Global screen coalition urges governments to stand firm on SVoD regulation

Reynolds Mastin

A group of 23 screen organisations representing more than 750,000 workers across Canada, Australia and Europe has called on governments across the world to take firm action to force streaming services to fund local productions.

The coalition issued a joint statement at the Toronto International Film Festival on Friday, warning that the growth of global streamers is putting locally produced stories at risk in the absence of updated content rules.

The statement calls on governments to support domestic production requirements and independent producers, arguing that national policies have not kept pace with the shift from traditional broadcasting to streaming.

Among the signatories are the Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA) and Association québécoise de la production médiatique in Canada; Screen Producers Australia and Screen Producers Ireland; and producer organisations from France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Portugal, Sweden, Norway, Slovenia, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.

“Streaming has upended the way content gets commissioned, produced and seen, but domestic policies have not kept pace,” said CMPA president and CEO Reynolds Mastin.

“Canada, like so many countries around the world, needs updated laws and regulations for the digital world, and we each look to our respective governments to stand up for our cultural sovereignty.”

The coalition also includes European-wide groups Animation in Europe, European Audiovisual Production (CEPI) and the European Producers Club.

The announcement comes as various jurisdictions continue to push for mandated production requirements be imposed on major US streaming platforms.

In Australia, the government has introduced laws stipulating that streamers with over one million subscribers must invest either 10% of their total programming expenditure into local content, or 7.5% of their Australian revenues from subscriptions, advertising and other sources in new local content.

In France, where streamer spending quotas have existed since 2021, the US streamers have ramped up efforts to challenge the production obligations. Meanwhile, in both Canada and Ireland, efforts to bring new money into the system via streamer contributions have hit roadblocks.