According to a Declaration signed by SVT and FILMTVP (Swedish producers association) in 2010, the estimated share of independent production in relation to SVT’s pro-gram budget (excl. news, sports and foreign purchases) will not be less than 40 % annually for the foreseeable future.

Private broadcasters are also obliged to “contribute to the de-velopment of Swedish film production” under their licences.

UK Communication Act 2003: (Chapter 21, Part 3, Chapter 4, p235) requires that cultural activity in the UK is reflected by the inclusion of feature films in the services of PSB’s.

Key Points 2014

BBC : Charter & Agreement 2006 states the need for the BBC to have a film strategy overseen by the BBC Trust. BBC Films budget in 2013 was STG. £12m.

Channel 4 : Digital Economy Act 2010 [22.(1)(1) Channel 4 must participate in… (b) the making of high quality films intended to be shown to the general public at the cinema in the UK and (c) the broadcasting and distribution of such content and films. Film 4’s annual budget is approx. STG. £15m.

UK key Film Stats 2014:

• 223 feature films were produced in UK during 2014• Of which 154 were domestic UK features • Total UK film production activity was £1.5 billion• The UK spend associated with inward investment features

was £1,233 million, up 40% from £879 million in 2013. • Seventeen big budget films (£30 million or over) ac-

counted for 89% of the total UK film production spend.• FILM 4: annual production expendi-

ture STG. £15M for feature film• BBC Films annual budget approx. STG. £12M for feature film• British Film Institute expenditure on Pro-

duction STG. £23M (2012) • (BBC TV Drama budget approx. STG. £200M)

As outlined in the above, many European countries take a pro-active approach to nurturing their indigenous film in-dustries and this has resulted in greater success for the in-dustry. If Ireland is to replicate this success there must be a regulated minimum spend on Irish film introduced.


Yes No

Legislative Reference to Cinema Film Production for BroadcastersPSB's

Legislative Obligation Govt./Ministry Policy

* Additional information attached.

Austria Belgium Croatia DenmarkEstonia Finland France Germany Greece Hungary IrelandItalyMacedonia Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal Romania Spain SwedenUK

LEgISLATIvE REfERENcE TO cINEmA fILm PRODUcTION fOR BROADcASTERS PBS’S


Of fAiR REgULATiON Of bROAdCAsTERs

POLiCy

KEY POINTS: • Broadcasters located outside of Ireland, many of whom

benefit from Irish advertising revenue, have no obligation to spend a minimum amount on locally produced content.

• “Opt-out” advertising by UK broadcasters amounted to approximately 22% of the market, draining €48 million out of the domestic Irish TV market.

• SPI proposes amending the Audio-Visual Media Ser-vices Directive (AVMS) to ensure that channels that sell “opt-out” advertising into other territories are regulated to ensure minimum spend commitments are made to locally produced content in those territories.

• It is currently unfair that broadcasters based in dominant media territories are permitted to sell “opt-out” advertising into small territories like Ireland but are not bound to re-invest in the territory from which they receive this income.

CORE POLICYRegulation of broadcasters in Ireland requires change because it is not a level playing pitch.

Irish broadcasters have many obligations under their broad-casting licences and in the case of RTÉ, they also have an obligation to spend a minimum statutory amount on in-dependently commissioned programmes. This is not the case with broadcasters located outside of the jurisdic-tion, many of whom sell “opt-out” advertising into Ireland. This is an unfair situation which disadvantages PSBs.

The rules governing European broadcasting across territo-rial borders is determined by the Audio-Visual Media Services Directive (AVMS Directive). The AVMS Directive dictates that broadcasters be regulated in the country in which they are established and not the country or countries into which they broadcast. This is known as the “country of origin” principle.

While the “country of origin” principle deals adequately with the complex scenario of broadcasters having to comply with differ-ent regulations in every territory into which they broadcast, it does not address the inequity being experienced by broadcast-ers located in smaller European territories, where a common language is shared with their nearest and larger neighbour.

Ireland and the UK are good examples in this regard. Irish broadcasters compete with UK broadcasters for audience and advertising revenue. UK broadcasters such as SKY and Chan-nel 4 sell “opt-out” advertising into Ireland. For example, in 2014, the value of “opt out” advertising sold into Ireland was €48 Million. This means substantial advertising revenue which would otherwise remain in Ireland is lost to the UK. The UK and major international brand broadcasters who sell advertising and other services into the Irish market have no obligation to produce locally produced content in Ireland. This is not equitable.

International manifestations of the same problem exist in Austria where German broadcasters broadcast and provide “opt-out” advertising to the Austrian market but invest lit-tle in indigenous Austrian programming. Similarly for Portugal where Spanish broadcasters provide “opt-out” ad-vertising and invest little in Portuguese programming.

SPI wants to have this inequity addressed through amending the AVMS Directive to ensure channels that sell “opt-out” adver-tising into other territories are regulated to ensure minimum spend commitments are made to locally produced content in those territories. This will be for the benefit of both the Irish viewing public and the indigenous Irish audio-visual produc-tion industry. This will address the current inequity that exists.


PRINCIPLES ON wHICH THIS POLICY IS BASEDThe current “country of origin” principle is not fair, particularly for smaller European territories.

For example, SKY broadcasts 11 channels into Ire-land but has no broadcast regulatory obligations here. SKY sells satellite subscriptions, fixed line broad-band and “opt-out” advertising to the Irish market.

