TV networks raise alarms over 'hyper inflationary' streaming quotas
Australia's commercial TV networks are warning that local content quotas for streaming services such as Netflix could end up hurting rather than helping the domestic film industry.
Television networks with companion streaming services, including Nine Entertainment Co.’s 9Now and Seven West Media’s 7plus, have warned the Australian government its proposals for streaming content quotas could push up production costs significantly and end up hurting rather than helping the screen industry.
In its final submission to the federal government’s consultation on the issue, the industry group FreeTV — which represents commercial free-to-air networks Nine, Seven and Network 10 — warned networks would be slugged with significantly higher costs if the proposals go ahead.
“We support the aspect of the proposal that limits the genres to drama, but we seek assurance that any proposal the government legislates will not exacerbate the already critical crew shortages and will not be hyper-inflationary, driving costs up to levels that are even more unsustainable than they are currently,” Bridget Fair, chief executive of FreeTV, wrote in the group’s submission, which has been obtained by Capital Brief.
The government proposed two potential models for local content quotas in Australia which Labor hopes will lock in high levels of investment in local drama productions from global streaming platforms.
