Front Burner

Is Canadian content a casualty of the 'streaming wars'?

Today on Front Burner, culture critics Tina Hassannia and John Semley discuss whether an ever-growing array of streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime, helps or hurts the Canadian screen industry.
A Disney+ streaming service sign is pictured at the D23 Expo, on August 23, 2019 at the Anaheim Convention Center. (ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images) (AFP via Getty Images)

Disney Plus is the latest streaming service on the block, with a library stretching from those classic animated movies from your childhood, to new Marvel blockbusters. It joins Apple TV, Netflix and Amazon Prime. But this ever-growing number of digital companies don't play by the same set of rules as traditional broadcasters. They are largely tax exempt, and they don't have to follow Canadian content regulations. Today on Front Burner, Jayme talks to Tina Hassannia and John Semley, two culture critics who disagree on what streaming services mean for the home-grown screen industry.

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