Netflix has committed to spending about $500 million over the next five years on the creation of Canadian movies and TV shows as part of an agreement with the federal government, according to media reports. On Thursday, Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly will announce that the streaming service’s spending commitment comes as part of a new government plan to oversee the production of more Canadian content, the CBC and Globe and Mail reported Wednesday. The company has been resisting the idea of a streaming service having to comply with the sorts of rules that Canadian broadcasters do (e.g. Canadian-content quotas); whether it will now be producing under such rules is not known. The plan reportedly does not involve new federal taxes on streaming companies or internet service providers — ideas that have been discussed in the recent past.

Source: thestar September 27, 2017 23:18 UTC