Canadian regulator triples US streamers' financial contributions to Canadian content

Audio By Carbonatix

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Large online streaming services must contribute 15% of their Canadian revenues to Canadian content, the country's federal broadcast regulator said Thursday.

That figure is three times the 5% initial contribution requirement the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission, CRTC, set out in 2024, which is being challenged in court by U.S.-based major streamers, including Apple, Amazon and Spotify.

The CRTC made the decision 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.

Contribution requirements for traditional broadcasters in Canada, which currently pay between 30% and 45%, will be lowered to 25%.

“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 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.

Most of the streamers’ financial contribution 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 Canadian ($73 million) annually must direct 30% of spending toward partnerships with Canadian broadcasters and independent producers.

The new financial contribution rules apply to streamers and broadcasters with at least $25 million Canadian ($18 million) in annual Canadian broadcasting revenues.

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.