CRTC wants internet service providers to contribute to Canada Media Fund

In a new report, Canada’s telecom regulator is recommending the federal government impose levies on internet service providers and foreign streaming services to ensure the health of Canada’s media production industry.

Among its main recommendations: internet service providers should contribute to media funding in the same way that cable providers do.

In this manner, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) hopes to spread the burden of payment for media supporting funds like the Canada Media Fund between cable and internet subscribers.

The CRTC noted, however, that it believes this would be a revenue neutral model – companies like Bell and Rogers which own cable, internet and broadcasting stakes would not be paying any more or less.

That said, it would affect those companies that solely provide internet, as well as consumers that have cut the cord and solely subscribe to internet.

Additionally, the CRTC is recommending to the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development and the Minister of Canadian Heritage that companies like Netflix and Spotify – foreign global companies that currently do not pay sales tax and do not pay into any media production fund – enter into “comprehensive and binding service agreements.”

Companies like Bell and Rogers would also enter into tailored agreements.

While the CRTC hasn’t fleshed out the details of what an agreement with Netflix would look like, the Commission noted that there would be certain baseline agreements, and that each agreement would be customized to the industry player.

Baseline elements include:

• Supporting the promotion or discoverability of content by Canadian creators
• Providing content of various types, such as news, drama, programming for official language minority communities or in indigenous languages, or accessible programming (e.g. through closed captioning and described video)
• Facilitating the prominent placement of Canadian content, it s export and/or the attribution of Canadian sources
• Ensuring that content is of a high quality that meets Canadian standards in journalism, advertising etc.
• Protecting the privacy of Canadians and their data
• Providing more traditional direct financial contributions

More to come…

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