Large TV streaming services like Netflix must contribute 15 per cent of their Canadian revenues to Canadian content, the federal broadcast regulator said Thursday.
That’s three times the five-per-cent initial contribution requirement the CRTC set out in 2024, which is being challenged in court by major streamers, including Apple and Amazon.
Contribution requirements for traditional broadcasters, which currently pay between 30 and 45 per cent, will be lowered to 25 per cent.
“The total contributions are expected to stabilize the funding at more than $2 billion in support of Canadian and Indigenous content, such as French-language content and news,” the regulator said in a press release.
The CRTC made the decisions as part of its implementation of the Online Streaming Act, which the U.S. has identified as a trade irritant ahead of trade negotiations with Canada.
Scott Shortliffe, the CRTC’s vice-president of broadcasting, told reporters Thursday the CRTC is not involved in trade negotiations.
“Because we’re an arm’s length quasi-judicial tribunal, we are not in touch with the government about the status of trade negotiations. We’re applying Canadian law in Canada,” he said.
“We believe that they will be respected by these companies. Whether they choose to challenge them through any of the measures that are available in Canadian law is, of course, totally up to them.”
The CRTC also set out rules on how the money must be spent for both streamers and broadcasters, including contributions toward production funds and direct spending on Canadian content.
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Most of the streamers’ financial contributions can go toward content, though the CRTC is imposing rules on how that money must be spent for the largest streamers.
For instance, streamers with Canadian revenues of more than $100 million annually must direct 30 per cent of spending toward partnerships with Canadian broadcasters and independent producers.
Large Canadian broadcasters will have to direct at least 15 per cent of their contributions toward news.
The new financial contribution rules apply to streamers and broadcasters with at least $25 million in annual Canadian broadcasting revenues. The decision covers audiovisual programming, meaning it affects traditional TV broadcasters and online services that stream television content.
The regulator also said Thursday online streamers will have to take steps to ensure Canadian and Indigenous content is available and visible to audiences.
“This will make it easier for people to find this content on the platforms they use, while giving broadcasters flexibility in how they meet the new expectations,” the CRTC said in the release.
Details of those requirements will be determined at a later time.
“We’re not imposing a system-wide series of requirements now. We’re saying that we will work with each group, whether it is a domestic broadcasting group or a streaming group, to say how can you best fulfil these general principles, and that will be forthcoming,” said Shortliffe.
The CRTC is also establishing a new fund to support specific TV channels, including CPAC, the Canadian service that provides direct coverage of political events. CPAC recently cancelled two flagship programs, citing “accelerating revenue decline,” an uncertain broadcasting landscape and delays by the CRTC in modernizing the broadcast system
The Services of Exceptional Importance Fund will replace a funding mechanism which sees TV service providers like cable companies pay wholesale rates on a per-subscriber basis.
Shortliffe said that funding base has been in decline, noting “this has put a lot of strain on those services.”
All the American shills in the comment section are laughable. Canadians don’t read Global News.
CRTC is getting out of hand and needs to be reigned in. 15% Canadian content is 15% too much. Has anyone at CRTC even watched any of the Canadian content foisted on viewers. Good luck. The CRTC’s extortion fund is going to dry up once these streaming channels decide to just say no and divert Canada altogether.
A tax by any other name. All this is going to do is put prices up and nobody is going to watch the content these companies are being made to include. Gem is a joke the programming is garbage and you get the same government propaganda advertising over and over it’s no wonder they don’t try to charge money because they would never survive in an open market. If people want to watch Canadian content they can go to CBC or Gem after all they are funded by the taxpayer so it doesn’t matter if they are losing money.
This reminds me of taking Air Canada flights and looking through the “new releases”, seeing a bunch of Quebec and other niche movies i have never heard of and dont want to watch. Thanks government, doing a great job as usual
Dumb
Not going to end well for the consumer.
Hope people like government propaganda like CBC.
Hate to warning from Global about posting comments to quickly. I’m not as slow as some of youre readers. Thanks.
Cool so this is how we loose streaming services in Canada hope everyone really likes cbc gem and whatever global and ctvs streamers are
CRTC essentially the government gangster looking for their 15% cut. No I don’t want to pay, I’m tired of billions going to media in Canada that I have willingly choosen not to support.
So Canadian citizens have to support free press by monetarily supporting the News organizations that suppress free press. Got it. Welcome to Communism
Took my comment off…control control…
Good.
We need to defund CRTC. The internet is global. As such global videos and content will prevail. If Canadian content is good, it will get viewed. – no need for CRTC any more.
If I were the streaming services i’d probably just shut down in Canada.
It doesn’t matter what government is in power. Why do we have to continue to subsidize a company 1 billion dollars annually, that wouldn’t happen in the private sector. Give us a vote, and we all know what would happen!
Great, here come price hikes. Howcome other content doesn’t need government mandated extra payments? Meta has already blocked.Canadian News from their platforms. Streaming companies should just block Canadian content. I wasn’t planning on watching Little Mosque on a Prairie, Drag kids, or this new “prank” show aimed to shame and villify Canadian citizens who speak up that the CBC and APTN have been working on that isanyways. The CRTC have become.extortionists.
Okay, and then they are going to obviously raise their prices… So the government will get a nice little payday, the streaming services will have a week of work to adjust their prices, and the taxpayer will be stuck footing another increased bill. Not sure what else I expected from this government, anything to squeeze every penny out of taxpayers wallets.
Paid for by the tax payers to increase the wasteful support of cbc
Pretty soon we will only have the CBC propaganda channel to watch. You can thank a liberal supporter.