The Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) says while new directives unveiled by the CRTC on Thursday address several longstanding priorities, significant issues remain unresolved, including a persistent asymmetry in the financial burden placed on terrestrial broadcasters.

Under the new rules, foreign streaming services with annual Canadian revenues exceeding $25 million will be required to direct 15% of their earnings toward Canadian Programming Expenditures (CPE). Conversely, large domestic private broadcasting groups will see their mandatory requirements trimmed to a flat baseline of 25%—down from previous obligations that ranged as high as 45%.

The commission decision is aimed at creating a level playing field between Big Tech and traditional media players who have been vocal about severe financial strain under legacy regulation.

“A lot of what we’re doing today is recalibrating that,” Scott Shortliffe, the CRTC’s Vice-President of Broadcasting, said during a media briefing. “This was an exercise in seeing how can the system be more stable and more resilient for the future.”

While acknowledging that the decisions address several of the CAB’s longstanding policy issues, including the need for greater flexibility, sustainable support for services of exceptional importance (SEIs), and reduced programming expenditure levels, the association says it remains concerned that private broadcasters are shouldering “a significantly higher financial burden.”

“The CAB remains concerned that the new CPE framework continues to place a significantly higher financial burden on private Canadian broadcasters, who must contribute 25% of  their revenues, compared with 15% for online streaming services. At a time when  traditional broadcasters face unprecedented competitive pressures, this imbalance risks  undermining the longterm sustainability the framework aims to support,” said President Kevin Desjardins, in a statement.

The 15% mandate for digital services absorbs the initial 5% base contribution model established by the regulator in 2024, which is still before the courts. According to the breakdown provided by Shortliffe, roughly 6.55% of that total will be designated for legally mandated production funds. The remaining 8.45% can be funnelled directly by global platforms into local content production and partnerships.

Trade friction, court challenge

As the challenge of the original 5% base contribution rate continues to make its way through the Federal Court of Appeal – led by a coalition of American platforms, including Netflix, Disney+, and Amazon – Shortliffe told reporters he’s not concerned about whether the commission’s hike in streamer contributions might provoke trade retaliation from Washington. He said the agency operates strictly as an arm’s-length, quasi-judicial tribunal, insulated from political trade pacts.

“Our job is to bring into effect the regulations based on the Act that Parliament passed, we’re not involved in trade negotiations,” Shortliffe said. “We’re applying Canadian law in Canada. We believe that [the rules] will be respected by these companies.”

He dismissed concerns that continuing to construct the policy framework while active court cases are underway is counterproductive, revealing that foreign streaming platforms have already quietly begun setting aside the disputed money in legal trusts.

“We are waiting for the courts to rule. What I will note is that before the courts ruled, the platforms actually put aside this money, it’s being held in trust,” Shortliffe told reporters. “We’re not stopping our work because of that…If we waited for courts to rule…we would just give an incentive for everyone to take us to court on everything all the time.”

As part of the decision, the CRTC also eliminated a previous flexibility that allowed streaming services to redirect 75% of their Canada Media Fund (CMF) contribution to Canadian content expenditures. Streaming services must now annually contribute two per cent of their broadcasting revenues to the CMF for the creation of Canadian content, in addition to other requirements.

“Establishing clear and equitable across-the-board CPE is a critical step toward a modernized broadcasting system that works for Canadian and Indigenous creators, audiences, and the industry as a whole,” said Valerie Creighton, President and CEO, CMF. “This decision sends a signal that every player in the ecosystem has a role to play in financially supporting and promoting the stories that reflect and connect us.”

The CRTC will move forward by launching industry working groups on discoverability tracking and metadata, alongside establishing tailored conditions of service on a company-by-company basis in the coming months.