Hollywood’s streaming gold rush is still in full swing in Ontario despite the Netflix setback

With Hollywood in need of viable programming as streamers start to tighten their belts, local studio operators are seeing openings in Ontario as major studios get big cash and tax credits.

Ontario is scheduled to add an additional 2.3 million square feet of studio space to the existing 3.7 million square feet of studio and production space over the next four years. Amid speculation that the video streaming market is finally overvalued, studio operators in and around Toronto don’t expect major streaming services to significantly reduce spending on content, at least not anytime soon.

“Netflix, Amazon, Apple, they’re still producing. filter below [content] relegation, we haven’t experienced that,” said Paul Bronfman, president and CEO of studio operator Comweb Corp. the hollywood reporter How the Toronto Film Festival kicks off amid Hollywood spending cuts.

“There’s a little more caution in the air that Netflix has taken for streamers, a little more discretionary spending, but it’s not widespread in terms of deep production cuts,” adds Rick Perrotto, business development representative at William F. White International, supplier of production equipment and sound stages.

After Netflix recently reported its first subscriber losses and slow revenue growth, the video streaming giant said it was “regressing” on “content and non-content spending growth”. This led to numerous layoffs and cancellations at HBO Max.

This sparked speculation in Hollywood amid an arms race for Peak TV and streaming spending that will lead to an industry-wide belt-tightening. Karen Thorne-Stone, president and CEO of Ontario Creates, which markets the province of Los Angeles, says the Ontario industry is dealing with ongoing disruptions to the streaming business.

“Change and evolution in this sector are constant. Most importantly, our services are structured in such a way that we can adapt and be flexible,” he says. THR. Thorne-Storne adds that Ontario will continue to weave in response to changing industry conditions.

“Our value proposition is strong enough that content creators come to Ontario to do so because of the extraordinary talent we have, the enhanced and competitive incentives, and because we are responsive and agile,” he says.

This flexibility for Ontario’s industry includes the province’s planning to add an additional 2.3 million square feet of studio space to the existing 3.7 million square feet of production and stage space over the next four years.

“What’s exciting is that there are so many sets being built in Metro Toronto and beyond,” adds Justin Cutler, Ontario Film Commissioner. Cutler points to 54 live-action projects underway in Ontario, a record for the locally produced industry.

For the future of the provincial industry, Ontario Creates is leading the way in increasing the training and hiring of production teams and talent behind the scenes. “I know that our unions and guilds are taking this seriously and have launched a number of outreach programs,” Cutler said.

Given the expansion of the studio building, local gamers are seeing major studios and streamers return to Ontario to settle down after filming in other parts of the world. “They are returning to major markets and Toronto is one of them,” says Eoin Egan, COO and Managing Partner at Cinespace Studios.

This means that production teams and local creatives go from project to project to meet the demands of US producers for local filming. “A lot of the line producers worked together, which is great, and a lot of department heads too. We see this trend continuing,” adds Egan.

And as Hollywood streamers continue to produce content to hook subscribers, local studio operators find they are spending smarter. “There will be better shows,” says Michael Serenzi, CEO and founder of Stratagem Studios. “There will be more discretion. That’s nice”.

Actor Avan Jogia’s directorial debut and neo-noir thriller produced by Jason Ross Jallett door mousein Sudbury, starring Hayley Lowe. He argues that new movie studios in northern Ontario are needed for bigger-budget Hollywood projects to move north beyond Toronto.

“The Ontario industry is getting busier, [greater Toronto] The studio space is expanding more and more. There is a lot of potential in Northern Ontario and that will contribute to what we are doing,” said Jalet. THR.

Another potential growth opportunity for Toronto could be the rise in feature film productions, which have moved more to Vancouver in recent years as Ontario has ramped up television production.

Meanwhile, Hollywood will continue to flock to Ontario in search of foreign currency savings and generous tax breaks. “These two things will continue to put us in a good position,” says TriBro Studios president Peter Apostolopoulos of the low Canadian dollar and tax breaks.