Australia has hopped on board a global movement, teaming up with nations like Spain, France, Italy, Portugal, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand, and Canada, to push for better safeguards for local screen industries. The big players in the streaming world—Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime—have dominated the scene, and now Screen Producers Australia (SPA) is making some noise.
In a joint statement, SPA and its international counterparts are rallying for regulations that would compel streaming services to whip up content tailored to the local markets they're in. They argue that unless there are mandatory quotas for local content outside the US, the global screen industry's independence and sustainability are at risk.
The statement emphasizes that governments need to step up and tackle the challenges in the market. The digital platforms, according to the campaign, have a cultural duty to make "fair and proportional contributions" to local content creation in the places where they rake in the cash.
The Guardian reached out for comments from the streaming giants Netflix and Disney, but we're still waiting to hear from them.
Australia's government has thrown its hat into the ring, promising to roll out a quota system for streaming services by mid-2024. The local industry is gunning for a 20% local content quota, but the streaming platforms are lobbying for as little as 2%. It's a tug of war, and the stakes are high.
Matthew Deaner, SPA's chief executive, spilled the beans, saying they anticipate the quota regulations to kick in on July 1. The final leg of talks with arts minister Tony Burke and communications minister Michelle Rowland went down in November, but the exact percentage is still up in the air.
Deaner stressed the importance of legislation to ensure that streaming giants invest a chunk of their Australian earnings into crafting Aussie stories. He highlighted the struggles, noting that screen producers are finding it tougher to strike fair deals with the digital powerhouses, and without intervention, their financial future hangs in the balance. It's a cry for help, a plea for a level playing field in the ever-evolving world of streaming.
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