--
CPA survey results deconstructed --
Tue, 14 Nov 2017 12:13
--
Written byy Bobby Amm, executive officer, the Commercial Producers Association
With South Africa s unstable commercial production industry, and our currently strained economy, the topic of sustainability has been receiving a lot more attention. This has come sharply into focus via the CPA s annual survey, which has revealed some noteworthy results this year.
The annual CPA survey
The CPA runs a survey every year to better understand the magnitude of the industry and to detect prospects, challenges and local trends. The findings are assembled into two groups of results:
1. The whole group: 40 50 contributors per year
2. The control group: 30 South African production companies that participate in the survey every year
Even though the number of participants isn t high relative to the greater industry, most of the heavyweight companies are included, so the results are an adequate reflection of the general industry, we believe. For instance, the control group on its own, turned over R1,25 billion this last year.
The results from 2017
Commercials produced: In total, 703 commercials were produced by the survey participants for a little more than R1.6 billion.
Number of filming days: These ads were shot over 1 680 days, with an average daily budget of over R900 000.
Variety of commercials: More local ads were produced (368) than service ads (305), and South African directors made 30 ads for overseas clients.
Filming landscape: In total, 58 per cent of the ads were shot in the Western Cape, 39 per cent were shot in Gauteng, and only 3 per cent were shot in other regions.
Biggest customers: After South Africa, Germany was our biggest client, with 74 ads made. Next was the United Kingdom with 72, the United States with 51, France with 40, and Scandinavia with 26.
Expense analysis: Almost 50 per cent of production costs go to remunerating the crew and hiring equipment. The other big costs take up: 13 per cent for art and set construction, 5 per cent for location fees, 9 per cent for talent, and 6 per cent for post-production.
Rising location costs: Production is still relatively affordable in Johannesburg, but the increasing costs in Cape Town are making it hard to shoot commercials there. With accessibility to the area limited to those with deep pockets, the city and its surrounds are quickly becoming service-only regions.
How this affects you
From these results, it looks like the industry is dipping, mainly thanks to rising production costs and an insignificant change to turnover. This trend is more gradual in the control group, but it persists suggesting that production budgets aren t growing in line with expenses.
As this gap gets wider, so does the danger to the production industry. It s one we should take note of too, as other countries have taken years to recover after experiencing similar trends.
Impact on global projects
Something else we ve seen is that many CPA members are getting less work from overseas. We think this could be because of variables like:
Universal unease: Trump, Brexit, human trafficking, terrorism the world is a scary and uncertain place these days, so clients are less likely to travel.
Rate of exchange: The UK is no longer our biggest client, mainly because of Brexit and the weakening Pound. The Rand is also getting stronger against the US Dollar and the Euro, which has the potential to make South African production less affordable this season.
Location fatigue: Clients are on the lookout for novel, exciting locations. South Africa appears to have priced itself out of the market, to a point, so other players like Portugal, Thailand, and a few South American regions are preferred.
Politics & economy: SA isn t currently stable, both politically and economically, so clients (particularly newer ones) are choosing safer countries to film in. Plus, with our local recession, prices are up too.
Greedy South African: Some overseas clients believe that SA s succumbed to the greed factor. Production departments are growing and our talent want to earn more for working in remote areas. With less inflation in their home countries than we re familiar here, these clients may struggle to understand our increasing costs.
Bureaucracy: While it may be a lot easier to get a visa and process other admin needed for overseas clients to come to SA, it still isn t ideal; this deters clients from coming to SA. In fact, many jobs are lost annually because an overseas director can t apply for a visa in person.
The future of our industry
The views on the upcoming season are varied, with notable concern coming from experts who market to overseas clients. But it isn t all bad. For instance, South Africa has strengths that many other countries don t, such as:
1. A solid reputation in the production world
2. Hard working crews and quick-thinking solutions
3. Great South African hospitality
Some of the issues affecting our industry are beyond our control. Of the ones we can affect, however, many can be undertaken with some imaginative flexibility and a specific focus on keeping costs down. By working together, we may be able to secure these jobs and turn this downward trend around - for everyone s sake.
Related Articles
-- --
-- --
-- Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. comments powered by Disqus
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
10/06/2026
DAZN-owned digital-media company launches three fan-first series leaning into cr...
10/06/2026
Clear-Com has announced the appointment of Jason Dino as Southwest Regional Sales Manager USA, covering Southern California and the Southwest region. Dino joins...
10/06/2026
An 11% decrease in number of global broadcast deals reflects the organization...
10/06/2026
The Women Without Boundaries Awards recognize women whose work is advancing the future of media, broadcast, AV, workplace technology, digital experience, and re...
10/06/2026
Today is match day minus two for FIFA and HBS. On Thursday, there will be two ma...
10/06/2026
SES is supporting broadcast distribution of the world's biggest football tou...
10/06/2026
NDI has announced that BirdDog has become the first hardware manufacturer to achieve full NDI 6.3 compatibility across its complete lineup of cameras, encoders,...
10/06/2026
Vince Caputo and Scott Carter, winners of the 2026 Sports Emmy for Outstanding Post Produced Audio have been announced as presenters for the 2026 SVG Advanced A...
