In a pushback against new Canadian regulations, streaming companies are seeking to overturn rules that require them to contribute to local news. The Motion Picture Association-Canada (MPA-Canada), representing major players such as Netflix and Walt Disney Co., filed applications in federal court seeking to appeal the rules and request a judicial review.
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) announced in June that online streaming services must allocate 5 percent of their Canadian revenues to support the domestic broadcasting system and news generation. MPA-Canada argued that the CRTC’s decision lacked a rationale for foreign companies to fund news production, labeling it as unreasonable.
Despite this criticism, the CRTC justified the funding as necessary for critical areas within the broadcasting system, such as supporting local news on radio and television, French-language programming, and Indigenous content. However, due to ongoing legal proceedings and the impending effective date of the rules in September, which is projected to generate around 200 million Canadian dollars annually, the regulator remained silent on further commentary.
Implemented under a law enacted last year by the federal government aimed at promoting Canadian culture, music, storytelling while fostering employment opportunities in Canada’s media industry, these new regulations have also affected other streaming platforms like Paramount, Sony, NBCUniversal and Warner Bros Discovery.