Protecting Canada’s Cultural Sovereignty

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IN PARTNERSHIP WITH ROGERS

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Canadians may feel an immediate sense of familiarity while watching the second season of Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent, and not just because the American versions of the police procedural show have been on our televisions for the better part of 35 years. Law & Order Toronto features Canadian actors, writers, directors, and showrunners, and uses real-life Canadian news stories as inspiration for its plot points. This isn’t just television produced in Canada; it’s television made by and for Canadians.

Representation, as they say, matters. Seeing versions of ourselves and where we live onscreen helps Canadians build and retain a national sense of self. Rogers has a proud history of funding, producing, and airing Canadian content, helping to shape and reflect our country’s cultural identity for 65 years. With such cultural touchpoints as Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent, multilingual newscasts on OMNI Television, live sportscasts of Canada’s teams, and daily news from local radio and Citytv stations, Rogers has a long legacy of investing in, and distributing, Canadian stories to Canadians.

But now, between the growing influence of US streaming giants and Canadian regulations that hinder homegrown broadcasters, Canadian representation is at risk of being stifled. That’s why Rogers and other companies have been calling for a level playing field to allow Canadian companies more flexibility to compete. Because, at the end of the day, these are the companies that will foster the homegrown Canadian television industry, and by extension, our cultural sovereignty.

Canadian Companies Delivering Canadian Stories

Thanks to the increasing volume of blustery political rhetoric coming out of the United States, many Canadians have turned their attention toward the importance of Canada’s political and economic sovereignty. But our cultural nuances need protection, too. And companies that create Canadian content and invest to distribute it to Canadians, shouldn’t be hamstrung by regulations that favour US streaming giants.

As a nation, we’ve long sought entertainment from the US and other countries, but that television programming has traditionally been interspersed with Canadian-created shows, as mandated by regulations requiring domestic broadcasters to fill as much as 55 percent of programming with Canadian content (while paying significantly to fund its development). Historically, broadcasters like Rogers have operated on an even playing field with other Canadian media companies when it comes to meeting these regulations, but the advent of American streaming services that don’t have to adhere to the same rules has thrown that balance out of whack.

 

“As a proud Canadian company competing with foreign streamers, we just want to compete fairly, with the same flexibility and level playing field.”

Colette Watson, president of Rogers Sports & Media

 

“Connecting and entertaining Canadians is part of our DNA, going all the way back to 1960 when Ted Rogers bought CHFI, his first radio station,” says Colette Watson, president of Rogers Sports & Media. “He could have focused on expanding in the US long-term, but he was committed to Canada. He would say, ‘I’m a proud Canadian, and our culture and identity are worth fighting for.’”

That fight is becoming increasingly intense. Restrictive and burdensome Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) regulations for Canadian broadcasters, which don’t apply to streaming services like Netflix or Amazon Prime, put companies like Rogers at a distinct disadvantage. Canadian broadcasters and cable companies have been handcuffed to an outdated model that hurts their ability to evolve at the speed of consumer habits, while advertising dollars go to digital platforms unencumbered by regulatory restrictions. In 2023, Netflix’s global revenues were over $33.7 billion (US) compared to Canada’s total traditional broadcasting revenues of $14.7 billion (CAD). As a result of this imbalance, we run the risk of losing Canadian television content while further strengthening American companies with no vested interest in creating or promoting Canadian stories.

At greatest risk is local news content. It’s expensive to produce and equally as difficult to monetize, yet it remains one of the most important types of content that broadcasters like Rogers can contribute to the cultural identity and shared experience of Canadians. But without a change in the regulatory framework, Canadian broadcasters’ ability to maintain a significant level of investment in local news is in peril.

“When the major sources of our understanding of ourselves and who we are and how we think and how we argue with each other are vanishing, the country starts to vanish,” says Richard Stursberg, the former head of English services at CBC, who has also held roles as executive director of Telefilm Canada, CEO of the Canadian Cable Television Association, chairman of the Canadian Television Fund, and assistant deputy minister of culture and broadcasting for the Canadian government

CityNews 24/7 anchor Melanie Ng

Advocating for Regulatory Fairness

Protecting Canadian broadcasters, who understand the inherent value in telling Canadian stories, requires change at the regulatory level. Ironically, the CRTC regulations originally crafted to promote Canadian voices now threaten to weaken the Canadian broadcasters most focused on preserving that national character. They’re also making it harder for the Canadian companies best positioned to compete against the streaming giants to win in the market.

Companies like Rogers have called for the CRTC to reinstate equity in the industry by modernizing the Canadian content requirements, and to give traditional broadcasters more flexibility in their contributions and programming so they can move at the speed of streamers to better appeal to viewers.

For example, under the CRTC’s proposed framework, major streamers have to contribute just five percent of their gross revenues to support Canadian program production and are given wide flexibility on where they can invest those dollars. Canadian companies like Rogers are required to make considerably higher financial contributions under a very prescriptive regulatory framework.

Canada’s regulatory requirements aren’t just outdated; they’re also helping to distort market dynamics and undermine commercial relationships. Companies like Rogers, which also distribute content through TV packages, have advocated for the CRTC to review and limit its intervention in commercial relationships. For example, during a commercial dispute, a “standstill” rule can be used to stop the distributor from making any changes to TV packages. This, in turn, allows distributors and programming services to game the system in their own favour, in some cases creating delays to any resolution by up to two years as the CRTC makes a decision, further eroding fair competition. Meanwhile, streaming giants have cast, filmed, announced, released, and closed on a hit, original series.

“What we need is a more balanced approach—one that has fewer rules or more flexibility for Canadian providers to allow us to adjust to consumer demands quickly without ending up in years-long disputes,” says Bret Leech, president, residential, of Rogers. “What was once understood as a normal commercial judgment has evolved into an insurmountable hurdle, harming our business and Canadians.”

In Stursberg’s view, the CRTC has failed Canadian cable companies and broadcasters for over a decade. He believes it needs to make regulatory changes if the Canadian television industry is going to survive, and he notes that other countries, including France and the UK, have successfully navigated a more equitable set of regulations to protect their domestic content from American streamers. There’s no reason Canada couldn’t do the same, provided we muster up the political will.

“We can’t have a circumstance where Netflix and Disney are doing whatever they want while the cable companies and the Canadian broadcasters are saddled with all these endless regulations,” Stursberg says. “If they’re going to drop those regulations, drop them for everybody. That’s the only way through it.”

Fighting to Protect Canadian Perspectives

Now, more than a decade into the era of streaming, Canadians enjoy more control over when and what they watch. Even with the popularity of American streamers, people in Canada still want to watch local news, Canadian reality shows, and scripted dramas that reflect our own culture—but in order to produce that content, traditional broadcasters need the tools to stay competitive.

“We’re focused on meeting our customers’ changing viewing habits by investing in the most coveted sports and entertainment content and delivering it to audiences in the way they want to watch it,” says Watson. “As a proud Canadian company competing with foreign streamers, we just want to compete fairly, with the same flexibility and level playing field.”

Visit Rogers.com to learn more.

The post Protecting Canada’s Cultural Sovereignty first appeared on The Walrus.