SPI Releases Economic Impact Study on South African Film and Television Production Incentive Programme

Olsberg•SPI (SPI) is pleased to release its comprehensive assessment of the economic impact of South Africa’s Film and Television Production Incentive Programme for both domestic and international productions.  

Commissioned by the Independent Producers Organisation (IPO) and supported by the Gauteng Film Commission (GFC), Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa (IDC) and Netflix, the Study provides an Economic Impact Assessment (EIA) of the following incentives in the programme over the period of 2015-2025:

·       The South African Film and Television Production Incentive

·       The South African Black Filmmakers Incentive

·       The South African Film and Television Co-Production Incentive

·       The Foreign Film and Television Production and Post-Production Incentive.

The EIA produced robust and valuable information that highlights the clear value of the South African Film and Television Production Incentive Programme. The EIA also served to quantify and corroborate insights and concerns that have been publicly communicated regarding the decline in the reliability and functionality of the incentive programme over the previous five years.

The Study shows a particularly strong overall Return on Investment (ROI) of 5.1 for the South African Film and Television Production Incentive Programme; this healthy ROI figure is particularly influenced by the Foreign Film and Television Incentive, indicating South Africa’s success in servicing high-budget productions, which have a positive impact on the advancement of skills and overall sector growth across the domestic industry. The Study also examines the wider micro-economic impacts of incentivised productions.

In addition to the impact analysis, the Study incorporates a review of incentive best practices according to international industry standards, and provides high-level strategic recommendations to rebuild, strengthen and future-proof the South African Film and Television Production Incentive Programme.

Read the full report here.

For more information on this Study, please contact SPI Senior Research Analyst, Emma Openshaw, at emma@o-spi.com.

Find more information on the IPO here.

Find more information on SPI’s Economic Impact Studies