ABSTRACT
In 2014, Canada's broadcasting and telecommunications regulator, the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), undertook a major investigation of the television landscape in light of the challenges posed by digital technologies and popular distribution platforms. A major review by the Department of Canadian Heritage, the government department largely responsible for Canada's cultural portfolio, is due to wrap up in 2017. Of the different groups participating, it was the representatives from Netflix that attracted the most attention. The chapter illustrates how digital platforms like Netflix engage with and disrupt prior policy frameworks. Netflix's performance before the CRTC reflects the challenges of states to regulate global digital media platforms. In the Canadian case, the company's popularity signifies a major challenge to the systemic nature of Canadian media policy, which links private and public institutions and integrates a variety of groups – from broadcasters to actor's unions – within a national project that is regulated by a central body.
