Netflix tells Canada regulator it shouldn't subsidize 'old media'

Netflix told Canada's broadcast regulator that it opposes paying to support "old media" and its own commercial interests and market dynamics were enough to ensure it distributed Canadian content.

The submissions from Netflix came on the last day of a two-week hearing on the future of Canadian television in which the company has been painted as a disruptive threat to the country's established cable and broadcast television interests.

Netflix and other online-only services have been exempted from Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) rules that enforce a minimum level of financial support and air time for Canadian programs on traditional TV. Some politicians have advocated that streaming services like Netflix be regulated like traditional Canadian broadcasters, though the federal Conservative government had said they are not interested in taking this route.