The Motion Picture Association (MPA) - Canada — the advocate for major international producers and distributors of film, TV and streaming content in Canada — has filed applications for leave to judicial appeal of last month's Canadian Radio and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) decision to require global streaming services to hand over five percent of their Canadian revenue to government funds supporting domestic programming.
As per MPA's press release, global studios and streaming services have spent over $6.7 billion CAD annually on producing entertainment in Canada for local and international audiences alike, as well as investing more in content by Canadian production companies last year than the CBC, or the Canadian Media Fund and Telefilm combined.
"The CRTC's decision to require global entertainment streaming services to pay for local news is a discriminatory measure that goes far beyond what Parliament intended, exceeds the CRTC's authority, and contradicts the goal of creating a modern, flexible framework that recognizes the nature of the services global streamers provide," Motion Picture Association - Canada President Wendy Noss said in a statement. "Our members' streaming services do not produce local news nor are they granted the significant legal privileges and protections enjoyed by Canadian broadcasters in exchange for the responsibility to provide local news."
UPDATE (7/4, 4:43 p.m. ET): The MPA has clarified that the association's appeal does not contest the CRTC's decision entirely, with Matt Wilson, Communications Coordinator for the MPA - Canada, explaining:
This appeal is about two things:
1. The CRTC has no authority to force global entertainment streaming services to contribute monies to support local news production.
2. The CRTC is prohibited from allowing confidential information to be disclosed to others.
For additional clarification, the CRTC's Decision included other requirements to contribute to production funds, including the Indigenous Screen Office (ISO), Black Screen Office (BSO), and Canada Media Fund (CMF). Those aspects of the CRTC's Decision are not part of the appeal process based upon errors of law and jurisdiction.
The CRTC announced a month ago that, starting September 1, online streaming services operating in Canada that make more than $25 million in annual contributions revenue will be required to contribute five percent of their Canadian earnings to funds supporting domestic broadcasting in "areas of immediate need, such as local news on radio and television, French-language content, Indigenous content and content created by and for equity-deserving groups, official language minority communities (OLMC) and Canadians of diverse background."
This decision followed the 2023 passing of Bill C-11, which amended the Broadcasting Act to a more modern framework informed by the streaming economy. Although MPA is only a voice for film and television streaming content, the new condition is also expected to impact audio streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music.
