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Netflix, Amazon Push Back on CanCon Rules at CRTC Hearing
A group representing major global streaming platforms told the CRTC on Friday that foreign services shouldn’t be forced to meet the same Canadian content rules as domestic TV networks.
The Motion Picture Association-Canada (MPA-Canada), which speaks for companies like Netflix and Disney+, said the CRTC should take a more flexible approach as it updates how Canadian content is defined under the country’s new online streaming law.
MPA-Canada also represents Amazon Prime Video, Paramount+, Apple TV+, NBCUniversal, Sony Pictures Entertainment, and Warner Bros. Discovery.
Parliament deliberately chose not to treat global streaming companies like local broadcasters, the group argued, saying the expectations being placed on Canadian broadcasters shouldn’t automatically apply to online services that operate worldwide.
The hearings, which run for two weeks, are part of the CRTC’s process to roll out the Online Streaming Act, aimed at bringing foreign streaming services under some form of Canadian regulation. So far, it has highlighted tensions between legacy media companies and newer digital platforms over who should pay into the country’s cultural system—and how much.
MPA-Canada said it supports investing in Canadian productions but pushed back against any requirement that would force its members to contribute to centralized production funds or purchase content through traditional licensing methods.
“With respect, right now the services are unregulated. So…any investments that they’re making in Canada, they’re making by virtue of business decisions that make sense for their individual services,” said Wendy Noss, the association’s president, according to the Winnipeg Free Press.
Meanwhile, Canadian broadcasters want more balance. Corus, which owns Global TV, urged the CRTC to level the playing field by making all content providers contribute the same share of their Canadian revenue. Corus proposed a 20 per cent contribution rate across the board. Currently, traditional broadcasters contribute up to 30 per cent, while streaming platforms are only required to put in five per cent—a rule that several are now fighting in court.
Several big-name U.S. streamers—including Netflix, Apple, and Paramount—opted out of appearing on the first day of the hearings. American trade groups have also raised concerns that Canada’s regulatory changes could impact cross-border business and violate trade agreements.
In a preliminary stance, the CRTC has said it’s considering keeping the existing system for deciding whether a show or film qualifies as Canadian, which awards points based on whether key creative roles—like writer, director, or lead actor—are held by Canadians.
If the feds force U.S. streamers to pay into CanCon we know what will happen—costs will be passed onto consumers likely, so that means an increase in prices in some shape or form. With the internet, Canadians can watch what they want and when they want. Do we need the CRTC to force Canadian content on us?
The CRTC hearing continues through May 27 in Gatineau, Quebec.
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Yes we do need the CRTC to act to *preserve* Canadian content. If we don’t have them playing that vital role, we will get nothing but American shows, set in America, focused on American subject matter, with American workers producing them. We’ve already seen evidence that the Trump administration will seek to stop American companies from making film and television productions outside of America through protectionist trade practices. If we don’t act to incentivize the production of Canadian content, we won’t have any. As it is, much of the production work that is done in Canada doesn’t focus on Canadian experiences or subject matter. It takes Vancouver and set it as San Francisco or New York or Boston.
Now there are criticisms of the CanCon model, and some of them are very fair. So if we say that we don’t like that model, the question is what other model do we want? We could choose to abandon the CanCon rules, and follow the UK model. In the UK, the BBC is provided sufficient funding to produce high-quality, award-winning British content. With the decades of significant funding they have received and will receive, they can develop and attract the best talent from around the world to produce content that presents the British experience. If folks want to go down that path, it’s a worthy debate that we can have. But abandoning the Canadian content rules altogether will result in little to no content being created and our entertainment media being completely dominated by American stories. Canada will be relegated to the odd mention of some awkward character’s “Canadian girlfriend“. Is that what we want for Canada? Are our stories not worth being told? Should we not be proud of ourselves and want to see ourselves represented on screen?