1. The exemption is explicit and group-wide

CRTC 2024-121 (paragraphs setting the regime) and Broadcasting Order CRTC 2024-194 require base contributions of 5% only from operators of online undertakings that are NOT (i) a licensee; (ii) affiliated with a licensee; or (iii) operating an exempt broadcasting undertaking that operates pursuant to an exemption order requiring licensability. The Commission states: "the Commission will require online streaming services that make $25 million or more in annual contributions revenues and that are not affiliated with a Canadian broadcaster to contribute 5% of those revenues to certain funds." The CRTC explicitly applied a "broadcasting ownership group" approach: a streaming service whose parent group operates a licensed Canadian broadcasting undertaking is exempt regardless of size, while unaffiliated foreign streamers are captured group-wide.

CRTC 2026-96 (May 21, 2026) extended the framework into CPE: large Canadian broadcasting ownership groups (Bell, Rogers, Quebecor, Corus, plus CBC) are subject to a 25% CPE — down from 30–45% previously — while "unaffiliated online broadcasting ownership groups" (the foreign streamers) face 15% CPE that subsumes the 5% base contribution. Canadian streaming services owned by these groups — Crave, CTV+, StackTV, Global TV App, Club illico, Vrai, Citytv+, Sportsnet+, TVA+, Noovo, Gem, Tou.tv — are all rolled up into the licensed broadcaster group and contribute via the parent's CPE regime, not under 2024-121.

2. Specifically named exempt groups and their streaming services

| Canadian broadcasting group | Licensed undertakings | Affiliated streaming services (exempt from 5%/15% base) |
|---|---|---|
| BCE Inc. / Bell Media | CTV network, CTV2, Crave pay TV, RDS, TSN | Crave (streaming), CTV+, Noovo (streaming), TSN+, RDS Direct |
| Rogers Communications / Rogers Sports & Media | Citytv, OMNI, Sportsnet, FX (Canada) | Citytv+, Sportsnet+, StackTV (sold via Amazon Prime Video Channels) |
| Corus Entertainment | Global TV, YTV, Food Network/HGTV (rebranded), various specialty channels | StackTV, Global TV App, Teletoon+, ad-supported FAST channels on Global TV App |
| Quebecor Media / TVA Group | TVA network, Vidéotron BDU, LCN, Yoopa, Casa | Club illico, Vrai, TVA+ |
| CBC/Radio-Canada | CBC TV, Radio-Canada Télé | Gem, Tou.tv (incl. Tou.tv Extra) |
| Blue Ant Media | Numerous specialty channels | various FAST/streaming offerings |
| APTN | APTN national licensed network | APTN lumi |

This is documented in CRTC 2024-121, including the footnote listing interveners (BCE, Quebecor, Corus, RCI, Blue Ant) who opposed extending base contributions to Canadian-broadcaster-affiliated online services, and in the CRTC's Broadcasting Order 2024-194 conditions of service.

3. Where the foreign-streamer money flows

The CRTC's allocation table from Broadcasting Order 2024-194 directs base contributions from foreign audio-visual streamers as follows:

• 2.0% → Canada Media Fund (with up to 1.5% deductible against direct Canadian certified content expenditures; minimum 0.5% direct to CMF)
• 1.5% → Independent Local News Fund (administered by Canadian Association of Broadcasters)
• 0.5% → Indigenous Screen Office Fund
• 0.5% → CIPFs supporting OLMC and equity-deserving producers (per Decision 2025-201: Bell Fund, Independent Production Fund, TELUS Fund, Shaw Rocket Fund, Quebecor Fund, Telefilm Talent Fund)
• 0.5% → split among Black Screen Office Fund, Canadian Independent Screen Fund for BPOC creators, Broadcasting Accessibility Fund (operator discretion)

For audio streamers (Spotify, Apple Music, etc.):

• 2.0% → FACTOR (60%) and Musicaction (40%)
• 1.5% → CAB-administered temporary Commercial Radio News Fund (CRNF) — for radio stations OUTSIDE Toronto/Montreal/Vancouver/Calgary/Edmonton/Ottawa-Gatineau
• 0.5% → Canadian Starmaker Fund (60%) and Fonds RadioStar (40%)
• 0.5% → Community Radio Fund of Canada
• 0.15% → Indigenous Music Office (new Indigenous music fund)
• balance (residual) → operator discretion

