The fight to make streaming platforms fund Canadian content
6/17/202625 min
Canada’s Online Streaming Act is a thorn in the side of the U.S. administration. The law, passed in 2023, brings streaming platforms like Netflix, Paramount and Disney under Canada’s broadcast regulations, and requires them to support and promote Canadian content. But the implementation of the law has been slow, and the regulator, the CRTC, has been taken to court by U.S. streaming platforms. Now, the Canadian government is asking the CRTC to back down on some of its funding requirements.
Today, we speak with Barry Hertz, The Globe’s deputy arts editor and film editor. He explains the holdups in getting the Online Streaming Act off the ground, the impact on the industry and how the minister in charge of this file defends his government’s decision to push for a rollback on funding requirements for Canadian content.
Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at thedecibel@globeandmail.com
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First 90 secondsCheryl Sutherland· Host0:00
[ding] The deadline for renewing the USMCA is coming up soon, [upbeat music] and one of the thorns in the side of the US administration is Canada's Online Streaming Act. The law was passed in 2023, and it brings foreign streaming platforms under Canadian broadcaster regulations, meaning that companies like Netflix and Disney would be required to support and promote Canada's cultural industries. Part of that was a requirement to pay some of the revenues from within Canada to Canadian productions. That's one of the major sticking points for the US, even though no money has actually gone from the platforms to the industry yet. Recently, the federal government asked the Canadian regulator in charge of broadcasting, the CRTC, to back down on some of its requirements. Today, Barry Hertz is on the show. He's The Globe's deputy arts editor and film editor. He had an exclusive interview with the minister in charge of this issue. He's gonna tell us why this legislation has been so slow to get off the ground, what the reaction has been from inside the industry, and how Minister Mark Miller defended his government's decision to push for a rollback on funding requirements for Canadian content. I'm Cheryl Sutherland, and this is The Decibel from The Globe and Mail. [percussive music] Hi, Barry. Nice to see you.
Barry Hertz· Guest1:28
Hello. Nice to see