Albo’s two ways to force Netflix and Amazon to make more Aussie shows

afr.com:

Netflix could be forced to spend 30 per cent of its budget on Australian films and shows, and Amazon Prime Video 25 per cent, in a new Albanese government proposal that introduces a sliding scale to make bigger players invest more.

Confidential documents circulated among key film and television production players this week reveal the government is considering two models to force streaming services to make more Australian content. They have less than two weeks to digest the proposals before meeting with the government.

Arts Minister Tony Burke and Communications Minister Michelle Rowland have said they will introduce quotas that will come into effect from July next year.

Ayesha Madon and Thomas Weatherall in a scene from one of Netflix’s Australian shows, Heartbreak High. 

Streaming platforms and free-to-air networks have opposed quotas, saying they will push up costs of production. The film and production sector says they are necessary to maintain a vibrant Australian screen industry.

In the 2021-22 financial year, Prime Video, Netflix, Disney+ and Stan spent $335.1 million on Australian content, the media regulator has reported.

In the 15-page paper circulated this week, the government put forward two proposals – one that demands a higher quota from platforms with more subscribers, and a second that mandates investment as a percentage of revenue.

A platform with between 1 million and 1.99 million subscribers would be required to spend 10 per cent on Australian content. For a platform with more than 5 million subscribers, that figure would be 30 per cent.

According to the latest estimates from data firm Telsyte, Netflix is the only service with more than 5 million subscribers in Australia. Amazon Prime Video has 4.5