Stupid money-grubbing idiots in the New Zealand government have come up with yet another inanely stupid idea to try to fleece overseas companies and cause even more global price rises for everything. X-(
Media Insider: Global streamers such as Netflix would be
forced to invest in NZ content under new Government media
proposals
---------------------------------------------------------
A Government document proposes an overhaul of media regulation
and funding agencies as well as new requirements for global
streamers to invest in NZ content. It's a move that will be
welcomed by the production industry but requires careful
international consideration.
Global streamers such as Netflix, Apple, Disney and Amazon
would be required to invest in New Zealand productions and
content under a range of new media proposals unveiled by the
Government today.
Smart television manufacturers would be also required to
ensure New Zealand apps, such as TVNZ+ and Freeview, are given
prominence on their content menus. Right now, global streamers
such as Apple+, Netflix and Amazon have pride of place in many
of the smart TV line-ups.
The Government is planning a shake-up of the media and screen
production industries in several distinct areas, including the
merger of funding agencies NZ on Air and the New Zealand Film
Commission.
And it is proposing to overhaul the broadcasting standards
regime, including the Broadcasting Standards Authority, with
"platform-neutral and system-level regulation of professional
media", and to boost audio captioning services generally.
Under the media modernisation proposals, local and global
streaming platforms would have local content investment
"obligations", according to the "media reform" discussion
document released by the Ministry for Culture and Heritage.
It specifies a proposed requirement on the platforms "to invest
a proportion of annual revenue in the creation or acquisition
of local content".
The paper also proposes discoverability requirements for local
content on streamers' platforms: "to put in place measures to
promote and clearly display local content and enable users to
find new local content".
The document says that a manual scan in September 2024 showed
Amazon Prime had just over 10 New Zealand titles in its
catalogue; Netflix held fewer than 10; while Disney and Apple+
had none.
As of this morning, there are just nine New Zealand movies and
TV shows listed on Netflix, amongst the global streamer's
thousands of titles. There are just under 200 Australian titles
and 120 Canadian titles.
The proposals will require a delicate period of consultation -
riding a fine line between a local production industry that is
on its knees and the new Donald Trump-led American
administration that could easily baulk at any imposition on
US-owned streamers.
Trump has made clear he won't stand for strong-arming of
American-owned companies by foreign governments. For example,
as The Australian Financial Review reported last month, almost
90,000 expat Australians in the US could have their tax rates
doubled in retaliation for any clampdown on digital tech giants
such as Google and Facebook in Australia.
The document released today notes: "New Zealand has obligations
under international trade law to treat international content
providers and creators no less favourably than domestic content
providers and creators, in respect of the production,
distribution, marketing, sale and delivery of content.
"In recognition of these trade commitments, the proposals in
this document seek to ensure all media are on an equal footing.
As these proposals are developed, further analysis will be
completed to ensure consistency with these international
obligations."
The paper reveals that officials had also considered a levy on
streamers and minimum content requirements - a quota. A quota
"would increase the access to local content in the short term
but may not have an ongoing impact once requirements were
reached," the paper notes.
"It is also likely to be fulfilled through acquisitions in low
quality 'filler' content rather than investment in new local
productions."
Audience upheaval
The paper notes that as New Zealand audiences have moved from
linear TV broadcasters to global streaming platforms,
advertising revenue has been eroded.
"This in turn means that broadcasters are commissioning less
local content. Sector reports from early 2024 suggested that
broadcasters may reduce investment into local content by
$60-80 million in the coming year."
It said several factors were contributing to decreased
engagement with local content:
- "Local channels and apps can be difficult to find on the
newest smart TVs and devices";
- "Global streaming platforms carry low amounts of New
Zealand content and make limited investment into local
content";
- "Low levels of captioning and audio description
(particularly for on-demand and streamed local content)".
"Without change, New Zealanders will increasingly struggle to
discover local content, missing out on the important cultural
and societal benefits that seeing and hearing our stories and
voices brings.
"This will also negatively impact the capability and workforce
of the local media and production sector, with flow-on impacts
on the economy."
'Complex challenges'
Media and Communications Minister Paul Goldsmith says: "It is
clear the media and content production sector is facing
complex challenges.
"We now live in a time where audiences have unprecedented
access to global media, making competition for viewers and
advertising intense. However, much of the legislation
underpinning our media landscape is outdated and stifling
innovation.