4. Who controls and benefits from each fund

Canada Media Fund (CMF) — $362.6M total program budget for 2026-2027 (per CMF April 1, 2026 announcement). A federally chartered not-for-profit headquartered in Toronto. Its by-laws give the Canadian Coalition for Cultural Expression (CCCE) — the lobby of Canada's largest BDUs (cable/satellite/IPTV distributors, i.e., Bell, Rogers, Quebecor/Vidéotron, Telus, Cogeco) — the right to nominate the majority of directors (five of seven on the historical board, six of nine under the current model). The remaining directors are nominated by the Minister of Canadian Heritage. Per the Government of Canada appointment notice: "The Board consists of nine directors, who are nominated by two member organizations: the Canadian Coalition for Cultural Expression (CCCE), representing Canada's cable, satellite and IPTV distributors, which elects six directors, and the Government of Canada, through the Department of Canadian Heritage, which elects three."

CMF distributes the bulk of its money through the Broadcaster Envelope Program, in which each Canadian licensed broadcaster receives an annual allocation calculated on its historic performance in licensing Canadian programs. CMF Broadcaster Envelope allocations (verified from CMF official allocation PDFs at cmf-fmc.ca):

| Recipient (combined English + French markets) | 2024-2025 | 2025-2026 | 2026-2027 |
|---|---:|---:|---:|
| CBC/Radio-Canada (SRC) | $76.2M | $71.4M | $77.2M |
| Bell Media | $41.3M | $32.9M | $30.9M |
| TVA Group (Quebecor) | $17.5M | $12.9M | $14.1M |
| Rogers Media | $14.0M | $13.4M | $13.8M |
| Corus Entertainment (Global) | $20.0M | $11.0M | $12.2M |
| APTN | $6.5M | $7.6M | $6.8M |
| Blue Ant Media | $2.1M | $2.1M | $2.6M |
| TELUS | $0.16M | $0.74M | $0.66M |
| Total Broadcaster Envelope | $223.6M | $197.7M | $201.3M |

In short, the five Canadian broadcasting incumbents that are exempt from paying the 5%/15% base contribution (CBC, Bell, Rogers, Quebecor/TVA, Corus) collectively control more than $155M of the ~$201M CMF Broadcaster Envelope for 2026-2027 — roughly 77% of the largest discretionary CMF pool, the same pool that receives the largest single slice (2%) of the foreign streamer base contribution.

To access this money, an independent production company must (i) be Canadian-controlled per the Investment Canada Act; (ii) hold 10/10 CAVCO points or maximum applicable points; and (iii) secure a licence-fee commitment from a CRTC-licensed Canadian broadcaster — which the exempt incumbents are. As GrantHub explains: "The broadcaster trigger is the real gatekeeper — without a commitment from a CRTC-licensed broadcaster, you cannot apply to most CMF programs." Foreign streamers cannot themselves draw from the CMF Broadcaster Envelope — Netflix, Google, Apple and Amazon argued during the CRTC proceeding that they should be able to access funds they are required to fill, and the Commission declined.

Independent Local News Fund (ILNF). Administered by the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB), the principal lobby group for private broadcasters. Eligibility is restricted to "private independent television stations that provide locally reflective news and information" not part of a "vertically integrated group." Pre-foreign-streamer, the ILNF distributed approximately $16M in 2023-24 (down from $21.7M in 2017-18, per CRTC Decision 2025-133), from licensed BDU contributions of 0.3% of revenues to 19 stations across nine independent ownership groups (small-market broadcasters: CHEK Media, Pattison, RNC Media, Inter-Rives, NTV, Thunder Bay Television, etc.).

