This week we’ve seen interesting development in the wider film industry landscape coming from north of the US border. With Canada seeking to introduce legislation to force online streaming platforms to support local content, echoing some EU markets, there could be an interesting shift in the movie development landscape. Entertainment lawyer Los Angeles
Lower House of Parliament Bill
The bill, which has been passed through Canada’s lower house of parliament in preparation to pass it to the upper chamber, or Senate, seeks to add online streaming platforms to the stewardship of their local broadcast regulator.
This means that streamers operating in Canada would have to offer more locally made and developed content in order to broadcast within Canadian borders.
Overwhelming Support
The bill passed with 208 votes to 117. Despite being introduced by current Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s liberal party, it managed to gain considerable traction among two key opposition parties, the Bloc Quebecois and New Democrats, in a surprisingly unifying move.
If the legislation, currently billed as Bill C-11, passes through the Senate, online streamers will have to not only tell local stories, but also use a specific amount of Canadian music and/or boost local jobs. Its critics have raised concerns that it could have unexpected ramifications for indie content creators. Little has been said about these concerns, however, and it’s difficult to establish how widespread these effects would be currently. It has been clarified that it will apply to commercially created content, and not individual Canadian content creators, however.
We’re seeing an increasing push globally to get local content aired on international streaming platforms. Coupled with a rise in streamers actively seeking local content to lure new subscribers, it could have interesting ramifications for content creators globally.
