Independent Film and Television Alliance

The Independent Film & Television Alliance (IFTA) is the trade association that represents companies that finance, produce and license independent film and television programming worldwide. The association is headquartered in Los Angeles, but has a global membership and wide scope of services and advocacy. Its roster of 150 member companies in 23 countries include independent production and distribution companies, sales agents, television companies, studio-affiliated companies and financial institutions. IFTA members create more than 500 independent films and countless hours of TV programming each year generating a revenue of $4 billion annually.

The freedom for independents to create and distribute movies and television shows has been threatened by a handful of consolidated media companies that control programming and distribution. As the voice and advocate for the independent industry worldwide, IFTA continues to increase public awareness of the major issues facing independents and publicly represents the independent film industry on such matters as the threat to a competitive marketplace seen in media consolidation;net neutrality; the elimination of trade barriers; the impact of new technology on our traditional business models; anti-piracy; improvement of copyright protection around the world; and the need to foster broad-based growth of the industry.

To that end, IFTA executives meet regularly with Washington lawmakers to advocate on behalf of reasonable and limited regulations to restore balance in the television and cable marketplace. IFTA endorses the principles of “net neutrality” or open access to the Internet. Net neutrality is currently threatened if broadband providers are able to discriminate in favor of certain content or applications, potentially replicating the closed and vertically integrated structure with traditional programming and distribution platforms.

In December 2008, IFTA called on the new Obama Administration to appoint an FCC chairman and commissioners who support principles of openness and diversity in the media with an open letter to his transition team, including Julius Genachowski, who was confirmed as the new FCC chairman.

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