Canada Requires 5% Broadcast Contribution From US Streamers

Online streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Spotify are now required to contribute 5% of their Canadian revenue to fund Canadian content production, Canada’s broadcast regulator said Tuesday. The Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission announced the requirement under the Online Streaming Act, a new law aimed at modernizing Canadian broadcasting and ensuring “meaningful contributions to Canadian and Indigenous content.” The requirement begins in the 2024-25 broadcast year. Estimates are that it will generate $200 million per year in funding. The money will be “directed to areas of immediate need in the Canadian broadcasting system, such as local news on radio and television, French-language content, Indigenous content, and content created by and for equity-deserving communities,” CRTC said. Canada’s decision contradicts its digital trade commitments and could result in higher prices for consumers, the Computer & Communications Industry Association said Tuesday. U.S. companies already fulfill the goals of this law through “significant investment” and content distribution that exposes the public to Canadian artists and creators, CCIA Vice President of Digital Trade Jonathan McHale said. “Punishing suppliers of online content with hefty additional funding obligations, 5% of Canadian revenues, is both onerous and unnecessary, given the vitality of the Canadian content market.”