Crtc formalizes 15 per cent revenue rule for streamers
The crtc has formalized new rules that require streamers to contribute 15 per cent of Canadian revenue to support domestic programming. The framework also requires promotion of Canadian and Indigenous content, and it shifts more of the spending burden onto companies with large Canadian businesses.
Scott Shortliffe, the CRTC’s vice-president of broadcasting, said the regulator was focused on applying Canadian law and not on trade negotiations. He also said companies have already set aside the 5 per-cent baseline spending into trusts while they await a court ruling.
Online Streaming Act rules
The new framework comes three years after Ottawa passed the Online Streaming Act, which was meant to bring broadcasting law into the digital age. In 2024, the CRTC required online broadcasters to make a base contribution of 5 per cent of their Canadian revenues to support the broadcasting system.
The new 15 per cent requirement is 10 points above that earlier baseline. Streamers have challenged the existing 5 per-cent contribution before the Federal Court of Appeal, and those payments were stayed by the court until it makes a decision.
Revenue over $100-million
Companies with Canadian broadcasting revenues over $100-million will be required to spend 25 per cent of those revenues to support Canadian and Indigenous content. The CRTC said that requirement will provide relief because current obligations range from 30 per cent to 45 per cent.
Private domestic broadcasters will see their rates generally lowered to 25 per cent, while the new streamer rules keep the burden higher for online platforms. That leaves U.S.-based companies with large Canadian revenues facing a larger bill even as the regulator trims some obligations for Canadian broadcasters.
Scott Shortliffe on court risk
Shortliffe said the CRTC was not waiting for the court case to finish before moving ahead. “That would just give an incentive for people to continually take us to court, and then we would never get anything done,” he said.
When asked whether the new measures could irritate trade talks, he said, “We believe that they will be respected by these companies. Whether they choose to challenge them through any of the measures that are available in Canadian law, is of course, totally up to them.”
