Canadian regulator triples US streamers' financial contributions to Canadian content

Canada's federal broadcast regulator, CRTC, has increased the contribution requirement for online streaming services to 15% of their Canadian revenues, tripling the initial 5% requirement.

Large online streaming services must contribute 15 per cent of their Canadian revenues to Canadian content, the country's federal broadcast regulator said Thursday.

That figure is three times the 5 per cent initial contribution requirement the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission, CRTC, set out in 2024, which is being challenged in court by US-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 US has identified as a trade irritant ahead of trade negotiations with Canada.

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

''The total contributions are expected to stabilise the funding at more than USD 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 USD 100 million Canadian (USD 73 million) annually must direct 30 per cent of spending toward partnerships with Canadian broadcasters and independent producers.

The new financial contribution rules apply to streamers and broadcasters with at least USD 25 million Canadian (USD 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.