--
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 ...
09/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/10/2026
September 10 2026, 06:00 (PDT) Dolby Expands Dolby OptiView Platform with New Capabilities at IBC 2026
New Sports Intelligence helps providers better unders...
08/10/2026
Modern venues have come a long way since the tinny, echoing audio of the mid 20t...
08/10/2026
ESPN's first Super Bowl production will stream in English and Spanish on Disney+, while the ESPN App carries the full slate of game, ManningCast, studio, an...
08/10/2026
From high-school videoboards to War Eagle Productions, the Opelika native is learning how to lead shows and capture big moments
The future of live sports produ...
08/10/2026
The Television Academy and Prime Video have announced a six-year agreement making Prime Video the exclusive global home of the Emmy Awards beginning with the 20...
08/10/2026
Techex will exhibit at NAB Show New York 2026 (Booth 623, Javits Center, October...
08/10/2026
X Games has announced the appointment of Steve Rogers as Chief Operating Officer. Rogers previously served as COO of World Supercross and spent nearly a decade ...
08/10/2026
Fonn Group has appointed Trevor Spielmann as Sales Director for Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Spielmann joins from EVS, where he held sales and business de...
08/10/2026
The flagship program will originate from major PG events with a four-camera production, live distribution across PGTV, social platforms
Perfect Game is bringin...
08/10/2026
Innovation rarely happens in a vacuum. More often, it happens at the point of collision: when worlds that have run on separate tracks begin to converge. That is...
08/10/2026
For decades, the production and broadcast services business has run on a familia...
08/10/2026
Uplynk, Zixi, BroadView Software, and Grass Valley have published The IP Converg...
08/10/2026
The NFL has announced the return of the Big Data Bowl, the league's analytics competition, now in its ninth year and again powered by AWS. Registration is o...
08/10/2026
Eutelsat has renewed its partnership with T l diffusion d'Alg rie (TDA), Algeria's national broadcasting network operator, for continued distribution of...
08/10/2026
Disney will livestream Super Bowl LXI on February 14, 2027, alongside the game's broadcast on ESPN and ABC. All Disney subscribers in the United States wi...
08/10/2026
RHStv and Red House Streaming have announced an expansion of their partnership w...
08/10/2026
Gray Media has announced a distribution agreement with TEGNA and DAZN to simulca...
08/10/2026
SVG readers can save 10% on registration and receive a complimentary Solutions H...
08/10/2026
PROTON Camera Innovations GmbH has been named a recipient of a 2026 Technology a...
08/10/2026
Industry leaders discuss real-world cloud workflows for live game production, pl...
08/10/2026
The next-gen audio technology joins Dolby Vision as part of Apple TV's immersive F1 experience...
08/10/2026
David France, Jesse Short Bull, Mato Wayuhi, N. Bird Runningwater, Jodi Archambau, Jhane Myers, Paul McGuire, Amber Morning Star Byars, Holly Macarro, Nick Tils...
08/10/2026
Dynamic panning plug-ins get an upgrade
Sound Particles have just announced major updates for two of their popular dynamic panning plug-ins. Energy Panner 2...
08/10/2026
New expandable instrument boasts full DMNO engine
UDO Audio have just announced the upcoming release of a new, expandable synth that packs the power of the ...
08/10/2026
Two new subwoofers added to monitoring line-up
ADAM Audio's monitoring range has just been expanded with two new DSP-equipped subwoofers, the Sub8 PRO a...
08/10/2026
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......
08/10/2026
Calrec gives broadcasters freedom of choice at NAB Show New York We're looking forward to meeting up with you all at NAB New York on 21st-22nd October.
Cal...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Globecast, a leading provider of broadcast, media and entertainment managed services, will showcase its next generation of media orchestration services at NAB S...
08/10/2026
Clear-Com played a critical role in the production communications infrastructure for Rock in Rio 2026, one of the world's largest and most recognized music...
08/10/2026
Sohonet Launches ClearView Rush: A Leap Forward in Studio Review, Built for Crea...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Ikegami announces a major expansion to its range of broadcast-quality live production cameras. Scheduled for introduction on Ikegami booth 708 at NAB New York, ...
08/10/2026
Calrec will be located at Booth 444.
Freedom to choose
The media landscape is evolving quickly, and the broadcasters best placed for what comes next will be...
08/10/2026
LiveU has announced that CRD Audiovisuel relied on LiveUs LU900Q intelligent production unit, with built-in native LiveU IQ (LIQ ) connectivity, to deliver live...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
-- 
