Canadian Broadcasters, Who Are Up Schitt’s Creek Without Streaming Regulation, Fight Back at Tense Banff
variety.comManori Ravindran International EditorThe moody mountainscape surrounding the Fairmont Banff Springs hotel may have been tailor-made for the British Columbia-shot thriller “Yellowjackets,” which was honored at this week’s Banff World Media Festival, but the real survival drama was raging between Canadian broadcasters and the streaming giants.The tension was palpable among the country’s legacy broadcasters and the likes of Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, both of which were prominent at the 43rd edition of the festival.
While this fraught dynamic — which has ramped up as the digital platforms launch originals divisions in Canada — is nothing new, relations are coming to a head as the much-ballyhooed Bill C-11, the proposed update to Canada’s dated Broadcasting Act, is fiercely debated in Parliament.
The bill, which is also referred to as the Online Streaming Act, allows Canada’s media watchdog, the CRTC, to regulate streaming services, which will need to meet Canadian content requirements and invest in local programming.
However, C-11 is facing criticism for being too broad in its reach, and applying the same regulations for Netflix and Amazon as it does for social media platforms like YouTube and Twitter.The irony is that, thanks to the SVOD services, Canadian content has never been hotter on the world stage.
Read more on variety.com