Apply for production funds for your professional film, television or digital media project

The Media Production Fund provides funding for the production of a professional film, television or digital media project. You must demonstrate market demand for the project in the form of a:

• licence agreement
• letter of interest

You must have a minimum of 3 Yukoners in key positions.

What's a key position?

Key positions are typically heads of department or a senior role on production. Each of the 3 required key positions must be filled by a different Yukon resident. You can review the current list of accepted positions in the business guidelines.

How much funding is available?

You can receive a minimum rebate of 25 per cent of your Yukon spend that we approve under the Media Production Fund.

The 25 per cent rebate increases by:

• 2 per cent for each Yukon resident filling a key position, beyond the required minimum of 3, to a maximum of 10 per cent.
• up to 5 per cent for projects where there's Yukon ownership.

The maximum potential rebate per project is 40 per cent of Yukon spend.

Application deadline

We are accepting applications to the Media Production Fund for the 2023–24 fiscal year. The program is closed for the year once we've distributed all the available funds.

Applications for the 2024–25 fiscal year will open on March 18, 2024.

If we receive multiple complete applications within 10 business days of the opening date, we'll prioritize them based on evaluation criteria in the business guidelines.

You can only receive funding from the Media Production Fund once per project.

Eligible production companies

To be eligible, your production company must:

• be incorporated in the Yukon;
• be registered to conduct business in the Yukon;
• be in good standing with Government of Yukon Corporate Affairs;
• have a Yukon business address;
• be a production company primarily in the business of developing and producing professional media content;
• be a for-profit company subject to Canada’s Income Tax Act;
• have the rights to produce and exploit the project; and
• maintain a financial stake in the project.

Ineligible companies

Your production company must not be:

• in the business of broadcasting or distributing content;
• related to someone in the business of broadcasting or distributing content; and
• in default with the Government of Yukon.

The project must be a professional film, television or digital media project with an economic benefit to the Yukon.

Returning series

Returning series are eligible and can apply once per year.

What projects are not eligible?

The program does not provide funding for:

• interactive content not eligible for licensing;
• user-generated, non-professional videos by amateurs without formal training or experience;
• news;
• current events;
• public affairs programming;
• weather reports;
• market reports;
• sports events or activities;
• gala presentation or an awards show;
• production that solicits funds;
• pornography;
• advertising, including commercials and infomercials;
• a production produced primarily for industrial, corporate or institutional purposes;
• a production mainly consisting of stock footage, other than a documentary; and
• the production of a game, questionnaire or contest, other than a production directed at minors

The costs eligible for funding are:

• development costs;
• salary, wages or other fees for production personnel;
• costs for renting production equipment;
• post-production costs;
• unit publicity costs incurred during production;
• producer fees and corporate overhead;
• accounting fees; and
• arm’s-length legal costs.

 

Costs incurred more than 12 months before the funding agreement are not eligible, with limited exceptions.

Before you apply

• Review the program policy
• Read the business guidelines
• Contact Media Development to discuss your application.

Letters of commitment

In addition to funding, you can apply for letters of commitment known as “comfort letters”. You must show that at least 30 per cent of your funding is in place, not including the amount you requested from the Media Production Fund. A letter of commitment expires 4 months from the date we issue it.

Application intake

We are accepting applications to the Media Production Fund for the 2023–24 fiscal year. The program is closed for the year once we've distributed all the available funds.

Applications for the 2024–25 fiscal year will open on March 18, 2024.

You can only receive funding from the Media Production Fund once per project.

What you need to apply

You must submit the following documents with your application:

Project details:

• a completed and signed application form;
• a summary of the project;
• any existing creative materials;
• a description of activities and deliverables to be completed;
• a letter of commitment, licence agreement or deal memo from the broadcaster, distributor or online platform;
• a project schedule that shows that principal photography or key animation will begin in the same fiscal year that it's funded and that you'll deliver it to the distributor within 24 months;
• a Yukon locations list;
• a related party transaction list; and
• chain of title showing you have the rights to exploit the project.

Project budget:

• a financing plan for production, including letters of commitment equivalent to 100 per cent of the production budget, including Media Development’s funding contribution, detailing:
  • the terms;
  • conditions; and
  • value of the contributions from financial sources;
• a production budget, including your estimated Yukon spend in each line item

You can find downloadable templates for development and production budgets and cost reports at Canada Media Fund.

If you have questions about production budgets email reel.yukon@yukon.ca

Company and crew details:

• a description of the production company, including:
  • the structure and ownership
  • the names and addresses of shareholders
  • incorporation documents;
• an overview of all the personnel involved in the project, including the positions that will be filled by Yukon residents; and
• a residency declaration for each Yukon resident.

Supporting documents:

• Co-production agreement verification
• Yukon residency declaration form 

How to apply to the Media Production Fund

1. Download and complete the application form.
2. Submit the application form and all required documentation.
   In person: 303 Alexander Street, 2nd floor, in Whitehorse
   Our office is open Monday to Friday, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
   Email: reel.yukon@yukon.ca (only if your files are under 10 MB in total)
   Mail:
   Government of Yukon
   Media Development (F-1)
   Box 2703
   Whitehorse, Yukon Y1A 2C6

Your Media Development advisor will tell you which templates to use and submit for final reporting.

• Affidavit for final costs
• Expenditure report

If required, we'll send you templates for the:

• Cash flow report
• Final cost report

Credit the Government of Yukon

You are required to credit the Government of Yukon on:

• all versions and copies of your project; and
• all promotional materials related to your project.

Provide this credit by stating, "Produced with the participation of" and include the Government of Yukon logo. Follow the logo guidance starting on page 9 of our brand standards.

Review the business guidelines and your transfer payment agreement for guidelines specific to your project.