The founder and president of Stingray Group, the parent company of VOCM, believes a new Online Streaming Act is good news for all Canadians and in particular Canadian news media.

The CRTC says implementation of the new legislation will mean online streaming services will have to make what they call “meaningful contributions” to Canadian and Indigenous content.

The regulator will require online streaming services to contribute five per cent of their Canadian revenue to support the Canadian broadcasting system. According to the CRTC, those obligations will start in the 2024-2025 broadcast year, and will provide an estimated $200 million per year in new funding.

Eric Boyko was speaking with Bloomberg News.

“I think it will be…absolutely great for the news media; it’s much-needed, and I think it’s a very good first step.” He calls it “very good for the future of news across Canada.”

Stingray released its fourth quarter and full year results for fiscal 2024 this week, reporting 9.4 per cent year-over-year growth in its Broadcast and Recurring Commercial Music Revenue, with strong performance in its Radio Division with revenue growth of 4.7 per cent compared to last year, “outperforming peers in the Canadian market.”