In 2014, SPI estimates the revenue earned by SKY INC in Ireland was in excess of €500 million.

While SKY has been involved in financing some TV productions made in Ireland, compared to income earned by SKY in Ireland, the amount spent by SKY on TV production in the country is neg-ligible. In 2014 SKY made a commitment to have a programme commissioning editor located in their Dublin office for three days every month to engage with Irish independent produc-ers. This promise did not materialise. This indicates that SKY has little or no editorial or commissioning interest in Ireland.

“Opt-out” advertising sold by UK broadcasters transmitting into Ireland has had a major negative effect on all Irish broadcast-ers advertising income. There are now 34 TV channels selling “opt-out” advertising in the Irish market. Sky Media Ireland is the advertising sales arm of SKY and is the agent for 31 of the channels selling opt-out advertising in Ireland, including 11 SKY TV channels. Media Link manages the commercial interests for the three Channel 4 channels broadcasting into Ireland.

In 2014, the total value of the TV advertising market in Ireland was €217 million. “Opt-out” advertising by UK broadcasters amounted to approximately 22% of the mar-ket, draining €48 million out of the domestic Irish TV mar-ket. This is a major depletion of resources available to Irish broadcasters, particularly RTÉ and TV3, to invest in home produced programming for the Irish viewing public.

All Irish broadcasters have obligations to their Irish audi-ences under broadcasting legislation. RTÉ, as a public service broadcaster, also has an obligation to a minimum spend on independently commissioned programmes. No such content creation or spend obligations apply to SKY or Channel 4.

International manifestations of the same problem exist in Austria where German broadcasters broadcast and provide “opt-out” advertising to the Austrian market but invest little or nothing in indigenous Austrian programming. Similarly for Portugal where Spanish broadcasters provide “opt out” advertising and invest little in Portuguese programming.

The rules governing European broadcasting across borders is determined by the Audio-Visual Media Services Directive (AVMS Directive). The AVMS Directive dictates that broad-casters be governed in the country from which they broad-cast. This is known as the “country of origin” principle.

SPI policy proposes a change to the “country of origin” principle in the AVMS Directive so that broadcasters selling “opt-out” advertising into other jurisdictions are also bound by minimum obligations to invest in and commission locally produced content.

It is currently unfair that broadcasters based in dominant media territories are permitted to sell “opt-out” advertising into small territories like Ireland but are not bound to re-invest in the terri-tory from which they receive this income. This requires change.


ON iR ish f i Lm bOARd fUNdiNg

POLiCy

KEY POINTS: • The Irish Film Board capital funding decreased

by over 40% between 2008 and 2014.

• Reinstating the funding to €20m per annum would in-crease production expenditure to €84m and would, in turn, have a positive impact on jobs in the sector.

• The increase in funding would allow Irish producers to compete more effectively with their international coun-terparts and would have a positive impact on tourism.

CORE POLICYCapital funding for Bord Scannán na hÉireann/Irish Film Board urgently needs to be increased. If not, Irish pro-ducers will not be able to compete internationally.

The national screen agency in all territories plays an inte-gral role in the success of the local audio-visual economy. It provides funding and support for indigenous pro-ductions as well as some incoming productions.

Between 2008 and 2014 capital funding for the Irish Film Board was been reduced year on year. The percentage de-crease since 2008 to 2014, is over 40%. The IFB Oireachtas grant for 2016 is €11.7M. By comparison Northern Ire-land Screen’s annual investment in production is budg-eted at €16.3M (STG£11.7M). Northern Ireland is a market significantly smaller than the Republic of Ireland.

The reduction in Irish Film Board funding has had a significant negative effect on the film and television production sec-tor, particularly indigenous film makers who provide much needed work and opportunities for Irish creative talent.

It is crucial that Irish Film Board funding is reinstated so that Irish producers can compete on a level play-ing field with their international counter-parts.

In 2014 the Irish Film Board invested just under €10 million in production activity. This permitted Irish producers to leverage this funding thereby generating production expenditure of over €42 million in relation to IFB funded projects in that year.

SPI seeks the reinstatement of the Irish Film Board Oireachtas grant to €20 million p/a.

This increase would permit Irish producers to lever-age this funding and increase production expendi-ture to €84 million, thereby increasing the number of jobs in the film and television production sector.

PRINCIPLES ON wHICH THIS POLICY IS BASEDSince 2008 the capital funding for the Irish Film Board has been reduced year on year. The percentage decrease since 2008 to 2015, is over 40%. The reduction has had a significant negative effect on the film and television production sector. If Ireland is to compete on the world stage for film and television produc-tions, its national screen agency must be adequately funded.

In 2014 the Irish Film Board invested just under €10 million in production activity. This permitted Irish producers to leverage this funding thereby generating production expenditure of over €42 million in relation to IFB funded projects in that year.

THE NORTHERN IRELAND COMPARISON The Irish Film Board Oireachtas grant for 2015 was €11.25 million. By way of comparison, for the years 2014-2018 Northern Ireland Screen’s annual investment in produc-tion is budgeted at €16.3 million (£11.75 million). This in a market significantly smaller than the ROI.

In April 2014 Northern Ireland Screen announced a STG. £43 million, four-year investment plan entitled ‘Opening Doors: A Strategy to Transform the Screen Industries in Northern Ireland’ anticipated to generate STG. £250M return on in-vestment. This is a significant increase in the level of fund-ing under their previous scheme where NI Screen invested STG. £27.3 million over the four years 2010-2014 generating an estimated STG. £121 million return on investment.

