CBC wants streaming services to promote Canadian content

The CRTC has been holding hearings on the future of TV over the past couple of weeks, and CBC has taken a very similar stance as Bell Media. The Canadian companies want foreign streamers like Apple, Amazon, and Netflix, along with smart TV makers, to do more to help promote Canadian content (CanCon).

When I look through the foreign streamers today, there isn’t that much CanCon on their home pages, so I tend to agree.  On Apple TV+, there isn’t a Canadian section, but there is in the iTunes movies/TV store. I found two Canadian highlights – one full carousel of various content and another larger block highlighting the Canadian indie film Universal Language. There was no Canadian section on Netflix when I looked, but there was a British one. Prime Video also didn’t have a Canadian section, but it highlighted the recent documentary about Celine Dion. That said, the other streamers also make a small amount of Canadian content, so there’s a tiny chance that you might see their Canadian shows or movies no matter which service you’re on. You get Canadian results if you search for ‘Canada’ on the services.

That said, as more presentations mention the idea of streamers operating in Canada needing a shelf to promote Canadian content, the more I think it makes sense.

Presentation by CBC/Radio-Canada https://t.co/visttq1Enm https://t.co/DFEh20Jah3

— CRTC Hearings (@CRTCHearings) July 2, 2025

The issue I worry about is whether there will be enough high-quality CanCon to spread amongst all the streamers, and what exactly will be mandated?

While Canada produces a lot of content, most of the items labelled as must-carry are news. This includes APTN, CBC News, CPAC, Canal M and other news channels alongside the Weather Network. While these channels are all good at what they do, I worry that trying to shoehorn news content into Netflix won’t yield the results the CRTC hopes for.

Many other movies and TV shows are filmed in our country, but usually, there aren’t enough Canadians involved to make them count as traditional CanCon. A decent-sized batch of Canadian content already exists, but a lot of it is reality TV, competition shows, and home improvement TV. Canadian media companies are already using a lot of that in free ad-supported TV (FAST) channels to help set them apart.

CBC argues that there should be a new framework set up for essential Canadian content to apply to, and then anything that’s approved to fit in that framework will need to be broadcast by the streamers. This would be similar to the existing 9.1(1)(h) programming (CBC, APTN, CPAC, etc.), but applies it to streamers. CBC also asks if the requirements to make it into this framework should be relaxed or altered to help better fit the new goal of promoting Canadian content at large.

The hearing transcript from July 2 is now available https://t.co/FArhnnMqbT #CRTC

— CRTC Hearings (@CRTCHearings) July 3, 2025

I think the rules to be part of 9.1(1)(h) are pretty strict and date from a different era. All of the included channels are extremely important, but they’re news, and this updated framework should be more geared towards entertainment. What I’m hoping the CRTC will do is instate a new rule that makes the streamers simply highlight Canadian shows within the top eight rows of their app’s recommendation engines.

Perhaps the CRTC should also relax the rules for what counts as CanCon online to make this strategy viable. There also needs to be some stipulation that allows Canadian content makers to make deals and publish their content on as many streamers as possible. If the best Canadian shows are split among all the streaming giants, it feels like we’re defeating the purpose of this hearing. If the idea is to make it easier for Canadians to watch Canadian content, we need to make it as easy as possible for us to do so. Having to subscribe to three or four different American streamers to watch it all doesn’t help the Canadian agenda, but it will put more money into the pockets of the streamers.

CBC takes its argument a step further than mainstream companies and targets smart TV manufacturers. Most smart televisions have content recommendations, and CBC thinks they should be mandated to show a percentage of Canadian content. This makes more sense as a place to host 9.1(1)(h) news content. It feels like a place people see daily, and it makes it easy for all Canadians to stay informed.

Since CBC broadcasts radio, they also mention smart speakers in this argument. However, I think the smart speaker aspect is slightly out of touch. There is no content recommendation schemes with those. People talk to them and ask for stuff, so it’s really up to humans to ask for Canadian songs or radio instead of American ones. There are smart speakers with screens, but I’m not sure if those are or ever will be popular enough to matter.

Source: CRTC transcript