Media Industries

Bookmarks on this page: Sector Highlights Capabilities Competitive Strengths Trends Key Players Related Links Contacts

Sector Structure

Manitoba’s media industries represent a diverse cluster of activity in print, film and sound and digital media.

Dominant Activities:

• Commercial printing
• Film & audio recording production
• Web development
• Digital media productions
• Computer animation & special effects

Structure & Concentration :

• Commercial Printing —There are approximately 215 companies in Manitoba in printing and related support industries, approximately 90% of which are small and medium sized firms. In 2005, printing shipments were valued at approximately $445 million, with exports of $189.4 million.

• Film & Sound — The total value of productions undertaken in Manitoba exceeded $125 million in 2005-2006 and employed an estimated 800 persons.
  
  The industry consists of: Manitoba based independent production, private broadcaster in-house production, co-productions between Manitoba producers and Canadian or international producers, and foreign production in Manitoba.

• Digital Media — There are an estimated 230 digital media companies in Manitoba. In addition to independent private companies, numerous firms in the traditional media areas (advertising, public relations, radio and television) have developed in-house digital media services by adopting new technologies for the benefit of their clients and/or themselves.

Highlights

• Manitoba's film industry (including indigenous and off-shore production) has grown from $9.6 million in 1992/93 to about $125 million in 2005/2006.

• Manitoba’s commercial printing exports have grown over 300% in the last decade: from $44.1 million in 1995 to $189.4 million in 2005.

• Winnipeg’s Frantic Films, was listed for the fourth consecutive year in PROFIT magazine’s 2007 Top 100 ranking of Canadian companies. With headquarters in Winnipeg and offices in Vancouver, Los Angeles, and Sydney Australia, the company has built a global reputation for stunning visual effects, and counts among its clients 20th Century Fox, Paramount Pictures Corp., Warner Bros., CanWest Global Communications Corp., ABC Television, History Channel and Life Network. Its visual effects were used extensively in the recent Warner Bros. feature film, Superman Returns. Other recent projects include Scooby Doo 2, X2: X-men United, The Core, and The Italian Job.
  
  Note: Frantic Films is up for two Academy Awards 2007 for best visual effects for two movies they worked on: Superman Returns and Poseidon.

Sector Capabilities

Printing & Publishing	Film	New Media
graphic design pre-press bindery digital asset management full process-colour offset, web, flexo or digital presses	animation feature films documentaries multi-media made for tv movies television series	computer animation visual effects video game development web development digital content development & publishing digital content broadcasting & distribution software development

Some areas of print specialization include: business forms, lottery tickets, security printing, airline tickets, digital colourization of comic books, automated bindery systems.

Competitive Strengths

• Education & Training — Manitoba has a number of educational institutions that provide programs supporting the media industries. Programs in film are available at Film Training Manitoba, the Winnipeg Film Group, Video Pool Inc., the University of Manitoba and the University of Winnipeg. Red River College and other private training institutions offer programs related to new media. Skills development for the printing and publishing companies is provided by Red River College, Winnipeg Technical College and a number of high schools with technical programs.

• Industry Associations:
  
  
  • On Screen Manitoba (formerly the Manitoba Motion Picture Industry Association)
  • Manitoba Music
  • New Media Manitoba
  • Association of Manitoba Book Publishers
  • Winnipeg Film Group
  • Video Pool Inc.

• Factor strengths — The Manitoba industry has a number of economic factor advantages, including: a highly skilled and creative workforce (both technical and artistic), competitive wages/salaries, low occupancy costs, the lowest electricity costs in North America, unimpeded access to North American markets, and an advanced telecommunications infrastructure.

• Government assistance – The industry benefits from generous provincial and federal tax credit programs for film/video production and for R&D; and financial assistance is available for the development, production, and marketing/distribution of interactive digital media products, through the Manitoba Interactive Digital Media Fund.

Trends

• Technology-driven convergence — Digitization of data is reshaping all the communication industries, blurring the distinctions between film, sound recording, publishing and new media formats. Digital technology makes it possible to look at all of these elements together. As a result there are new opportunities for partnerships between various cultural industries players, to create entirely new kinds of products. Broadcast capability is also expanded by technology, from the traditional (TV, radio) to high speed Internet and High Definition Television (HDTV).

Key Players

Printing	Digital media	Film Production
Pollard Banknote Duha Color Services Friesens Corp. FP Canadian Newspapers LP	Frantic Films IC Group KidsWebTv Inc. Digital Pictureworks	Buffalo Gals Pictures Canwest Global Communications Corp.

Contact Info

Mr. Rod Higgins
Manitoba Science, Technology, Energy and Mines
Tel: (204) 945-0723
Fax: (204) 945-3977
rod.higgins@gov.mb.ca
www.gov.mb.ca/est/knowledge/

Ms. Linda English,
Manitoba Science, Technology, Energy and Mines
Tel: 204-945-3307
Fax: 204-945-3977
E-mail: linda.english@gov.mb.ca
Web: www.gov.mb.ca/stem/knowledge

Related Links

• Manitoba Companies Directory
• Knowledge Enterprises Branch
• Communications Technologies Profile
• Interactive Digital Media Profile
• Canadian Printing Industries Association