If funding for Ireland’s national screen agency the Irish Film Board is not increased, it will jeopardize productions and put Irish producers at a significant disadvantage compared to their in-ternational counterparts. Film and television productions made in or about Ireland are important. They are a valuable cultural export with the ability to reach substantial global audiences.

POTENTIAL TOURISM BENEFITS In 2010, over 6.1 million (CSO) visitors came to the Repub-lic of Ireland generating revenue inflows of €3,556 mil-lion (CSO) and resulting in 178,000 jobs (Fáilte Ireland).

In a Fáilte Ireland exit survey done in the same year, of tour-ists leaving the country, 20% of tourists indicated that films influenced their choice of Ireland as a destination.

While respondents can list multiple influences, the response to film is significant. Over the last 5 years the influence of film has increased from being the 6th, to the 4th most important factor influencing the tourist’s decision to visit Ireland. It is impera-tive that Ireland continues to be able to compete in order to maintain and grow employment levels in film and television production while also continuing to boost tourism numbers.


ON CAbLE RE-TRANsmiss iON & ThE CAbLE COPyRighT ExEmPTiON

POLiCy

KEY POINTS: • The “Cable Copyright Exemption” in the Copyright Act

allows cable companies to retransmit the work of Irish producers without adherence to copyright laws.

• This means that Irish production compa-nies are not fairly paid for their works, un-like many of their European counterparts.

• The Broadcasting Act 2009 allows cable companies to re-transmit Irish channels without paying a fee.

• This means that Licence Fee payers are subsidising the content offering of cable companies and our national broadcasters are at a competitive disadvantage.

CORE POLICY At present, cable companies operating in Ireland are not re-quired to pay re-transmission fees to broadcasters or to adhere to copyright laws in relation to the works being transmitted.

CABLE COPYRIGHT EXEMPTIONSection 103 of the Irish Copyright and Related Rights Act 2000 (the “Copyright Act”) permits cable operators based in Ireland to retransmit works (including audio-visual works) protected by copyright that are broadcast in the State and the “must-carry” channels without obtaining permission from the copyright holders or paying retransmission fees. Section 103 should be changed so that copyright is preserved in these works when they are transmitted by a cable company based in Ireland.

This section of the copyright act, also known as the “Cable Copyright Exemption”, was introduced for two main reasons. First, it was believed that the legislation would encourage the rollout of more cable services. Secondly, at the time the only cable company operating in Ireland was Cablelink. Cablelink was owned by RTÉ so to avoid what could have been perceived as “double dipping” it was felt they should be exempt from copyright clearance of Irish broadcasts. As Irish broadcasters (RTÉ, TG4 & TV3) and Irish independent production compa-nies are copyright owners of much of what is broadcast from within the State their rights are being restricted by virtue of the exemption and they are losing revenue rightfully due to them.

The current law confers an unfair economic advantage on the cable companies operating in Ireland at the expense of Irish independent producers and broadcasters. Cable companies operating in other European countries must obey local copy-right law. This puts Irish broadcasters and Irish producers at a disadvantage compared to their European counterparts.

Any rationale underpinning the continued existence of Sec-tion 103 of the Irish Copyright and Related Rights Act 2000 is no longer relevant. In fact, it may never have been lawful in the first place on the grounds that it seems to violate European Union law.

There is currently only one major cable company in Ire-land, Virgin Media. This major corporation benefits from this exemption and is subsidised by Irish copyright holders including our public service broadcasters.

Presently cable operators in Ireland pay approximately €10m per annum to other rights holders, e.g. foreign broadcasters and production companies, composers and record companies.

CABLE RE-TRANSMISSIONCurrent broadcasting law means that cable companies are not required to pay Irish channels a re-transmission fee. This is not the case in other European territories where broadcasters often receive remuneration from re-transmitters for their content.

Programming produced by Irish broadcasters and Irish inde-pendent producers forms a significant part of the Irish cable offering. The cable companies who benefit from this offering should be compelled to pay fees for the carriage of natively broadcast content. The State should not aid cable compa-nies in avoiding such payment for quality Irish content.

The current situation means that Irish broadcasters add con-siderable value to the offering of cable companies without receiving any recompense. Irish license fee payers are ef-fectively subsidising the offering of cable companies.


PRINCIPLES ON wHICH THESE POLICIES ARE BASED

CABLE COPYRIGHT EXEMPTIONBreach of EU Copyright Law Obligations

The continued existence of Section 103 of the Irish Copyright Act runs contrary to Ireland’s legal obligations concern-ing copyright exceptions under the European Information Society Directive 2000, which, as a “maximum harmonisa-tion” instrument, limits EU Member States’ power to legis-late further than what is provided for in that instrument.

Articles 5.2 and 5.3 of the Information Society Directive (or “Infosoc” Directive as it is commonly referred) set out a de-tailed and exhaustive list of copyright exceptions that EU Member States may choose to implement in to national law. Retransmission by cable is not specifically listed among these exceptions nor can it be interpreted to be included within the scope of other exceptions listed and so the S103 cable exception is therefore unlawful and without a legitimate legal basis.

The companies that have suffered the most from this unlaw-ful copyright exception are Irish independent production companies and Irish broadcasters (RTÉ, TG4 & TV3). Predomi-nantly, they are the copyright holders in these broadcasts and Ireland is the largest market for quality, culturally Irish content. Depriving Irish rights holders of a valuable source of remuneration in such a manner is harmful to its continued creation and the Irish broadcasting industry in general.

