Abstract

This thesis is a corporate case study of major Canadian broadcaster and distributor Alliance Atlantis, an examination of the company in the context of the Canadian film and television industry at the end of the twentieth century in order to shed light on what it is to be a mini-major studio and how a company such as Alliance Atlantis responds to changes in the industry in which it operates. In chapter one, I begin with a broad overview of the origins of the film and television production industry in Canada in order to provide context around the founding of Alliance and Atlantis. From there, I trace the growth of the two companies through several key events, up to just before they merged. Chapter two begins with a discussion of various media mergers that had taken place in North America in the 1990s and 2000s. The merger of Alliance and Atlantis and the response that that event garnered from the industry is then explored, as is the company's subsequent growth, particularly in the area of broadcasting. I begin chapter three with a discussion of the state of Canada's production industry in the early 2000s, and then move into Alliance Atlantis' announcement that it was exiting the business of production. The chapter ends with an assessment of how the decision to shut down the production side of its business has paid off for Alliance Atlantis. By the end of this thesis, it is clear that Alliance Atlantis has diverged dramatically from its production origins, and instead identifies itself first and foremost as a broadcaster.