V I D E O • A G E AP R I L 2 0 1 0 32 TheAmericanfilmandtelevision industry is comprised of 3.5 million professionals including advertisers, lawyers actors, directors, producers, make up artists, writers, animators and set builders. The list goes on and on. The majority of this industry is made up of middle class workers who earn a living wage and contribute over $13 billion annually to federal and state taxes. They also contribute an estimated $500 million a year to various not-for profit trade associations: Professional societies which are distinct from labor unions. The total number of national U.S. film and TV associations is difficult to ascertain. It has been estimated at over 80, and they span every aspect of the industry: Film, broadcast, cable, satellite, IPTV and advertising. In turn, each sector is subdivided into marketing, design, talent, news people and even women (such as AWRT now AWM) and environmental (EMA). Naturally, that number excludes regional trade associations, such as the FloridaMotionPictureandTVAssociation, and national consumer electronic groups such as CEA. Equally difficult is establishing total membership numbers, since many professionalsbelongtoseveralassociations simultaneously. An educated guest, considering redundancies, could place this number at one million members at the national level. Even though guilds and unions are also associations, their main task is to protect and guide their membership in the workplace — rather than provide a social setting. Therefore, they are outside the realm of this article, as are the industry’s lobbying associations such as MPAA (film and TV) and RIAA (music). A few associations were born exclusively as film and TV trade shows, while others evolved into this aspect of the trade industry (which includes the staging of film and TV festivals). Some of the more familiar associations that organize trade shows are NCTA for cable, NAB for hardware, NATPE for international television and IFTA for independent films. Navigating through the myriad of television and motion picture associations requires a precise destination, a dictionary of acronyms and a specific trade. Annual dues start as low as $25 and go up to as much as $5,000, mostly to cover the cost of salaries, publications and special events. There are different levels of membership for corporations and individuals. Most associations offer a student level and premiere membership status. Some associations also offer medical insurance at a discount, such as the satellite TV association, SBCA. Because many industry professionals tend to belong to several associations simultaneously, annual membership fees can run in the order of $1,000 or more. This is without counting costs for evening galas, award ceremony tickets, fund-raising events and advertising in various journals. All of which begs the question: “Are they getting a bang for their buck?” The answer remains elusive. Industry associations have been around since the 1920s and serve many purposes: to promote professionalism and creativity; provide opportunity and support; and protect industry standards, interests or copyrights. Founded in 1927 and dedicated to the advancement of arts and sciences in film, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) has over 6,000 members. The Academy is best known for presenting the industry’s highest honor, the Oscar, for excellence in filmmaking. Membership to the Academy is by invitation of the Board of Governors, and the candidate must be sponsored by at least two members within the branch they wish to join. An Academy-aspiring member is automatically considered qualified for membership if nominated for an Award. The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, (ATAS), was created in 1946 in the earliest days of television. Together with its sister organization, the National Academy of Arts and Sciences (NATAS), it has 20 chapters around the country, totaling 15,000 members. Best known for presenting the Emmy Awards, they’re dedicated to the advancement of arts and sciences in the television industry through the recognition of excellence. Besides voting on the Emmy Awards, ATAS members network and participate in seminars, mixers and a variety of special events and have the added benefit of being eligible for medical insurance. The Hollywood Radio and Television Society (HRTS) was chartered in 1947 and is an organization of West Coast Executives from all fields, including the brightest professionals from the broadcast and cable networks, studios, talent and advertisers. Kevin Beggs, president of HRTS and Lionsgate, commented on the value of being in the organization, saying, “Everyone who is not in it, who is working their way up the career ladder — wants to get in it. They want to be in this room rubbing shoulders with decision makers and the networks and the studios.” He continued: “Membership is at an all time high, higher than we’ve ever been.” PromaxBDA, established in 1956, is a non-profit and membership driven association with over 3,000 member companies. Jonathan Block-Verk, President & CEO, explained, “Too often, industry associations and trade groups are legacy-lead, designed to help their members maintain a status quo and relish in the business models and practices of yesteryear. As an association, I believe it’s our fundamental responsibility to help our members identify emerging monetization trends in the entertainment business, and then drive the industry in that direction.” The National Association of Television and Program Executives is an association dedicated to developing and distributing television programming across all media platforms and providing marketing and meeting opportunities. NATPE membership has grown substantially since the original 71 members first met in 1964. It now numbers over 1,500. NATPE sponsors an annual conference with three days of workshops, exhibits, keynote addresses and awards attracting everyone who is anyone in the industry. The Television Publicity Executives Committee (TPEC) was established in 1985 and is made up of West Coast executives for broadcast and cable networks and production and public relations companies involved with primetime television. The original membership of 11 swelled to 75 in 2010. The requirement that members be top executives was lifted recently and this, combined with the increasing number of cable channels, has allowed for substantial membership growth. Even though TPEC and HRTS tend to be limited territorially, their members are often bi-coastal, thus meriting designation as national organizations. At times, various associations team up for greater causes and impact, like last March when women’s committees from Hollywood unions, guilds and association members — including AFTRA, SAG, WGWA, WIF and PGA — gathered together in celebration of International Women’s Day, raising awareness for the Afghan Women’s Writing Project. All figures reported in this story were checked with the Maryland-based Association Trends magazine, published by Columbia Books, which helped in fine-tuning the estimates. (Valerie Milano from Los Angeles and Dom Serafini from New York contributed to this story) The Big Business of Film And TV Biz Associations M e m b e r s h i p R e w a r d s The Emmy statuette Academy Awards’ Oscar
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