Major shake-up coming for streaming services in Australia
Streaming giants like Netflix must invest at least 10 per cent of their Australian revenue into local shows under new federal government rules.
Streaming services in Australia will be forced to invest in Australian programming under legislation to be introduced by the Albanese government.
Arts Minister Tony Burke said on Tuesday the government would mandate that streamers such as Netflix with more than one million subscribers would be compelled to invest at least 10 per cent of their total spend for Australia – or 7.5 per cent of the revenue from locally produced shows – back into Australian TV.
The plan would mean streaming giant Netflix, which is understood to have some six million subscribers in Australia and has the market share, would be forced to spend almost $100m in quota payments when taking into account its reported $1.3 billion local profit minus expenditure in 2024.
Mr Burke said the money would be directed to new local drama, childrens TV, documentaries and educational and arts programs.
“We should never underestimate how important it is for Australians to see themselves on screen,” Mr Burke said. “It helps us to better understand ourselves, our neighbours better and allows the world to see us.”
International streamers increasingly are making Australian content for the small screen, with series such as the Belle Gibson-inspired series Apple Cider Vinegar (Netflix), Trent Dalton’s Boy Swallows Universe (Netflix), and the recent adaptation of Richard Flanagan’s Book prize-winning Narrow Road to the Deep North (Amazon Prime) reaching broad global audiences.
The announcement comes a week after national culture collective Save Our Arts called for a 25 per cent Australian content quota across all streaming platforms, including music services such as Spotify and Apple Music.
A spokesperson for the group said its position has been an expenditure-based model where 25 per cent of local subscription revenue would go toward local film and television production, with any shortfall being paid as a levy.
“We would also like to see as part of this legislative package algorithmic prominence addressed so Australian content is not made then buried. It must be discoverable,” the spokesperson said. “Finally, we would like to ensure that new and scripted content (including genres like drama, comedy, kids television) is baked in.”
Writer and director Lorin Clarke, a member of the collective, said investment in Australian content was important to the success of the local industry, which had always punched above its weight.
“I think Australian audiences would be pissed off if they knew the next Bluey is not even going to be funded because nobody was obliged to fund it,” said Clarke, whose film Not Only Fred Dagg But Also John Clarke was released earlier this year. “But if, say, there is some money sitting in the coffers because the streamers are paying for local content to be made, then that’s fantastic. Maybe we can make some more things on Australian soil — maybe we can hire some engineers, some actors, some producers, some musicians.”
Clarke said children’s TV was an area of great concern when it came to local content.
“The national curriculum in early childhood is about identity and belonging,” she said. “And Australians are making incredible content on that front and other fronts. We are making great things. It’s important can see our own culture mirrored back at ourselves.”
Mr Burke said the plan would bring streaming TV into line with free-to-air and pay-TV, which also had content requirements.
“Since their introduction in Australia, streaming services have created some extraordinary shows. This obligation will ensure that those stories – our stories – continue to be made,” he said.
A Screen Producers Association of Australia spokesperson welcomed the news.
“This is an enormously significant moment for the Australian screen industry, one that many, including SPA, have been actively working towards for more than a decade,” they said.
“Local content rules, or “quotas”, are the foundation of Australia’s screen industry.”
To join the conversation, please log in. Don't have an account? Register
Join the conversation, you are commenting as Logout