Advanced Television

Motion Picture Association unifies global brand

September 20, 2019

By Colin Mann

The trade association that represents the leading producers and distributors of film, television, and streaming content is updating and unifying its brand. The group’s worldwide advocacy and content protection operations will now have a single, consistent name and logo – reflecting the global entertainment industry and following other recent changes to equip a more globally aligned organisation that can better serve its member companies.

The association will be known domestically and internationally as the ‘Motion Picture Association. Regional divisions around the world will use the ‘Motion Picture Association’ name, in addition to a geographic identifier – including in the United States. An updated version of the iconic ‘globe and reel’ logo that is so familiar to American moviegoers will now be used by all regional offices. Previously used versions of the logo will be phased out in the coming weeks and months. The Motion Picture Association’s unified URL is www.motionpictures.org.

“In the nearly 100 years since our founding, the film and television industry has rapidly grown and evolved, and the stories we tell now reach every corner of the world,” said Motion Picture Association Chairman and CEO Charles H. Rivkin. “The Motion Picture Association has evolved too, as have the challenges we face – from defending the creative expression of storytellers, to protecting our members’ content, to expanding access to international markets. This new, unified global brand better reflects today’s dynamic content creation industry, the multi-platform distribution models of our companies, and the worldwide audiences we all serve.”

In 2018, international markets outside the US and Canada accounted for 71 per cent of the total box office and almost 60 per cent of digital home entertainment revenue. The industry also generates $17.2 billion in exports and registers a positive trade balance with nearly every country in the world.

The Motion Picture Association today is active in every region in the world. With its global headquarters in Washington, D.C. and a presence in 27 countries around the world, the organisation has offices in Los Angeles, Toronto, Hong Kong, Singapore, Brussels, Mexico City, Brasilia, and São Paulo.

Unifying the Motion Picture Association brand is the latest initiative under Chairman Rivkin’s leadership, which has also included the addition of Netflix as a member studio earlier this year and the elevation of Gail MacKinnon to Senior Executive Vice President of Global Policy and Government Affairs, overseeing all government affairs functions around the world. Earlier in September 2019, the Motion Picture Association returned to its newly-renovated headquarters in Washington and will begin hosting screenings and other events this autumn.

From its inception in 1922, representing a then fledgling industry operating primarily in Southern California, the association was founded as the ‘Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America’. The name was updated in 1945 as the ‘Motion Picture Association of America’. Outside of the United States, the organisation has been known as the ‘Motion Picture Association’ since 1994.

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