10/06/2026
FOX One today unveiled a slate of new product features and enhancements designed to elevate the viewing experience for fans on the official streaming platform o...
10/06/2026
Primary production partners Dome Productions and Raycom Sports once again played...
10/06/2026
The Women in Sports Filmmaking Experienceship is an immersive professional devel...
10/06/2026
The league has expanded its HSAN architecture for the NBA Finals to manage more ...
10/06/2026
The inaugural MoonPay X Games League (XGL) Winter Draft will take place Wednesday, September 16, 2026 at Cosm Los Angeles from 7-9 p.m. PT. The event will strea...
10/06/2026
The University of Oklahoma (OU) Athletics Department and Learfield have announce...
10/06/2026
The Video Services Forum (VSF) has released TR-06-4 Part 8, a new specification for RIST Satellite-Hybrid: Out-of-Band Method. The specification creates a mecha...
10/06/2026
Riedel Communications provided the communications infrastructure for the 14th World Live Neurovascular Conference (WLNC) in Lisbon, supporting live medical proc...
10/06/2026
A still from The Doom Generation by Gregg Araki (Courtesy of Sundance Institute)
By Lucy Spicer
Have you checked out our Sundance Film Festival 101 list yet...
10/06/2026
Get Hands-On with Interfaces & Mic Preamp Brands
If youre after a new interface or preamp, then GearExpo UK is the place to be! Well have a whole host of au...
10/06/2026
November 13-14 2026, The Midway, San Francisco
Following their recent rebranding, MONO Music Conference (formerly Music Expo) have officially announced thei...
10/06/2026
Debut instrument free for limited time
deFORM is the debut release from newly founded developer ebbandflow, and it's being offered as a free download fo...
10/06/2026
Alone Australia Season 4: Meet the Cast
10 June, 2026
Media releases
WATCH THE TRAILER
Smash-hit survival series Alone Australia drops its highly anticipa...
10/06/2026
DEADLY THEN, DEADLY NOW, DEADLY ALWAYS: SBS & NITV IGNITE NAIDOC WEEK 2026 WITH ...
10/06/2026
Rohde & Schwarz and TRUMPF advance laser-based drone defense with THORIS LCS Rohde & Schwarz is showcasing THORIS at ILA 2026: A sovereign, end to end counter...
10/06/2026
MAHLE and Rohde & Schwarz develop application for sensor testing of modern drive...
10/06/2026
Production and Development Funding supports the creation of compelling, commercially viable, artistic and culturally relevant South African screen content. Deve...
10/06/2026
Media buyers and sellers can now compare YouTube reach from computer, mobile, an...
10/06/2026
Accedo, Humans not Robots, and the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) have announced the launch of Ecoflow X. Formerly an IBC Accelerator project, ...
10/06/2026
Frequency, the engine powering the world's leading streaming television channels, today announced that James Smith has joined the company as General Manager...
10/06/2026
At the 14th World Live Neurovascular Conference (WLNC) in Lisbon, Riedel Communications provided the communications infrastructure for live medical procedures s...
10/06/2026
Globecast, a leading provider of broadcast, media, and entertainment managed services, today announced the launch of its Content Exchange platform powered by Or...
10/06/2026
Klvr will showcase how venues, integrators and production teams are rethinking disposable battery usage at InfoComm 2026 (Las Vegas, June 17-19, booth #N6311). ...
10/06/2026
The Video Services Forum (VSF) has further enhanced the Reliable Internet Streaming Transport (RIST) protocol by incorporating a new feature, RIST Satellite-Hyb...
10/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
10/06/2026
10 Jun 2026
VEON's Banglalink Brings Every World Cup 2026 Match to Football...
10/06/2026
Wednesday 10 June 2026
How to watch every ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026 match live on Sky Sports
Where is the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026 availabl...
10/06/2026
Wednesday 10 June 2026
P RLA brings first-ever Beautifully Clean Oral Care'...
10/06/2026
Wednesday 10 June 2026
Sky reveals pulse-pounding first teaser trailer for upco...
10/06/2026
Wuppertal June 10, 2026
Riedel Artist at the Heart of the 14th World Live Neurovascular ConferenceAt the 14th World Live Neurovascular Conference (WLNC) in Li...
10/06/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Showcases New Mobile Experience, Collections and Games Vision in APAC
Product
10 June 2026
GlobalSouth KoreaJapan
Link copied to c...
10/06/2026
Back to All News
Ready to Join? The Netflix Fan Club Arrives at Cannes Lions
Business
10 June 2026
Global
Link copied to clipboard
Download all assets
N...
10/06/2026
Chemists snap together complex 3D molecules from highly reactive radicals-without losing their shape Scripps Research team develops stereoretentive radical-radi...
09/06/2026
Kiswe announces an expanded long-term partnership with ONE Championship (ONE), t...
09/06/2026
SiriusXM will broadcast FOX Sports' English-language commentary for all 104 FIFA World Cup 2026 matches from June 11 through July 19, available to subscribe...
09/06/2026
EVS has announced it is changing its corporate name from EVS Broadcast Equipment to EVS, reflecting the company's expanded portfolio beyond broadcast equipm...
09/06/2026
Fox Corporation and the NFL have announced a multi-year agreement to bring NFL c...
-- 
