Canadian News and Content Will Now Receive Funding from Online Streaming Services

Online streaming services like Netflix and Spotify are required to start contributing funds towards local news and the creation of Canadian content.

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has mandated on June 4 that foreign streamers must allocate five percent of their annual Canadian revenues into a special fund.

This fund will specifically support the production of local TV and radio news, Indigenous content, French-language content, and content from diverse backgrounds.

The CRTC estimates that this fund will inject around $200 million into Canada’s broadcasting system annually.

Companies that are not affiliated with a Canadian broadcaster and earn at least $25 million from Canadian broadcasting are liable to pay into this fund.

The aim of this directive is to create a fairer landscape between tech giants and traditional broadcasters, as the latter already contribute to Canadian content creation.

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The Canadian Press correction: This is a corrected story. A previous version erroneously stated that the CRTC has directed foreign streamers to pay five percent of their annual Canadian profits into a fund. In fact, it is five percent of their annual Canadian revenues.