LEADERSHIP
AT THIS TIME of year , the entertainment industry is at the forefront in North America . In February the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences honored exemplary work at the Oscars ; to the north , in March the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television celebrates its best and brightest during Canadian Screen Week , which culminates in the Canadian Screen Awards on March 13 .
These awards may be longstanding traditions , but the industry itself is changing rapidly — as technology evolves , viewers are changing the way they consume entertainment .
Michael Hirsh has been watching this evolution for decades . As co-founder of Nelvana Limited and TeleTOON Canada , Hirsh has built a career as one of the biggest behind-the-scenes names in Canadian television . Today as co-founder and principal at The Entertainment and Media Finance Group Inc . ( TEAM ), he continues that career in providing financing and advisory services to film and television producers . This path has afforded Hirsh a long-term bird ’ s eye view of the industry he serves , so we caught up with him to find out how that industry is changing and where it ’ s headed .
BUSINESS REVIEW NORTH AMERICA : Tell us about the state of the industry ?
MICHAEL HIRSH : Canadian television at the moment is going through a bit of a sea change . The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission ( CRTC ) mandated some changes in how cable channels are bundled , so people are unsure as to what the marketplace reaction to that will be .
That ’ s causing some uncertainty — broadcasters want to try and delay some of the buying until they see how the marketplace absorbs the changes .
Then on the movie side , the issue is disruption of the traditional distribution patterns with the sharp decline in
14 March 2016