Audit finds 'clear disparity' in Knowledge Network funding for filmmakers of colour

An internal audit of Knowledge Network has found a “clear disparity” when it comes to production funding for TV and film producers of colour compared to white producers.

The audit found that over the past seven years, a whopping 98.3 per cent of the B.C. public broadcaster’s $2.054 million pre-licence funding — money paid by the network to kickstart original programming in exchange for first broadcasting rights — went to production companies with what it termed “non-diverse” owners.

On the other hand, only 1.7 per cent of pre-license funding went to production companies owned by people of colour and none was spent on Indigenous-majority-owned production companies.

“There