Court hits pause on global streamers’ upcoming Canadian content payments

OTTAWA — The Federal Court of Appeal says big streaming companies won’t have to pay for Canadian content until the court hears their appeal of a CRTC decision ordering them to pay.

In June, the CRTC said that foreign streamers must contribute five per cent of their annual Canadian revenues to a fund devoted to producing Canadian content, including local TV and radio news.

Big global streamers like Netflix and Disney Plus launched court challenges of that order, which the regulator made under the Online Streaming Act.

Earlier this month, the Federal Court of Appeal agreed to hear the case.

A judge said Monday the streamers won’t have to make the payments, estimated to be at least $1.25 million each annually, until that court process plays out.

The parties have agreed to an expedited schedule, meaning the court hearing would take place in June before the bulk of the money is due in August.

The court decision notes that Amazon, Apple and Spotify have argued that if they make the payments, win the appeal and overturn the CRTC decision, they wouldn’t be able to recover the money.

Justice Wyman Webb says having an accelerated schedule “mitigates the inconvenience arising from a possible delay in the payment,” due on Aug. 31, 2025.

In a statement, the CRTC says that the Online Streaming Act, which became law in 2023, “requires the CRTC to modernize the Canadian broadcasting framework.”

The regulator said it would “continue to balance consulting widely with moving quickly to build the new regulatory framework.”

Kevin Desjardins, president of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters, says the organization is disappointed but “optimistic that the Court and all parties recognize the importance of resolving these matters…expeditiously, so that urgently needed funding for Canadian news and other production can flow back into our media system next year.”