Hollywood studios have pushed back hard on the CRTC’s order that American streamers must direct 15 per cent of their Canadian revenues into local indie production as part of the country’s Online Streaming law.

“The Motion Picture Association strongly condemns the CRTC’s decision to impose unprecedented, unnecessary, and discriminatory investment obligations on American streaming services operating in Canada,” Motion Picture Association chairman and CEO Charles Rivkin reports The Hollywood Reporter.

That Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission ruling states “online broadcasters,” which includes Netflix and other American streamers, will contribute 15 per cent of revenues from operating in the Canadian market to underwrite homegrown media content. That includes indigenous content production and French-language content and news.

The CRTC ruling follows the Canada’s Online Streaming Act becoming law in 2023.

“Under the new rules, broadcasters with annual Canadian broadcasting revenues above $25 million will make meaningful contributions to the broadcasting system. No broadcasters below that threshold will be required to spend on Canadian content, which will reduce the overall regulatory burden in the system,” the CRTC said.

The MPA says “this burdensome framework unfairly targets global streamers with requirements that directly violate Canada’s obligations under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA),” a trade arrangement currently being renegotiated between Canada, the US and Mexico amid an ongoing tariff war. The MPA put its support behind the Republican-led Protecting American Streaming and Innovation Act, which could lead to new tariffs on Canadian exports.

Canada’s Online Streaming Act obligates US and other digital platforms to subsidise local film, TV and music production.

Implementation of the Online Streaming Act, which initially called for American streamers to contribute five per cent of their local revenues to homegrown production, has been held up by a Federal Court of Appeals challenge.

“American studios and streaming services are already the top foreign investors in Canada’s film and TV ecosystem — delivering content to Canadian audiences and sharing Canadian stories with the world. This decision triples the cost of doing business in Canada and will spark even more inflation in the market, making further investment and innovation less attractive. For years, the MPA has consistently made clear that Canada’s Online Streaming Act is an unfair trade practice. We urge the Canadian government to reconsider this approach,” the MPA said.

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Categories: Articles, Business, Content, Regulation

Tags: canada, Charles Rivkin, CRTC, mpa