|
Canadian regulator triples US streamers'
financial contributions to Canadian content
[May 22, 2026]
OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Large online streaming services must
contribute 15% of their Canadian revenues to Canadian content, the
country's federal broadcast regulator said Thursday.
That figure is three times the 5% initial contribution requirement the
Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission, CRTC, set
out in 2024, which is being challenged in court by U.S.-based major
streamers, including Apple, Amazon and Spotify.
|
Music streaming apps, clockwise from top left, Apple, Spotify, Amazon
and Google are displayed on an iPhone in New York, Jan. 28, 2018. (AP
Photo/Jenny Kane, File) |
|
The
CRTC made the decision as part of its implementation of the
Online Streaming Act, which the U.S. has identified as a trade
irritant ahead of trade negotiations with Canada.
Contribution requirements for traditional broadcasters in
Canada, which currently pay between 30% and 45%, will be lowered
to 25%.
“The total contributions are expected to stabilize the funding
at more than $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 $100
million Canadian ($73 million) annually must direct 30% of
spending toward partnerships with Canadian broadcasters and
independent producers.
The new financial contribution rules apply to streamers and
broadcasters with at least $25 million Canadian ($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.
All contents © copyright 2026 Associated Press. All rights reserved
|
|
|
