OTTAWA, July 4 (Reuters) - Global streaming companies

said on Thursday they were challenging new Canadian rules that

oblige them to help pay for local news, saying Ottawa had acted

unreasonably and provided no legal basis for the demand.

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications

Commission (CRTC), the national broadcasting regulator, said in

June that major online streaming services must contribute 5% of

their Canadian revenues to support the domestic broadcasting

system, including news generation.

The Motion Picture Association-Canada, which represents

firms including Netflix ( NFLX ) and Disney+, has filed

applications in a federal court for leave to appeal the rules

and also ask for a judicial review.

"The decision does not reveal any basis for the CRTC's

conclusion that it is appropriate to require foreign online

undertakings to contribute to news production," it said in a

legal filing.

"The CRTC acted unreasonably in compelling foreign online

undertakings to contribute monies to support news production."

The CRTC said the funding would be directed to areas of what

it called immediate need in the broadcasting system, such as

local news on radio and television, French-language content, and

Indigenous content.

The regulator did not immediately respond to a request for

comment. It says the rules, which come into effect in September,

will raise roughly C$200 million ($146 million) a year.

The measure was introduced under the auspices of a law

passed last year that the government says will ensure that

online streaming services promote Canadian music and stories,

and support Canadian jobs.

Other streaming platforms the MPA-Canada serves include

Paramount, Sony ( SONY ), NBCUniversal and Warner Bros

Discovery ( WBD ).