Hudson Williams, left, and Connor Storrie in a scene from 'Heated Rivalry.'Sabrina Lantos/The Associated Press
The people behind the hit Canadian TV show Heated Rivalry defended the Online Streaming Act – which the U.S. has identified as a trade irritant – at a Canadian media production industry conference in Ottawa on Thursday.
“People have got to negotiate the way they’ve got to negotiate, but I think it would be really, really bad … if we lost it,” said show creator Jacob Tierney.
Heated Rivalry has become a global phenomenon. The show was developed for Bell Media’s Crave streaming platform before being picked up by HBO Max. Its lead actors have appeared on stage at the Golden Globes, on U.S. late night talk shows and on the runway at Milan Fashion Week.
It all brought an unusual dose of star power to this week’s Prime Time media production conference in Ottawa.
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Tierney said requiring large foreign platforms to make a five per cent contribution toward Canadian content is not a “huge cost of entry.” Large foreign streamers are currently challenging that contribution requirement in court.
“I don’t think we’re asking for anything unreasonable here,” he said.
Brendan Brady, executive producer of Heated Rivalry, said he has told streamers they have an opportunity.
“We want more competition in this country. You’re coming into our system,” Brady said. “Enjoy what you can do because what’s going to happen is you’re going to have a global platform to create more Heated Rivalries and that’s a really cool thing. So stop acting like it’s going to be a negative.”
The annual industry conference is taking place as global streamers challenge Canadian content contribution and disclosure rules implemented by the CRTC through the Online Streaming Act.
The legislation updated broadcasting laws to capture online platforms like Netflix.
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The CRTC has ordered large foreign streaming companies to pay five per cent of their annual Canadian revenues to funds devoted to producing Canadian content, including local TV news.
Some streamers are fighting that order in Federal Court, which in late 2024 put a pause on the payments, estimated to be at least $1.25 million per year per company.
In December, a group of large foreign streaming companies also launched a separate challenge of a CRTC decision made under the legislation that would require them to disclose financial information.
That same month, U.S. Trade Rep. Jamieson Greer pointed to concerns about the legislation ahead of the review of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico trade deal. Greer cited the impact of the act on U.S. digital service providers.
The conference also heard Thursday from Artificial Intelligence Minister Evan Solomon and Culture Minister Marc Miller in separate addresses.
Solomon told the audience he had spoken with creators about the Online Streaming Act, while Miller acknowledged the U.S. position.
“I hesitate to speak publicly about this” given the ongoing negotiations, he said. “But there are red lines in and around culture, arts, protecting artists, that we can’t and shouldn’t cross.”
Miller did not specify what those red lines would be, or whether sticking to the five-per-cent contribution requirement would be one of them. He noted the CRTC hasn’t completed the full regulatory process to finalize how much streamers should be required to contribute, adding: “I hesitate to pick a number.”
Heated Rivalry is a love story between two men who play professional hockey on rival teams. It’s based on a series of romance novels by Nova Scotia’s Rachel Reid.
“It’s an amazing show,” Miller said.
“I had some American friends reach out to me and their reflection was, this is an awesome show, but at the end you see a government of Canada sign, and they’re like, our government would never support (that),” he said. “I think we can be proud of that.”