Were Section 103 of the Copyright Act deemed to be incon-sistent with Ireland’s EU law obligations the State would be required to make good on the lost profits of rights holders.

Breach of EU State Aid Rules

For the past fifteen years Section 103 of the Irish Copy-right Act has acted as a de facto State Aid to large non-Irish cable companies based in Ireland instituted by the Irish legislature but financed by Irish rights holders.

It could be argued that State Aid of this type is illegal as it would seem to be contrary to the Treaties Establishing the European Union. State Aid in the EU may generally only be granted on the basis of cultural grounds or on the basis of research and devel-opment after having received approval by the European Com-mission. Alternatively the General Block Exemption Regulation (GBER) is a piece of EU legislation designed to specify further exceptions to this rule and which absolves local governments of the requirement to notify State Aid to the European Com-mission immediately though ultimately any state aid scheme must be approved and ratified by the European Commission.

We are unaware if Section 103 has received approval in this manner though if it was found to be inconsistent with the rules governing State Aid in the EU any beneficiaries of the scheme may be required to pay back what they have

earned as a result of the unfair market advantages accru-ing to them (e.g. lost licensing costs) since its introduction.

It is important that section 103 of the Irish Copyright and Related Act 2000 is amended for the benefit of rights holders and to mitigate any risk to the State that the exemption gives rise to.Personal Video Recording Devices Section 101 of the Irish Copyright and Related Rights Act 2000 should also be changed so that copyright is preserved in programmes recorded and stored by cable operators for use by customers on their Per-sonal Video Recorders (PVR’s). Section 101 of the Act currently permits cable operators to provide a commercially valuable service without compensation to the copyright holder.

CABLE RE-TRANSMISSIONThe Broadcasting Act

On a similar note SPI advocates that the introduction of the words “and payment” to Section 77 (11) & (12) of the Broad-casting Act 2009 would further empower Irish broadcasters and rights holders. These changes would read as follows:

(11) Without prejudice to the requirements imposed under sub-section (4), RTÉ, TG4 and the television service programme contractor shall ensure that their must-offer services are at all times offered for re-transmission (subject to agreement as to fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms of use and payment) by means of any appropriate network that is available for reception in an intelligible form by members of the public on the whole of or in part of the State. used by a significant number of end users as their principal means of receiving transmissions of programme material.

(12) RTÉ, TG4 and the television service programme contrac-tor shall ensure that their must-offer services are at all times offered for broadcast or re-transmission (subject to agreement as to fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms of use and payment) by means of every satellite television service.

These amendments address the issue that the must offer obligation which is currently expressed in the 2009 Broad-casting Act can be read as requiring Irish channels to make their free to air television services available to a wide range of platforms with no return or consideration for the content being made. The Act as currently expressed can be read as requiring RTÉ, TG4 and TV3 to make their free to air TV ser-vices available to a wide range of networks with no return being made to the broadcasters. This puts Irish channels at a disadvantage when compared to their European broadcast counterparts who often receive significant remuneration from platforms for their content. It is not equitable and does not represent good value for money for Irish license fee payers.

caroline

Cross-Out

sPi OvERvi Ew


sPi OvERvi Ew

Screen Producers Ireland (SPI) is the representative organisation for independent production companies operating in Ireland in the film and television industry. As a membership organisation we promote growth and sustainability of a working environment conducive to a strong independent production sector. It is our duty to be the most effective voice of independent film, television, animation and digital producers in Ireland. We address the needs of the sector and using our knowledge and expertise we aim to deliver a strong and sustainable position for Irish production companies. We are focused on shaping an independent production sector that is comparable to best international standards.

We encourage state organisations charged with developing the industry to put in place development plans and policies for the sector to maximise potential. We support the continuance of the Irish film and television production tax incentive, Section 481. We identify potential improvements to the scheme and pursue Government to deliver on stated commitments. We work to ensure that independent producers are provided with fair regulation across all broadcasting platforms.

We communicate and negotiate with industry stakeholders including broadcasters, The Irish Film Board, The Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, Enterprise Ireland, Government Departments and other relevant Irish and international organisations.

We develop good communications with relevant unions representing employees in Film & TV Drama, to deliver effective and competitive collective agreements.

We host a broad range of industry seminars and events for members on current issues.

Screen Producers Ireland Mission Membership orientated, focused on shaping an economic and cultural environment that is conducive to the further development of a dynamic Irish independent creative content production industry, comparable to best international standards.

Screen Producers Ireland Strategic Objectives Our vision of the future is driven by five strategic objectives which encapsulate and recognise the challenges that lie ahead.