The 1.5% foreign-streamer contribution under 2024-121 is expected to grow the ILNF "from $18 million to approximately $58 million" for the 2024-2025 broadcast year (per CRTC Decision 2025-133). On 10 May 2023, Corus Entertainment filed an application to have its 15 Global stations declared eligible because Corus was no longer vertically integrated with Shaw. The CRTC granted that application via Broadcasting Decision 2025-133 (June 9, 2025), imposing a 45% single-entity cap. The Commission stated: "the Commission estimates that, under the current ILNF allocation method, Corus would receive the majority of the ILNF's funding" — i.e., the largest share of the foreign-streamer-supplied ILNF goes to Corus's Global TV network. PIAC argued in its intervention that Corus should not be eligible because Corus's size "would lead to depletion of the fund." Corus' annual report acknowledges: "Corus has been confirmed as eligible for the Independent Local News Fund (ILNF)… while the implementation of mandated contributions to the ILNF from large streaming platforms has been temporarily paused due to ongoing legal appeals."

The MPA-Canada explicitly flagged this conflict in its July 2024 court filings: "The provision of such sensitive financial information to the CAB is particularly concerning and prejudicial since the CAB acts as a representative voice for private television broadcasters, which are both competitors to the Services [foreign streamers]." The CAB also administers the new Commercial Radio News Fund (CRNF) that receives 1.5% of audio-streamer contributions under Order 2024-194 — funding paid out to private commercial radio broadcasters in mid-sized and smaller markets. CAB members include Bell Media, Rogers Sports & Media, Stingray, Cogeco, Corus, and most major Canadian commercial radio operators.

Indigenous Screen Office (ISO) Fund. Independent, Indigenous-led organization founded in 2017 by APTN, CBC/Radio-Canada, CMF, Telefilm Canada, CMPA and NFB. The federal government grants it $13M/year permanently plus $65M over five years (2024–2029). The ISO is one of the few recipient entities NOT controlled by or directly serving the major Canadian broadcasting incumbents — its funding flows to First Nations, Inuit, and Métis producers and creators across Canada (191 recipients in 12 provinces and territories in 2022-23, per ISO/APTN reporting). The ISO also took over administration of CMF's Indigenous Program in 2025.

FACTOR (Foundation Assisting Canadian Talent on Recordings) and Musicaction. FACTOR is "governed by a Board of Directors with representatives from both the radio broadcast and the independent music sectors." Founded by Canada's private radio broadcasters in 1982 (along with the CAB and CIRPA), it functions as the principal disbursing agent for English-language Canadian music industry CCD contributions. Musicaction is its French-language counterpart, founded 1985 in Montreal. CRTC Broadcasting Regulatory Policy 2011-431 confirms: "commercial radio broadcasters have seats on the boards of directors of other organizations to which they must provide funding, including MUSICACTION, FACTOR and the Radio Starmaker Fund/Fonds Radiostar."

Canadian Starmaker Fund and Fonds RadioStar. Industry funds whose governance includes radio broadcaster representatives; established as conditions of CRTC commercial radio policy. Both are governed in part by commercial radio broadcasters (Bell, Rogers, Stingray, etc.) per CRTC 2011-431.

Certified Independent Production Funds (CIPFs). CRTC Broadcasting Decision 2025-201 (August 8, 2025) named six CIPFs eligible to receive the 0.5% OLMC/diverse-communities slice of the foreign-streamer base contribution:

| CIPF | Documented sponsor/corporate affiliation |
|---|---|
| Bell Fund | Bell Canada/BCE (annual contributions from Bell Satellite TV and Bell Aliant; per Bell's own page: "Bell Fund has received over $200 million in financial contributions from Bell TV") |
| Quebecor Fund | Quebecor Media (per Quebecor Fund's own boilerplate: "Quebecor Fund was established through Videotron Ltd., a Quebecor Media Inc. company, which provides more than $5 million annually in broadcasting distribution undertaking (BDU) contributions") |
| Shaw Rocket Fund | Shaw Communications (now Rogers; Rogers ceased contributions in August 2025) — per Wikipedia/Rocket Fund: "Shaw Communications continues to contribute to the Shaw Rocket Fund (over $200 million as of 2019)" |
| TELUS Fund | TELUS Corporation: "The Fund is a Certified Independent Production Fund made possible by the success of TELUS Optik TV" |
| Independent Production Fund | One of the few not directly branded with an incumbent's name |
| Telefilm Canada Talent Fund | Federal Crown agency (Telefilm Canada) |

The CRTC has itself acknowledged the pattern in Broadcasting Notice of Consultation 2021-281: "Certified independent production funds (CIPF), which are governed independently from those entities that provide funding, are nevertheless often branded in a way that reflects where the majority of their funding is derived."

