April 7, 2026

Agreement with Amazon: CBC/Radio-Canada Backtracks, but It’s Not Enough

On March 5, CBC/Radio-Canada announced in a press release that it would make CBC News Network and ICI RDI available to Amazon Prime subscribers. Eight days later, on March 13, management backtracked and announced that it was putting the agreement on hold until CBC News Network and ICI RDI are available on its CBC Gem and Tou.tv platforms. The STTRC looks back at this saga.

• On March 5, CBC/Radio-Canada announced that its 24-hour news channels, CBC News Network and ICI RDI, would be available on Prime Video for an additional subscription fee of $4.99 per month per channel.
• The announcement sparked widespread outrage in the days that followed. Retired Radio-Canada employees and executives, in particular, condemned the public broadcaster’s decision.
• On March 9, management defended its decision. Dany Meloul, Senior Vice President of French Services at Radio-Canada, explained that when it comes to digital distribution, Prime Video, Amazon’s streaming service, has the highest penetration. She added that it is the only service capable of distributing the CBC News Network and RDI signals.
• On March 11, members of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage unanimously passed a motion inviting Marie-Philippe Bouchard, CEO of CBC/Radio-Canada, to appear for a two-hour hearing to explain the agreement with Amazon.
• On the afternoon of March 13, CBC/Radio-Canada announced that it was suspending its agreement with Amazon until subscriptions to the CBC News Network and ICI RDI channels are available on the CBC Gem and ICI Tou.tv platforms.

Beyond all the back-and-forth surrounding this agreement, the STTRC believes that CBC/Radio-Canada management has dropped the ball on this issue.

First, because it failed to understand that it was unacceptable to enter into such an agreement while teams are working to make the signals from the 24/7 news channels available on CBC Gem and Tou.tv.

Second, because it is unacceptable to enter into an agreement with an American GAFAM giant that has no regard for local culture or workers.

Amazon is the company that brutally refused to allow its 4,000 warehouse workers in Quebec to unionize, replacing them with a subcontractor.

We’ve been saying this for years, both at the CSN and the Fédération nationale des communications et de la culture: the GAFAM, of which Amazon is a part, deprive media outlets of revenue crucial to their operations and follow no rules,” says Pierre Tousignant, president of the STTRC.

After putting this agreement on hold, CBC/Radio-Canada management must show courage and throw this agreement in the trash, according to the STTRC.

The union council has unanimously adopted a resolution opposing any agreement to distribute CBC or Radio-Canada content on any GAFAM paid platform.