1. Support a National Policy Framework

2. Develop a communication plan to position the organisation as the voice of the sector

3. Develop a Membership Framework

4. Align and integrate the TV, Film and TV Drama, Animation and Digital sector’s objectives to advise SPI direction

5. Develop a sustainable business model and align the organisation’s capability to deliver the strategic objectives.

The strategic objectives of SPI are driven by the needs of the sector and contained within the strategic plan 2014- 2016. In 2016 the Board of SPI will set down a new 3 year strategic plan for 2017 – 2020.

sPi bOARd


bOARd mEmbERs

sPi bOARd 2015

BOARD MEMBERS AT 31ST DECEMBER 2015NAME COMPANYJohn Hennessy (Independent Chairman) Larry Bass Shinawil Mark Byrne Element Pictures Bernadine Carraher Mind The Gap David Collins Samson Films James Flynn Metropolitan Films Jackie Larkin Newgrange Pictures Liam Lavelle Independent Pictures Irial Mac Murchú Nemeton Stephen Rooke Tile Films Stuart Switzer Coco Television

OVERVIEW OF RESPONSIBILITIESBASIC PRINCIPLES

Board members have legal and ethical responsibilities both as individual Directors and as a collective Board. These responsibilities apply to those persons formally registered as Directors with the Companies Registration Office and to ‘de facto’ directors (those, if any, who act as if they are Directors). Board decisions can only be made collectively.

The overarching responsibility is that of managing, on an ongoing basis, any strategic, operational, financial and reputational risks to which the organisation may be exposed.

Keeping an overview of direction and progress

• Protecting Assets• Ensuring Accountability• Fulfilling Legal Obligations

The Board must also ensure that the organisation complies with other statutory and regulatory requirements, such as data protection, employment, equality, health, safety and welfare and tax legislation. It must satisfy itself that appropriate poli-cies, procedures and practices are in place in relation to these.

Larry Bass 2 1 1

4 2 2

4 4 0

In attendance

April 29th June 18th SPI AGM September 9th December 10th Total Attended Missed

Absent

Not on the Board

4 4 0

4 3 1

4 4 0

1 1 0

4 1 3

4 3 1

4 2 2

2 2 0

4 2 2

2 2 0

Mark Byrne

Bernadine Carraher

David Collins

James Flynn

John Hennessy

Andrew Kavanagh

Jackie Larkin

Liam Lavelle

Irial MacMurchú

Philip McGovern

Stephen Rooke

Stuart Switzer

THERE wERE FOUR MEETINGS OF THE SPI BOARD HELD IN 2015

INCLUDING THE AGM wHICH wAS HELD IN JUNE.

“ScREEN PRoDucERS IRElAND IS goVERNED By AN ElEcTED BoARD of DIREcToRS whIch

INcluDES SoME of IRElAND’S MoST

PRoMINENT PRoDucERS.”


Board Member since: 2014

mARk byRNE ELEmENT PiCTUREs

Mark Byrne has been Head of Business Affairs at Element Pictures since 2012. Recent productions include “Red Rock” for TV3 and the Academy Awarding feature film “Room” directed by Lenny Abrahamson and starring Brie Larson, Jacob Tremblay, Joan Allen and William H Macy and “The Lobster” directed by Yorgos Lanthimos star-ring Colin Farrell, Rachel Weisz and John C Reilly which won the Jury Prize at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival. Prior to joining Element Pictures, Mark spent 6 years with Bord Scannán na hÉireann/the

Irish Film Board, initially as Business & Legal Executive and later as Head of Legal Affairs. In 2006 Mark was co-producer of the IFTA award winning film “Middletown” starring Matthew MacFadyen. Mark is a former board member of the Irish Film Institute and Filmbase and is an alumni of “Inside Pictures”, the film business training and leadership skills development pro-gramme created by Qwerty Films and run by the National Film & Television School in the UK. Mark is also a member of the European Film Academy.

b iOgRAPh i Es

sPi bOARd



LARRy bAss shiNAwiL

In 1999 Larry established ShinAwiL Productions Ltd where he acted as Managing Director for 3 years, before forming a joint venture with Screen-time Australia in 2003, and forming Screentime ShinAwiL. In 2015 Larry bought out Screentime from Banijay Group and ShinAwiL are now one of the largest independent production companies in Ireland. Larry is currently CEO of ShinAwiL. In 2009 Screentime ShinAwiL Ltd. opened its first UK office in Northern Ireland and 2012 saw its first BBC NI commission, Undercover NI.

Larry has Executive Produced the Irish versions of the multi award winning series’, The Ap-prentice that won 2 Irish Film and Television Awards, Dragons’ Den, MasterChef Ireland and most recently the hugely successful The Voice of Ireland. Other recent productions include Home of the Year, What are you Eating?, Meet the McDonagh’s and Tested on Humans.

The ShinAwiL development team is cur-rently in development on original series’ for the Irish, UK and USA market.

Previous credits include Popstars, You’re A Star, Charity You’re A Star, Test The Teach-ers, Charity Lords of the Ring, Fame The Musical and The Obesity Clinic.

Larry is keen to grow the business of creative con-tent in Ireland as a pillar of our economy. In 2011 the department of Arts, Culture and Gaeltacht ap-pointed Larry to sit on the editorial committee to write a report to government, The Creative Capital Report to grow the industry. Larry believes more business skills are required in creative industries.

In 2000, Larry was elected to the national Executive of Screen Producers Ireland (SPI), serving as deputy chairman from January 2003 to February 2004, and as Chairman from February 2004 to February 2005. He also was the Irish member of CEPI from 2003 to 2006.

Larry is an International Ambassador of the International Rose d’Or, an advisory board member of FÁS Screen Training Ireland and Entertainment Masterclass. He has also sat on a jury for the Internationl Emmys, BANFF and Real Screen Television Awards.

Larry has guest lectured at DIT Dublin, IADT Dublin, MipTV and MIPCOM, SPAA Aus-tralia and Entertainment Masterclass.