5. Can the exempt Canadian broadcasters draw from these funds? Yes — directly and substantially.

This is the heart of the structural asymmetry:

• CMF Broadcaster Envelope: Bell ($30.9M in 2026-2027), Corus ($12.2M), Rogers ($13.8M), Quebecor/TVA ($14.1M) — all four groups that are EXEMPT from the 5% base contribution receive direct broadcaster envelope allocations that are committed to independent producers in exchange for licence fees on programs broadcast on Bell/Corus/Rogers/TVA outlets. The funds physically flow to the independent production company, but the broadcaster controls which projects get the money and what licence-fee terms are negotiated.
• CMF Performance Envelope formula: rewards "Historic Performance," "Audience Success – total hours tuned," "OTT First Run Licences" and similar factors — all of which favour entrenched Canadian broadcasters with large audience footprints.
• Independent Local News Fund: As of June 2025, Corus's 15 Global stations are eligible — the largest single beneficiary, capped at 45% of fund payouts.
• Commercial Radio News Fund: Pays out directly to commercial radio stations owned by Bell Media (iHeartRadio in Canada), Rogers, Stingray, Cogeco, Pattison, etc. — outside the six largest markets.
• FACTOR/Musicaction/Starmaker/RadioStar: governed in part by Canadian radio broadcasters; pay out to record labels and artists with whom Canadian radio has commercial relationships.
• Bell Fund / Quebecor Fund / Shaw Rocket Fund / TELUS Fund: incumbent-branded CIPFs that take a cut of foreign-streamer money under the 0.5% OLMC/diverse-communities envelope.

The Independent Production Fund, Talent Fund and Indigenous Screen Office Fund are the principal non-incumbent-controlled vessels — but their slice of the 5% base contribution is small (≤0.5% combined for OLMC/diverse CIPFs, 0.5% for ISO, 0.5% for equity-seeking groups).

Foreign streamers themselves are structurally ineligible for the largest pools. CMF requires applicants to be Canadian-controlled per the Investment Canada Act, and the Broadcaster Envelope requires a Canadian broadcaster trigger. The CRTC noted in 2024-121: "Other interveners proposed creating new funds to support services of exceptional importance, fiction or documentaries, youth content… interveners including MPAC, Netflix, Paramount Global and Google opposed base contributions being allocated to the CMF given that they are currently not eligible to access CMF funding." The CRTC declined to grant them access.

6. The structural critique on the record

The asymmetry has been articulated explicitly — not merely as an "anti-American" framing but as an incumbent-protection critique:

• Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA) — June 2024 filing: "the CRTC's framework would violate the CUSMA Investment Chapter, specifically those governing performance requirements… Canadian digital products… receive preferential treatment as beneficiaries of these funds."
• Apple, in Federal Court of Appeal pleadings (June 2025): argued "streamers don't have the same access to the funds into which they pay." The MPA argues the CRTC's decision "directly violates Canada's obligations under USMCA."
• MPA-Canada (Wendy Noss, July 4, 2024): "The provision of such sensitive financial information to the CAB is particularly concerning and prejudicial since the CAB acts as a representative voice for private television broadcasters, which are both competitors to the Services."
• Meredith Lilly, Carleton University international economic policy professor (May 21, 2026, in the Globe and Mail): "This again will be viewed as discriminatory by U.S. firms, and regarded as a subsidy by U.S. firms to Canadian ones."
• Michael Geist, Canada Research Chair in Internet & E-Commerce Law (December 2023 CRTC appearance and subsequent commentary): characterized the regime as "a giant cross-industry subsidy scheme designed to support everyone from small producers to Bell's news division" and described it as "an obvious cross-industry subsidy model." Geist has also argued the "level playing field" framing obscures that "Internet companies compete in the marketplace against well-established competitors such as Bell, Rogers, and Videotron that already have the regulatory deck stacked in their favour."

