Canada is moving forward with a change to its streaming rules that requires major online audio and video services to allocate 15% of their annual revenues generated in Canada to Canadian content. The policy applies to companies including Netflix and Spotify, and other large streaming platforms are also expected to be affected. Multiple reports say the measure is intended to increase production and availability of Canadian programming.
The change has also drawn international attention. Bloomberg and Free Malaysia Today report that the new requirement has been identified as a trade irritant by the U.S. Trade Representative, indicating potential friction with the United States over how the rule affects market access and cross-border business.
Under the framework described by the outlets, streaming providers would need to increase spending on Canadian productions or otherwise meet the local-content allocation requirement as part of compliance. The sources do not provide timelines for full implementation in the excerpts provided, but all describe the same central obligation: a 15% domestic revenue spend tied specifically to Canadian content.