Larry served on the Board of the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland from 2010 to 2015.

jOhN hENNEssy ChAiRmAN

In addition to his role as Chairman of Screen Producers Ireland, John Hennessy is outgoing chairman of the Higher Education Authority (HEA) and has more than 40 years’ experience in the telecommunication industry, holding senior International positions across Swedish multi- na-tional, Ericsson. John was Managing Director of Ericsson Ireland from 2003 to 2010 and Chairman of the board until 2013. John has been a member

of various Government advisory boards and a member of the governing body of Irish Business and Employer Confederation (IBEC). John was also a board member of the Labour Relations Com-mission (LRC) until it was replaced by the WRC in October 2015, Chairman and board member of Killarney Telecommunications Limited and advi-sor to a number of start-up companies in Ireland. John holds an MSc and is Chartered Director.


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bERNAdiNE CARRAhER miNd ThE gAP fiLms

A Science and Business graduate, Bernadine has been operating at Executive and Board level for the past 25 years in the Irish Television industry for corporate, independent and public clients. She has been hands-on across the full gamut of business practice, project/business financ-ing, production, operational and human capital development of the TV industry, including studio/outside broadcast and complex multi-camera pro-jects, both nationally and internationally. With an incessant focus on delivery, Mind The Gap

Films Ltd, has created, developed and produced some of the most memorable independent sector productions for public and private TV networks in Ireland, the UK and the USA. Our latest produc-tion, Lords & Ladles Series 2, is a major series for RTÉ funded through Section 481 and the BAI and we are in pre-production on our next major music special for PBS in the US. We are currently produc-ing 2 new panel shows for RTÉ, Eureka! - The Big Bang Query’ a brand new Comedy-Science panel show for RTÉ2 television and Brendan O’Connors ‘Cutting Edge’ new live show for RTÉ One.


dAvid COLLiNs sAmsON fiLms

David Collins runs Samson Films, one of Ire-land’s leading independent film companies. Recent credits include Run and Jump (2013) Best Irish Feature at Galway Film Fleadh and the film adaptation of John Banville’s Booker Prize winning novel The Sea (2013) starring Ciarán Hinds and Natacha McElhone, Coming Home (2014) which won Best Documentary at Galway Film Fleadh and other notable credits include the Oscar winning Once (2006) and the Television drama series Bachelor’s Walk and Pure Mule, both

produced through Accomplice Television. Current projects in production in 2015 include The Truth Commissioner, Tiger Raid, and A Dark Song.

David is a board member of Screen Producers Ireland and a founding director of the Lighthouse Cinema in Dublin. He is also a member of the European Film Academy. Samson has recently been awarded slate funding from Creative Media for a portfolio of film and TV ProjectsBoard Member since: 2006

Re-elected: 2009, 2012

jAmEs fLyNN mETROPOLiTAN fiLms

James Flynn is an independent producer of feature films and television dramas and the principal of Metropolitan Films.

He has produced a number of award-win-ning indigenous feature films including Nora by Pat Murphy, H3 by Les Blair and In-side I’m Dancing by Damien O’ Donnell.

In addition to two Academy Award® nominated projects during 2010, The Door and The Secret of Kells, James’ recent production credits include As If I Am Not There, directed by Juanita Wilson, Ondine by Neil Jordan, Calvary by John Michael McDonagh and Love/Hate Series 1-5 by Stuart Carolan and David Caffrey. James is currently negotiating a U.S version of Love/Hate for cable television and has just completed production on Juanita Wilson’s second feature film, Tomato Red.

James was Producer on all four series of The Tudors from 2006 to 2010.

During 2009 - 2013, James was the lead producer of The Borgias Series 1-3 which was written, created and directed by Neil Jordan and was shot in Budapest.

James was also Executive Producer on Camelot for Starz Television written by Chris Chib-nall and produced by Morgan O’Sullivan.

He is an Executive Producer on Series 5 of Vi-kings, written by Michael Hirst for MGM and The History Channel, which begins shooting in Wicklow and Dublin during June. He was Execu-tive Producer on the first four series of Vikings.

James was Irish co-producer on the first three series of John Logan’s Penny Dreadful which is lead produced by Neal Street Productions for Showtime. He is currently developing a number of feature film projects Stuart Carolan’s Skippy Dies based on the novel by Paul Murray and Right of the Boom, written by Juanita Wilson and based on the novel by Artis Henderson.

Board Member since: 2008 Re-elected: 2011,2013

iR iAL mAC mURChú NEmETON Tv

Irial Mac Murchú founded Nemeton in 1993 and from small beginnings, the company now employs 50 people. Nemeton specialises in sports productions for which it has won numerous awards and is TG4’s main supplier of its sports coverage. Other clients include RTÉ, Sky Sports, BBC & Channel 7 (Australia). The company recently secured a contract for a major photogra-phy web tv company in New York, Adorama TV.

Other credits include documentaries: Na Chéad

Fight Clubs, Kennedy’s Cadets, KLM 607E and The Brothers while sports credits include GAA Beo, Rugbaí Beo, GAA@125 and Laochra Gael

Nemeton also runs a post-graduate Higher Diploma in Television Production (in partner-ship with Waterford Institute of Technology and Údarás na Gaeltachta) which has been hugely successful throughout the industry supplying graduates in genres such as film, documentaries, web tv and digital marketing.