7. The lobbying record: Canadian incumbents asked for exactly this design

• BCE/Bell (November 21, 2023, CRTC hearing): VP regulatory law Jonathan Daniels told the CRTC the regulator's "priorities are backwards" and asked that "the commission should simultaneously exempt Canadian streaming platforms such as Crave from those new obligations until traditional broadcasters receive regulatory relief." Bell's specific proposed allocation model: 60% to existing production funds (CMF + CIPFs); 30% to a new news fund modeled on the ILNF; 5% to ISO/BSO equity-seeking funds; 5% to BAF/BPF.
• Quebecor (November 2023 CRTC hearing): CEO Pierre Karl Péladeau "urged the CRTC to impose 'a significant and immediate reduction in the regulatory and financial burden on traditional Canadian businesses.'"
• Corus Entertainment: filed application 2023-0300-9 on May 10, 2023 seeking eligibility for the ILNF for its 15 Global stations after Rogers-Shaw closed; obtained eligibility via CRTC Decision 2025-133 in June 2025 — securing the largest single share of an ILNF expanded by foreign-streamer contributions.
• CAB (Canadian Association of Broadcasters): lobby of private Canadian broadcasters. CAB's own submission to the CRTC, quoted by Global News: "For decades, traditional broadcasting undertakings have supported the production of Canadian content through a complex array of CRTC-directed measures… By contrast, online undertakings have not been required to provide any financial support to the Canadian broadcasting system." CAB applauded the 2026-96 outcome as "a more equitable contribution model" — though it noted the gap between 25% (broadcasters) and 15% (streamers) remained too wide.
• Rogers (CRTC 2026-96 proceeding): "proposed a uniform 5% CPE requirement for all broadcasting ownership groups and sought to exclude sports revenues" — i.e., sought to lower its own obligations while sports (its core asset post-Shaw) would be carved out.

The CRTC itself, in 2024-121, summarises: "Most of the traditional broadcasters who intervened in this proceeding, along with the CAB, considered that it would be unfair for the Commission to impose base contribution requirements on online undertakings that are affiliated with Canadian broadcasters. They argued that doing so now would exacerbate the financial challenges Canadian broadcasters face and deepen their competitive disadvantages." That is, the exemption was adopted on the urging of the very groups it benefits.

8. Net structural outcome

The CRTC has created — and explicitly intends — a system in which:

1. Foreign streamers (Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video, Apple TV+, Paramount+, Spotify, Apple Music) pay 5% (rising to 15%) of Canadian revenues into a system that is administered by, governed by, branded by, or pays out to Canadian broadcasting incumbents.
2. Canadian broadcasting incumbents (Bell, Rogers, Quebecor, Corus, CBC) are exempt from paying the base contribution on their own streaming services (Crave, Citytv+, Club illico, StackTV, Gem) and instead face a 25% CPE that is below the prior 30–45% rate — i.e., the CRTC simultaneously expanded foreign streamer obligations and reduced Canadian incumbent obligations.
3. The same Canadian incumbents are the dominant beneficiaries of the CMF Broadcaster Envelope (~$155M out of $201M flows to broadcasters they control), the ILNF (Corus is now the largest single recipient), the CRNF (Bell, Rogers and other CAB radio members), and several CIPFs they sponsor (Bell Fund, Quebecor Fund, Shaw Rocket Fund, TELUS Fund).
4. Foreign streamers themselves are ineligible for the principal pools they fund: CMF requires Canadian control under the Investment Canada Act and a Canadian broadcaster trigger; ILNF is restricted to private independent Canadian TV stations; CIPFs flow to Canadian-controlled production companies.

The MPA, CCIA, USTR, Republican Congressman Lloyd Smucker (R-PA-11) — sponsor of the Protecting American Streaming and Innovation Act introduced March 19, 2026 in the House of Representatives — and the MPA member companies in Federal Court of Appeal, plus Carleton's Meredith Lilly and the University of Ottawa's Michael Geist, have all, in differing words, described the system as a subsidy from foreign streamers to Canadian incumbents.