CRTC issues final conditions of Online Streaming Act

The CRTC has released the final conditions for contributions to be paid by online streamers to support domestic content producers for the upcoming broadcast year. The regulator held consultations with interested parties after releasing its initial policy in June. The policy was in response to the adoption of the Online Streaming Act. The CRTC received more than 50 interventions from stakeholders. The Motion Picture Association–Canada (MPA Canada) and Apple Canada Inc. argued that contributions should specifically be attributed to total revenues of an online undertaking, rather than revenues of its ownership group. The threshold for being forced to make contributions of five per cent is annual Canadian revenues of at least $25 million. The commission tweaked its definition of annual contribution revenue to total revenues derived from an individual online undertaking. It also amended the definition so that if a service is being resold, only the portion paid to the undertaking should be included in the calculation. This would prevent double-counting that would see some entities paying two levies on the same content. The Information Technology Industry Council and the Computer & Communications Industry Association had argued that a 60-day consultation period was mandated under the Canada-United States-Mexico free trade agreement and that June’s announcement did not provide sufficient time for discussion. The CRTC rejected that view. “The commission considers that the proposed orders were made following a fulsome and open public process that took place over the course of several months, during which all interested persons had ample opportunity to comment on the commission’s proposals regarding contributions,” it wrote in its decision released last Thursday. The discussion on the topic began in May 2023. The terms become effective in the current broadcasting season of 2024-25, which began Sept. 1. Editor's note: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that the CRTC's initial base contribution policy was released last June. It was released June of this year. This story has been updated.

CRTC issues final conditions of Online Streaming Act

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By Paul Park
| September 3, 2024

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CRTC issues final conditions of Online Streaming Act

Broadcast | By Paul Park | September 3, 2024

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