(Gatineau) Streaming platform giant Netflix says the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) should recognize the role it already plays in funding the Canadian broadcast industry and reject calls aimed at demanding additional payment from the company.
But if the federal regulator were to require foreign broadcasters to contribute financially to the Canadian content system, it says that burden should not exceed 2% of annual revenues, as in other jurisdictions.
Netflix appeared Thursday at a hearing as part of the CRTC’s public consultations in response to the Online Streaming Act, which received royal assent in April.
The legislation, formerly known as Bill C-11, aims to update federal law to require digital platforms to contribute to and promote Canadian content.
Netflix’s director of public policy in Canada, Stéphane Cardin, told the commission that the platform already invests directly in Canadian content by financing local productions, and that an additional levy could “result in the displacement of certain investments.”
He urged the CRTC to be flexible in crafting rules that allow digital companies to support Canadian broadcasting, rather than forcing them to subsidize some funds available to local players.