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Board Member since: 2007 Re-elected: 2010, 2013

LiAm LAvELLE iNdEPENdENT PiCTUREs

Liam Lavelle works for Independent Pictures and has been in the business for over thirty years. He has produced a wide range of factual, maga-zine and lifestyle programming for RTÉ, TG4 and BBC NI. He is a former President of the Guild of Agricultural Journalists in Ireland, and an active member of UCD Marian Basketball Club.

jACkiE LARkiN NEwgRANgE PiCTUREs

Jackie Larkin is a highly experienced producer who has been involved in Ireland’s film and inde-pendent television industry for the past 18 years. Jackie is joint managing director of Newgrange Pictures a film company she formed in Decem-ber 2003 and is currently developing a slate of feature film projects for the international market.

Jackie produced the feature film Kings, starring Colm Meaney. Kings which was Ireland’s first ever entry to the foreign language section

of the Academy Awards is one of Ireland’s few bi-lingual films. Other credits include Call Girl (2012), Stella Days (2011) starring Martin Sheen and A Thousand Times Good Night (2013).

She is a member of ACE the European Asso-ciation of Producers and graduated from the Media Business School in 2003. She is also a Board member of Screen Producers Ireland.



sTEPhEN ROOkE TiLE f iLms

Stephen Rooke founded Tile Films Ltd. in 1989, after obtaining an Advanced Diploma in Media Production from Bournemouth Film School in the U.K. Stephen is Managing Director of the company and the leader of a vibrant production team that brings a mix of creative and production skills to the film-making process. Over the last twenty five years, Stephen has gained a reputa-tion as one of Ireland’s leading documentary/factual programme-makers. He has directed/produced/executive produced over 200 film and television documentaries, including five docu-drama feature films, fifteen docu-drama series, twenty documentary/factual series, six one-off documentaries as well as two television drama series. Stephen’s film and television work has been seen at many film festivals and on over 40 channels throughout the world, including RTÉ, TG4, UTV, S4C, BBC, ZDF, SVT, YLE, Channel 4, Smithsonian Channel, Discovery, National Geo-

graphic, PBS, History, France 5 and SBS Australia. Recent film work includes: the 3 part drama series ‘Wrecking the Rising’, ‘Seven Women’, ‘Waterloo’s Warriors’, ‘Death or Liberty’, Ireland’s ‘Animal Rescue’, ‘Paramedics’, ‘Sacred Sites – Ireland’, ‘After Braveheart’, ‘The Lazy Chef’, ‘Saving the Titanic’, ‘Fighting Irish of the Civil War’ and ‘Cromwell - God’s Executioner’. In February 2012, Stephen won the Irish Film & Television Academy (IFTA) Award for best documentary series with Waterways - The Royal Canal. Other awards are for Saving the Titanic which include Best Feature-length Drama at the Celtic Media Festival, April 2013; best drama-doc at the New York Festivals, April 2013 and Best Feature Film at the British Independent Film Festival, May 2013. His most recent award is for Sacred Sites - Ireland which won a bronze award at the New York Festivals, April 2015


sTUART swiTzER COCO TELEvisiON

Stuart Switzer is a founding Director of COCO Tel-evision and Managing Director of COCO TV since 1998. COCO Television is one of Ireland’s leading production companies, producing a wide range of programming for the Irish and International mar-kets and is home to an industry- leading team of full time producers and television professionals.

COCO currently produce many of Ireland’s most popular television series such as ‘First Dates’ , ‘‘Room to Improve’ , ‘The Consumer Show’ , ‘Crimecall’ , and ‘ Don’t Tell the Bride’, the ‘St Patrick’s Festival programming’, ‘Trending’, ‘The Unemployables’, and ‘No-rah Casey’s Traveller Business School’ , ‘Pat Kenny in the Round’ , ‘Pixies Sex Clinic’ etc.

Notable recent successes include ‘Whose holiday is it Anyway’ which won best Euro-pean Format in Belin in September 2014.

Stuart is Co-Executive Producer of ‘First Dates Ireland’ which is breaking viewership records on RTÉ2 and is the most talked about television programme to hit our screens for some time.

Our feature documentary ‘Eliza Lynch Queen of Paraguay’ premiered in Asuncion in 2014,

Paraguay in front of an invited audience of 1200 and has been selected to screen at nu-merous South American film Festivals and at the London and Dublin Film Festivals , where once again Eliza caused quite a stir.

Stuart has produced the feature ‘Traders’ which is a dark thriller written and directed by first time Irish Writer/Directors. Released in early 2016 to critical acclaim, ‘Traders’ has won the 7th Orbit Prize at the Brussels Inter-national Fantastic Film Festival and the Audi-ence Choice at the Belfast Film Festival.

1916 - a 3 x 1 Hour Internationl Documentary Series.

This landmark international documentary series examines the 1916 Easter Rising and the subsequent events that led to the establishment of an independent Irish State and indirectly to the breakup of the British Empire. Narrated by Liam Neeson, this project is an initiative of the Keough-Naughton Center for Irish Studies at the University of Notre Dame. 1916 has sold all over the world and will be seen in more than 50 countries by the end of 2016, and broad-cast by in excess of 90%of US PBS stations.

Stuart served as a Non Executive Director on the board of RTÉ, Ireland’s National Pub-lic Service Broadcaster, from 2010 to 2015.


