OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Major streaming platforms operating in Canada will now be required to dedicate 15% of their earnings from Canadian subscribers to support domestic content production, according to an announcement Thursday from the nation’s federal broadcast regulator.
The new mandate represents a threefold increase from the previous 5% requirement that the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission, CRTC, established in 2024. U.S.-based streaming giants including Apple, Amazon and Spotify are currently fighting that original mandate in court.
The CRTC’s ruling comes as part of implementing the Online Streaming Act, legislation that the United States has flagged as a trade concern in advance of upcoming trade discussions with Canada.
Meanwhile, traditional Canadian broadcasters will see their contribution obligations reduced from the current range of 30% to 45% down 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 has also outlined specific guidelines governing how both streaming services and traditional broadcasters must allocate these funds, including mandatory contributions to production funds and direct investment in Canadian programming.
While streaming platforms can direct most of their required contributions toward content creation, the CRTC has established spending restrictions for the largest operators.
Streaming services earning more than $100 million Canadian ($73 million) annually from Canadian subscribers must allocate 30% of their spending toward collaborative projects with Canadian broadcasters and independent content creators.
These new contribution mandates will affect streaming platforms and broadcasters generating at least $25 million Canadian ($18 million) in yearly Canadian broadcasting income.
The CRTC is additionally creating a specialized fund to support particular television channels, including CPAC, the Canadian service that provides direct coverage of political events.