"As the Government, we look to ensure regulatory settings
treat all players equally, and don't create unnecessary
barriers. We have an interest in local production and a strong
media, while realising it's up to individual businesses to
determine how best to respond to a changing market. The
Government cannot solve these issues entirely."
The idea of streamers being required to support the local
industry will be welcomed by the screen sector.
"For some time Spada has been lobbying for Government
regulation of the international streamers so they contribute
to the local industry in some way," Spada president Irene
Gardiner wrote in December.
"This should have happened years ago, to avert the crisis we
now face, but it's never too late. The streamers don't pay tax
here, they use our broadband infrastructure, they harvest our
data - and they don't currently contribute anything.
"This has been remedied in many other countries with levies,
quotas, or hybrids of the two. We're a little late to the
party."
Spada had previously suggested that the most straightforward
option might be a simple percentage levy on the streamers' NZ
revenue, she said.
That could then be invested back into the industry via
existing funding agencies.
"For example, a 5% levy would generate approximately
$25 million. The good news is the government is finally taking
this seriously and looking into what might be done. It is the
big tech-ers who broke our business model - they should be a
part of the solution in trying to fix it. We just want a level
playing field."
Today's paper notes: "Global streaming platforms (like Netflix,
Prime Video, Apple TV and Disney+) are creating international
productions in New Zealand, often using their own production
companies. As of October 2024, Netflix had filmed 16
international productions in New Zealand and carried out
post-production here on 12. Disney had filmed one international
production in New Zealand and carried out post-production here
on eight."
Greenstone TV CEO Rachel Antony told The Spinoff in November
that in reality, "the streamers are doing exactly what they
have to do, which is nothing".
"It just really hurts because, as New Zealand producers, we are
already out in the world and hustling hard for international
investment in an incredibly challenging market," she said.
"It just feels like these big international streamers care so
little that they can't even be bothered considering the optics
of not treating us like a service economy."
Funding agencies merger
The document confirms plans to merge NZ on Air and the New
Zealand Film Commission; this will be welcomed in many quarters,
in light of the digital convergence of TV and big-screen
productions.
The discussion paper describes the current funding regime as
"splintered and overlapping".
"This distinction is increasingly blurred by shifts in how
content is produced and consumed, and there are now overlaps in
the entities' functions and the sectors they support," it says.
"Change could support more coherent and impactful delivery of
public funding for content and industry development,
particularly in the screen sector. Change could also create
back-office efficiency, and support streamlined administration
processes for funding applicants."
A new regulator
The document proposes overhauling media regulation, with a new
body to replace the Broadcasting Standards Authority and one
that was platform neutral.
"The role of the regulator (currently performed by the BSA)
would be revised, with more of a focus on ensuring positive
system level outcomes and less of a role in resolving audience
complaints about media content," says the document.
The regulator's functions would include guiding and developing
media standards in collaboration with the industry.
It would act as a "backstop" for complaints resolution -
essentially any issues that cannot be resolved by the media
company in the first instance or a self-regulatory body (such as
the Media Council).
"Standards would apply to content across all professional media
in New Zealand (no matter what the delivery platform).
"Protecting and promoting media independence and the freedom of
expression would remain a core focus - these standards are not
expected to differ substantially from the existing broadcast
standards, except to the extent required by the different forms
of media content covered."
There is likely to be a sharp debate as to who is covered by the
new regulator - right now the definition as to those covered is
"professional media".
"Our intention is to capture organisations that commission,
produce, or directly pay for media content and distribute it as
their primary business," says the paper.
That included New Zealand broadcasters and streaming platforms,
global streaming platforms, online text-based media, newspapers,
and magazines.
However, the paper says it would not include online platforms
"that primarily host user-generated content or provide access to
others' content, such as social media (like Facebook and TikTok)
and search engines (like Google)."
Submissions on all the proposals close at 11.59pm on Sunday,
March 23.
<
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/media-insider/media-insider-global-streamers-such-as-netflix-would-be-forced-to-invest-in-nz-content-under-new-government-media-proposals/WHSUSEYJYRA3VGOYCCDPQPPDK4/> (Currently behind a paywall)
[NEWS] NZ government proposes to force streaming service to fund NZ shows