FOI Documents Highlight Lobbying by Streaming Platforms Against Australian Screen Policy – Documents obtained under Freedom of Information (FOI) by the Parliamentary Crossbench today shine a light on the behind-the-scenes lobbying by influential streaming businesses attempting to oppose the Australian Government’s commitment to ensuring that Australian audiences continue to have access to their own screen stories.
“The amount of misinformation and overstated claims that some of these streamers have made to Ministers rings alarm bells with us,”
– said Matthew Deaner, CEO of Screen Producers Australia.
“Streamers are overstating their investment in Australian screen stories and claiming there is no market failure to be seen and therefore no need for regulation. This side steps or ignores the inconsistent and now reduction of investment from global streamers, the fall in hours and overall numbers of commissions, the collapse of commissioning of various types of content including documentaries and content for children, the market imbalance in contracting resulting in the removal of significant IP and export capacity from our nation; and the overall decline in Australian screen culture for Australians.”
“The lack of a safety net for investment in Australian stories is causing a decline in Australian screen culture. This is a serious challenge for the Australian Government that remains unresolved, despite repeated commitments in the 2023 National Cultural Policy and at successive federal elections.”
“Some common streamer tactics include exaggerating their investment figures by conflating the ACMA SVOD spending categories of ‘Australian’ and ‘Australian-related’ content, include taxpayer incentives in their reported spending, and make spurious comparisons to the cable (Foxtel) regulation, even though the platforms and business models operate very differently,”
– Mr Deaner said.
“It is clear that streamers do not want any public scrutiny on their lobbying efforts, despite significant audience and industry interest in achieving a regulatory model that delivers on the promise of our National Cultural Policy. Australian screen producers need a sustainable local screen industry that maintains its cultural sovereignty.”
Media Release – SPA
Link to SPA HERE
TV Central Screen Producers Australia content HERE
FOI Documents Highlight Lobbying by Streaming Platforms Against Australian Screen Policy
