CRTC. Credit: Facebook page of CRTC
Ottawa/CMEDIA: Big streaming companies won’t have to pay for Canadian content until it hears their appeal of a Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) decision ordering them to pay, the Federal Court of Appeal has said.
Foreign streamers were required to contribute five percent of their annual Canadian revenues to a fund devoted to producing domestic content, including local TV and radio news, CRTC has said in June.
The money will be used to boost funding for local and Indigenous broadcasting, officials from the CRTC have said in a briefing.
Introduced under the auspices of a law passed last year, the measure was designed to ensure that companies like Netflix make a more significant contribution to Canadian culture.
This legislation will ensure, the government has said, that online streaming services promote Canadian music and stories, and support Canadian jobs.
Funding will also reportedly be directed to French-language content and content created by official language minority communities, as well as content created by equity-deserving groups and Canadians of diverse backgrounds.
While applauded by the CRTC’s decision, other Canadian organizations, like the Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA) that the measure are concerned that Canadians will ultimately foot the bill.
Canada isn’t the first country to ask foreign streamers to direct domestic revenues toward local content. France set similar rules in 2021, requiring streamers to allocate 20 to 25 percent of revenues to European and French content creation.
Big global streamers like Netflix and Disney Plus, have launched court challenges of that order, under the Online Streaming Act made by the regulator
Earlier this month, the Federal Court of Appeal agreed to hear the case.
The streamers won’t have to make the payments, estimated to be at least $1.25 million each annually, until that court process plays out, a judge has said Monday.
The parties have come to an agreement to an expedited schedule, meaning the court hearing would take place in June before the bulk of the money is due in August.
