Canada Jacks Up Streamers' Content Revenue Contributions; MPA Livid

Key Points:

• The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has implemented new rules requiring American streaming services like Netflix, Disney+, and Amazon Prime Video to contribute 15% of their Canadian revenue to fund Canadian and Indigenous content, aiming to raise $2 billion CAD annually.
• The Motion Picture Association (MPA), representing major studios and streaming platforms, strongly condemned the decision, arguing it unfairly targets global streamers, violates trade agreements like USMCA, and could discourage investment and innovation in Canada.
• The CRTC also mandated enhanced discoverability requirements for Canadian and Indigenous content on streaming platforms, focusing on app design and algorithms to ensure such content is more visible to audiences.
• Traditional Canadian broadcasters received a recalibrated contribution requirement of 25% of annual revenues, reduced from previous levels of 30-45%, while online broadcasters face the new 15% mandate.
• The dispute highlights ongoing tensions between Canadian content protection policies and American media companies, with the MPA likely to escalate concerns to the U.S. government amid fears the new rules may increase costs and disrupt the open market system.