"We are analyzing all those points in which surely there can be shared visions to improve the efficiency and competitiveness of the Catalan audiovisual industry", answered the president of the Catalan Audiovisual Media Corporation (CCMA), rosa Romà, in reference to a question asked this morning in the control session of the CCMA's performance in Parliament about the corporation's relationship with the independent Catalan audiovisual sector.
After the Federation of Audiovisual Producers (Proa) sent a letter to the CCMA accusing them of not being the driving force of the sector and of underestimating Catalan creativity, Romà has revealed that they are evaluating the information they received fifteen days ago . The document basically denounced “the punishment of local talent and success and the lack of transparency in hiring,” as its president Jordi B. Oliva explained to La Vanguardia.
“Our position, as we say in the Strategic Plan, is that we believe that we have to recover being a driver of the Catalan audiovisual industry and in the Catalan language; That is why we have gone from investing 35 million euros in 2021 in audiovisual content to the 74 million euros that are expected for this year,” Romà said in response to a question from Junts spokesperson, Susanna Bazán.
Romà has also responded to other grievances raised by Proa such as, in addition to the fact that the independent sector is working with the same income and costs as nine years ago while the CPI has increased by 20.9% in this time, the CCMA is penalizing success of a production since if it is contracted for a second season, the producer is obliged to reduce the total cost by 2% to the detriment of its profits.
“Decisions such as the industrial benefit of a second season going from 10% of the first to 8% are made by the previous president of the CCMA, Brauli Duart, which was made at a certain time,” Romà apologized to clarify that now It is analyzing "whether they should be maintained for the reasons that led to them being taken or if we need to understand what the sector is asking for and be able to adapt."
Regarding the grievance raised by Proa that the CCMA penalizes local creative talent by not wanting to admit the cost of an original idea unless it is acquired from a third party, Romà has defended himself by arguing that some projects that are presented "we end up producing in a very joint way and, therefore, there is a part of authorship that we have to recognize but also another for our professionals, who have the knowledge that it works for our audience. That is why, sometimes, these differences in criteria.”
Another point of interest in the session was the opening ceremony of the reopening of the 3cat branch in Perpignan. Specifically, after the professional council of TV3 denounced the participation of the vice president of the Government, Laura Vilagrà, in the event and some statements where she said that the delegation “consolidates the Government project of Països Catalans”, groups such as PSC -Units, Junts or the CUP have accused the Government of instrumentalizing the CCMA.
Romà has avoided evaluating this point and has limited himself to pointing out that the reopening of the delegation in Perpignan after more than a decade of absence is “very good news” and to justifying Vilagrà's presence at the event because the Government has given up the space where the new delegation is located.
The control session was also marked by the signing of the CCMA program contract this Thursday, which contemplates an injection of 1,347 million euros for the next four years and which will allow, according to Romà. “a leap forward.” In this sense, one of the bets will be to redefine the information offer and, for this reason, they will launch an internal process so that CCMA professionals help propose what the information model of the future should be.
Regarding new content, Romà has announced that 3cat will premiere in April the series L'Acadèmia, produced in collaboration with Sony and Brutal Media that will later arrive on Prime Video and that has a budget of more than six million euros. The series, in Catalan and filmed in Barcelona, focuses on a group of young soccer players who train to be stars.
