CAB calls for streamers to fund news production at CRTC hearing; Streamers reschedule appearance

GATINEAU, Que.—In addition to implementing flexible Canadian content regulations for both traditional broadcasters and online streaming companies, broadcasters want to see streamers forced to help finance Canadian news production, the CRTC heard on Wednesday. The regulator’s hearing on redefining “Canadian program” in the audio-visual sector kicked off Wednesday, May 14 with appearances from groups including the Association québécoise de la production médiatique — representing Quebec media producers, as well as the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB), Ontario French-Language Educational Communications Authority (TFO), Reelworld Screen Institute, and Toronto Metropolitan University professor John Schoales. The Motion Picture Association (MPA-Canada) — representing major foreign studios and streamers such as Netflix Inc., Amazon.com Inc., Walt Disney Co., Paramount Global, and Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. — was originally set to close out the day’s presentations, but the group’s appearance was rescheduled to Friday. The reason for the switch is not immediately clear, and MPA-Canada did not respond to The Wire Report’s request for comment by publication time. As in its earlier submission to the CRTC, the CAB did not take a position on the CRTC’s proposed changes to the existing points system used to determine whether a production qualifies as Canadian, stating that its members have varied proposals for the specific definition of CanCon. Recognizing that his group’s members have “different business models” and “different programming interests,” CAB president Kevin Desjardins emphasized that his appearance at the hearing gave perspective on issues where the broadcasters have “general consensus.” Although they may have different stances on how CanCon should be formally defined, CRTC commissioner Nirmala Naidoo noted that the CAB is calling for a definition that would include a requirement that a Canadian producer be the only copyright holder of the content. That model, which is based on the criteria used by the Canadian Audio-Visual Certification Office (CAVCO) to provide CanCon support through federal tax credits, “does not favour shared ,” said Naidoo, the commissioner for Alberta and the Northwest Territories. Desjardins argued that if Canadian IP ownership is not prioritized, then Canadian co-producers risk being pushed aside by foreign players. “A model that allows for a lower commitment to Canadian ownership would very much favour a model in which the foreign players are effectively using Canada as a bit of a backlot,” said Desjardins, explaining that “the creative decisions and those things that drive the decision-making around how that programming is made, and to whom it's served, and what the content of it is, would be driven more by the foreign entity than by the Canadian entity.” When it comes to Canadian programming expenditure (CPE) requirements, the CAB urges the regulator to continue requiring online streamers to make payments towards Canadian funds. CAB vice-president of policy and regulatory affairs Tandy Yull described the CRTC’s base contribution decision as a “significant and important first step.” The CAB also agrees with the CRTC’s view that programs of national interest (PNI) are no longer relevant, and it argues that news should be prioritized instead. News is “expensive to produce” and “difficult to monetize,” said Desjardins. Historically, he said, private broadcasters were able to support their news production by using revenues from their entertainment programming, but because foreign streamers have been able to “come in and take revenues out of Canada,” the money available to support news production has been shrinking. “They are taking some of the resources out of the system that help to support news, and on that level, that is the rationale for them having to put money back into news,” said Desjardins. He challenged arguments from the streamers, which are now before the Federal Court of Appeal, against funding news production, saying that they misunderstand how the system works. The foreign players think that “somehow the BDUs are benefiting from news funding,” Desjardins asserted, arguing that only a few BDUs actually offer news production, even though most are still required to pay into the Independent Local News Fund (ILNF). “The majority of BDUs in Canada do not have any sort of media company associated with it that produces news, and they are still asked through the independent local news fund to support news,” said Desjardins. “We favour the funding model that you adopted in your initial contribution decision,” Yull said, noting that it is better than trying to create incentives for streamers to step into the world of making news. “I don't think we expect Netflix to do news production,” said Yull, “I think we'd like to see them reinvest some of the revenue they're taking out of Canada back into Canadian news.” The CAB repeated its calls for the CRTC to reduce the regulatory obligations for broadcasters, pushing for an equal playing field with streamers, which is part of why it supports an end to traditional PNI requirements. It is also pushing for flexible contribution requirements that are tailored towards the various business models of BDUs. Regulatory reductions could also be seen in the amount of business information that BDUs are required to provide to the CRTC, the CAB added. “Platforms are much more reticent to provide information to the commission, but at the same time, Canadian broadcasters are providing a great deal of information,” said Yull. She asked the CRTC to lift rules around the disclosure of individual broadcasters’ information, but acknowledged the importance of aggregate data. “We do need the aggregate data. We all benefit from having a clearer understanding of what's going on in our market. So there is a balancing act there.” That extends to confidentiality requests from streaming platforms, said Yull. Streamers have been reluctant to provide financial information to the CRTC, arguing that it is confidential. “Some of the confidentiality requests of the foreign streamers have to be ignored and there has to be more disclosure, but then there also has to be less disclosure on the Canadian side,” she said. Canada’s broadcasting regulations “have not kept up with the times, have not kept up with the changes in the marketplace, and with the changes in what audiences expect,” said Desjardins in an interview with The Wire Report following his appearance. “As you are looking at bringing the foreign players into the system, you need to make sure that if you're allowing them certain latitude…, you've got to allow a certain latitude for us, because we're all existing in the same marketplace at this point, and anything that you put on to us that they don't have is a competitive disadvantage for Canadian broadcasters and Canadian media companies.” Desjardins said that it is “noteworthy” that MPA-Canada rescheduled its appearance. “We were certainly interested to hear what they had to say,” he continued, “they are beneficiaries of the system and they need to be able to have some sort of position on how it is that they intend to help give back to the entirety of the system.” phalentm@thewirereport.ca

CAB calls for streamers to fund news production at CRTC hearing; Streamers reschedule appearance

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By Phalen Tynes-MacDonald
| May 14, 2025

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CAB calls for streamers to fund news production at CRTC hearing; Streamers reschedule appearance

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