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SPI FILM & TV DRAMA COMMITTEE 2015

NAmE cOmPANyJohanna Hogan Parallel Films David Collins Samson Films Paul Donovan Deadpan Pictures James Flynn Metropolitan Films Andrew Freedman Venom Films Macdara Kelleher Fastnet Films Andrew Lowe Element Pictures Des Martin Freelance Lesley McKimm Newgrange Pictures Chairperson Tristan Orpen Lynch Subotica Entertainment

The committee met 10 times during 2015Priorities of the committee were:

• Ensuring stakeholders charged with developing policies to support the film & TV drama sector are adequately funded and informed on all key issues.

• Ensuring Ireland’s production tax incentive remains internationally competitive for film & TV drama.

• Ensuring Ireland’s Film & TV drama employee relations environment is internationally competitive.

SPI ANIMATION COMMITTEE 2015

NAmE cOmPANyAndrew Kavanagh Kavaleer Productions ChairpersonPaul McGrath WhackalaCliff Parrott Magpie 6 MediaMichael Algar Keg KartoonzDale Robinson Treehouse RepublicGerry Shirren Cartoon Saloon

The committee met once during 2015Priorities for the committee were:

• Ensuring Ireland’s production tax incentive remains internationally competitive for animation production.

• Ensuring stakeholders charged with developing policies to support the animation sector are adequately funded and informed on all key issues

COmmiTTEEs 2015

During 2015, SPI operated two standing committees and one Working Group.


sPi COmmiTTEEs

SPI S481 WORKING GROUP 2015

Name company James Flynn Metropolitan FilmsJonathan Kelly Philip Lee SolicitorsAndrew Lowe Element PicturesDavid Collins Samson FilmsLesley McKimm Newgrange Pictures

The Working Group met on five occasions in 2015. In 2015 the SPI S481 Working Group considered further amendments to Section 481. The Working Group was initially formed in 2014 to inform SPI’s view on proposed amendments to S481. It met in 2015 to consider and make recommendations to Government on further amendments to the scheme. The Industry Policy Group in which SPI participated as a member made its formal recommendations to the Department of Finance in July. The key recommendation to increase the cap from €50M per project to €70M per project was accepted and announced in Budget 2016.

Priorities for the working group were:

To ensure the continuance of the S481 tax incentive in Ireland

To ensure that competitiveness with interna-tional fiscal incentives is maintained

Factual and Entertainment Committee

At the Board meeting held on December 10th 2015, the Board approved establishing a Fac-tual and Entertainment Committee in 2016.

COmmiTTEEs 2015

sPi ExECUTivE & CORPORATE sTRUCTURE


ExECUTivE & CORPORATE sTRUCTURE

sPi sTRUCTURE

SPI EXECUTIVE & CORPORATE STRUCTURE The Board is the legal employer of all SPI staff. The key employee in terms of the Board is the CEO. All staff ultimately report to the CEO. The relationship between the CEO and the Board is pivotal and needs to be underpinned by a high level of mutual respect and trust. The CEO, who is directly accountable to the Board, manages the day-to-day running of the organisation, making management decisions that are in accordance with the agreed strategic, operational and annual plans and the direction provid-ed by the Board. The CEO is responsible for operational matters.

The CEO reports to the Board and, within that con-text, has an ongoing relationship with the Chairperson who represents the Board. The Chairperson, on behalf of the Board, provides advice and support to the CEO. The Chairperson acts on behalf of the Board to ensure that the CEO’s performance is appraised annually.

In 2015 there was a fulltime staff of 4 including the CEO.

THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

CHAIRPERSON JOHN HENNESSY

COMMITTEE 1 Film & TV Drama 2 Animation

CEO BARBARA GALAVAN

MEMBERSHIP & BUSINESS AFFAIRS EXECUTIVE

CATHERINE TIERNANOFFICE MANAGER

SUZY MCMAHON

WORKING GROUPS1 S4812 Broadcast

&

ACCOUNTS CAROLINE SKINNADER

COMPANY SECRETARYCAROLINE SKINNADER

sPi f iNANCiALs


income & Expenditure Account

for year Ended 31 december 2015

balance sheet

As at 31 december 2015


Cash flow statement

for the year Ended 31 december 2015

Notes to the financial statements

for the year Ended 31 december 2015


CONTACT dETAi Ls

sUPPORT

PRINCIPAL OFFICE77 Merrion Square,Dublin 2.

PRINCIPAL BANKERSBANK OF IRELAND

AUDITORSO’DONOVAN STEWART & COMPANY LTD., THE MEWS, 10 PEMBROKE PLACE, DUBLIN 2.

LEGAL FIRMSPHILIP LEE SOLICITORS 7/8 WILTON TERRACE, DUBLIN 2.

MazarsBlock 3, Harcourt Centre,Harcourt Road,Dublin 2.

CONSULTANTSCrowe HorwathAccountancy and Business Advisory PracticeMarine House, Clanwilliam Court,Dublin 2.

Employment Law Compliance Provider Graphite HRMBlock W, East Point Business Park, Dublin 3.

Industrial and Employee Relations PractitionerJanet HughesBeag Beg, Caherlistrane,Co. Galway.

Company Secretarial & Corporate Governance ServicesJMDL Corporate Consultants LimitedChater House, 5 Pembroke Row,Dublin 2.

IR / HR Consultant Gareth Kyne Oengus Lodge,Newgrange,Slane, Co. Meath,

Specialist VAT & RCT ConsultantsDermot O’Brien & AssociatesUnit 3, Greenmount Office Park,Harolds Cross, Dublin 6W.

annual report - screen producers ireland€¦ · 3 spi progress report 4 policy papers 5 screen...

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