The Motion Picture Association has announced that it has renewed Chairman and CEO Charles Rivkin’s contract for a third three-year term. Rivkin has led the MPA since January 2018. Under Rivkin’s leadership, the MPA’s achievements have grown in geographical reach and impact. Amid the economic uncertainty coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, the MPA and member studios continued to play a key role in creating jobs and supporting local businesses by protecting and enhancing production incentive programs in key states, including New York, California, Georgia, New Jersey, and Louisiana, and in countries around the world, including Australia, Austria, Canada, France, India, Ireland, New Zealand, and Spain. The MPA also made important progress in pioneering an incentive framework in Mexico.
The MPA operates in almost 20 countries, ensuring its members can produce and distribute their content in every major market, and protecting that content by combating digital piracy across global jurisdictions. In the United States, the MPA worked with local coalitions to secure almost $8 billion in new budget allocations for production incentives last year, which created thousands of middle-class jobs and helped put millions of dollars into local economies. According to the MPA, the film, TV, and streaming industry overall supports more than 2.7 million jobs domestically, including more than $242 billion in wages per year and more than 122,000 businesses.
With MPA members increasingly focused on investing in local productions, safeguarding the streaming economy from onerous regulations has been a key priority. Rivkin played a leading role in organizing the U.S. based Streaming Innovation Alliance (SIA), which is led by a bipartisan team with expertise in technology, telecom, internet, and digital policy to advocate for federal and state policies that build on the strong, competitive, and pro-consumer market for streaming video. The MPA continues to engage in streaming policy debates in key international markets including Argentina, Brazil, India, Mexico, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand.
The Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment, the world’s leading anti-piracy coalition, launched in 2017 and chaired by Rivkin, has grown to almost 60 members today. ACE also recently launched a Sports Piracy Task Force, to tackle the piracy operations that threaten live sports broadcasting and streaming. ACE’s geographical footprint has also grown dramatically with the coalition expanding to Southeast Asia, the Middle East, North Africa and Latin America. Underpinning this growth has been developing robust partnerships with key local law enforcement and other related authorities around the world.
“I’m excited to lead the MPA for a third term and to represent iconic member companies that exemplify ingenuity and innovation. As the world’s largest content creators, co-producing and investing in more local productions than ever before, MPA members are constantly pushing the boundaries of storytelling around the globe to delight audiences everywhere, on every available screen. Our members’ films and series are among the most accessible and prominent cultural exports, and they drive the creative economy both in the United States and overseas,” Rivkin said. “This is the best job in the world, and I look forward to creating new ways for storytellers to reach even bigger audiences in the years ahead.”
“Over the next three years, my team and I will continue to navigate paradigm shifts in technology, advances in distribution models, and changes in consumer tastes and behavior,” Rivkin said. “With each new challenge, I’m confident that the MPA will adapt and help our member companies and the iconic industry we proudly represent to grow even stronger.”
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