Canadians are largely on board with making global streamers chip in for homegrown shows. In a Nanos survey for Bloomberg News, 73% favored having streaming platforms finance Canadian content on the same basis as Canadian broadcasters, up from 67% in May 2022. The poll contacted 1,037 people from Aug. 30 to Sept. 2 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points, meaning results would be expected 19 times out of 20. Support was strongest in Quebec at 85%.
In May, Canada's broadcast regulator unveiled rules under the Online Streaming Act that fold international platforms into the domestic system, including paying into funds that back Canadian shows. Prime Minister Mark Carney's government requested that the watchdog revisit the ruling, a move that would obligate streamers to devote 15% of their annual Canadian revenue to local content, an increase from 5%. The Trump administration and major Hollywood studios oppose the idea, and the office of US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer characterized it as a trade barrier in a report issued recently.
The streaming levy surfaced during Canada US trade negotiations last month that collapsed after both sides publicly blamed each other for last minute demands. Carney said he told Canada's team to walk away in part because the US pressed to roll back regulations that compel streaming platforms to help Canadian subscribers more easily discover local content. The Trump administration rejected that characterization. In an interview with the Canadian Broadcasting Corp., Greer said the so called discoverability rules did not constitute a red line and that the US focus was on the streamer tax.
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