Over the past decade, more and more people have been cutting the cord to traditional television, shifting to using streaming services like Disney+, Netflix, Amazon Prime and others.

As part of the global expansion of many of these streaming platforms, many countries around the world have been working on ways to help protect their local film industries, as the global giants gain more power, usually resulting in fewer international productions, which results in less money being spent locally and fewer jobs.

The Culture, Media and Sport Committee in the United Kingdom has released details on its recommendations to the British Government on tax incentives, supporting workforce, independent cinemas and meeting challenges posed by AI.

The UK government wants to make the UK the best place to make film and high-end television, but the Culture, Media and Sport Committee has warned that there must be no complacency over its status as a global production hub and calls for a regular assessment of tax incentives to maintain investment from overseas.

At the same time, the report recommends a series of measures to halt the decline of the domestic production of culturally distinct British films and programmes, which has failed to keep pace with the headline-grabbing growth of big box office productions financed and controlled from outside the UK.

The Committee has further warned that competition from high-budget overseas production is driving up costs without urgent intervention.  They also highlight how revenue models are changing due to the terms offered by streamers and how commissioning budgets of public service broadcasters are being squeezed by a fall in the licence fee and a drop in advertising revenue.

‘Black Doves’ and ‘Kaos’ producer Jane Featherstone had told the Committee that the business models of streamers dictate that shows need to have global appeal to be made.    This is one of the reasons why the report states that distinctly British content, which is vital to the UK’s identity, national conversations and talent pipeline, is under threat.

One of the ways the Committee want’s to try to fix this issue is to call for enhanced tax incentives for domestic high-end TV, and for streamers, such as Netflix, Amazon, Apple TV+ and Disney+, which benefit from the creativity of British producers, to put their money where their mouth is by committing to pay 5% of their UK subscriber revenue into a cultural fund to help finance drama with a specific interest to British audiences.

Dame Caroline Dinenage MP, Chair of the CMS Committee, said in a statement:

“Big box-office blockbusters made in Britain have showcased the UK’s world-class film and high-end television industry like never before. But the boom in inward investment of recent years now risks crowding out our many talented independent British producers. While streamers like Netflix and Amazon have proved a valuable addition for the industry and economy, unless the Government urgently intervenes to rebalance the playing field, for every ‘Adolescence’ adding to the national conversation, there will be countless distinctly British stories that never make it to our screens.

From independent production through to cinemas, all parts of our film and high-end TV sector, and the talented people that make it such a success, are going through a turbulent time. To neglect just one part puts the entire ecosystem at risk, so it’s therefore vital that the Government goes further and faster across the board to support an industry that is so important to both our economy and our soft power overseas.

Today’s report sets out a way forward for the Government to put the name of the UK film and television industry up in lights around the world as the very best place to do business and to work, by offering the right tax incentives, tackling skills shortages, improving worker rights and making sure the rise of AI is a positive force, not a disincentive to investment.”

As you might expect, the streaming companies aren’t thrilled with the idea of a 5% UK revenues being paid into cultural fund and this could likely result in the streamers making fewer British made shows, but also that 5% increase in cost is likely to be passed onto customers.  Netflix has already confirmed that should this come into effect, it would pass those costs onto customers and that the government should encourage them to make more local originals (aka tax breaks!).

Disney+ has had a string of British Originals released, including “Rivals”, “Culprits”, “Renegade Neil”, “Extraordinary”, “Say Nothing” and the upcoming “The Stolen Girl”.  It’s been committed to creating local content for both British and international audiences.

Many people are likely to object to an increase in their subscription prices, though without it, local homegrown content is likely to become harder to find.  Even the major British platforms like the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 are struggling to compete with the global streaming services. 

Other countries already have a similar system in place to help fund local content.  While other regions have tried quota systems, but these look to be impossible to manage due to the sheer number of content being created.  A similar system seems to be just to slice off some of the revenue from that region.   

Let’s be honest. Without any intervention, global streaming services like Netflix and Disney+ will only create content that enough people are watching to make it profitable. We can see, especially with Disney+, that only some countries are getting higher investment in local content. We’re seeing plenty of Korean dramas and Japanese anime, along with some shows from Europe and Latin America, though new releases have all slowed down in recent years since the initial launch boost. 

Not every country is treated equally by Disney+ or other streaming services, as some local content performs better on a global platform, and the analytics give the streamers a good insight into what’s popular. However, this also means they are less likely to take risks on local content that might not click with international audiences, which waters down the different types of shows and movies made. 

A 5% surcharge on streaming subscriptions has both positive and negative elements. Some people might argue they don’t want to pay for something they don’t watch, but there is also the risk that without intervention, in years to come, new local British content might be much harder to watch due to much less being created.

Do you think it’s a good idea to make the global streaming services support British content?  Let me know on social media!

Roger Palmer

Roger has been a Disney fan since he was a kid and this interest has grown over the years. He has visited Disney Parks around the globe and has a vast collection of Disney movies and collectibles. He is the owner of What's On Disney Plus & DisKingdom. Email: Roger@WhatsOnDisneyPlus.com Twitter: Twitter.com/RogPalmerUK Facebook: Facebook.com/rogpalmeruk

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