Online streaming giants should be mandated to pay 2% of their Canadian revenues to support local content, Rogers says

Rogers Communications Inc. RCI–B-T -0.22% decrease says online streaming giants should be forced to contribute two per cent of their annual Canadian revenues to support Canadian and Indigenous content.

The Toronto-based media and telecommunications company told a CRTC panel Tuesday that some of those funds collected from streamers like Netflix and YouTube should be directed to a temporary news fund to help subsidize private TV and radio news stations.

Rogers senior vice-president of regulatory affairs Dean Shaikh says the company is losing subscribers to online streamers and wants more flexibility to compete with them.

 

 

 

The company’s presentation came amid the second week of the federal regulator’s public consultations in response to Bill C-11, the Online Streaming Act, which received royal assent in April.

The commission is exploring whether streaming services should be asked to make an initial contribution to the Canadian content system and if this would help level the playing field with local companies that are already required to support Canadian content.

Like other previous broadcasters that have presented at the hearing, Rogers described the state of local news as being in “crisis” that requires immediate intervention.

 

 

This article was first reported by The Canadian Press