Producers press on over quotas on Streaming, Children’s content.
Regulation of streaming platforms like Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon has sat idle on government’s ‘to-do’ lists, say producers.
- Published by David Knox
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Screen Producers Australia is calling for an urgent re-set of screen industry policy repeating the need for local quotas on Streaming platforms and concerns over low Children’s content on commercial networks.
In its submission to the government’s National Cultural Policy, SPA also called for increased support to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander filmmakers.
“There are several important screen policy settings where SPA believes urgent regulatory action is needed, and others where SPA recommends reviews to address the regulatory drift and policy inaction of the past decade,” said SPA CEO Matthew Deaner.
“The highest priority for SPA members is that we see new regulation to ensure global streaming platforms invest 20% of their subscriber revenue in new Australian stories.
“Regulation of streaming platforms like Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon has sat idle on government’s ‘to-do’ lists for the last 10 years, hence SPA welcoming the public commitment by the Minister for the Arts, the Hon Tony Burke MP to take proactive steps to move the industry forward.
“New regulation must include integrity measures, ensuring what constitutes Australian content is properly defined and that the independent sector can flourish and ensure that Australia’s creative economy and SME’s can maximise the benefit of new investments. SPA believes it is important that regulation is accompanied by a new ‘terms of trade’ framework, ensuring valuable intellectual property, our national stories and songlines remain in the hands of Australians.
“There are several other areas where SPA has identified that regulatory review is required including weak Australian children’s content requirements on commercial free-to-air channels.”
A recent ACMA Compliance report found without mandatory quotas in 2021, Nine screened 47 hrs of first release Australian Chidren’s content, 10 screened 40 hours while Seven screened just 6.5 hrs (which was produced in NZ).
“SPA is also keen to build on the successes to date of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander screen stories and ensure this continues through increased support, strong institutions and funding opportunities,” said Deaner.
“SPA welcomes the opportunity to take a fresh look at the current screen policy settings in the context of developing Australia’s new National Cultural Policy and for the creative industries to take their rightful place on our national economic agenda and look forward to working with the Albanese Government to achieve these outcomes.”
4 Responses
I note that last Thursday, 16 out of the top 20 most watched programs on the digital channels were kids shows. So parents/kids have found appropriate shows to watch and are devouring them with relish.
So I can’t see why regulation is needed – why should parents have to pay streaming services so their kids can watch Playschool, etc?
Tighter regulation is needed in areas where providers can exercise monopoly powers such as buying exclusive rights.
The ABC is independent, which means that the SPA, a lobby group for global media producers, can’t pressure the Government to force it to buy their programmes. And the ABC only advertises ABC merch, so they can’t extract money from the global TV/toy producers either. So the SPA is desperate to get low budget dreadful kids TV back on the FTA networks by getting the Government to force them to buy it, because there is no audience any more because parents are spending fortunes on streaming, day-care and extracurricular activities to stop their kids sitting in front of ads on 7,9 and 10 for hours on end. The Coalition had a fine plan, fund the CTF to make some quality kids TV and stop commercial FTA producing unnecessary rubbish for kids. It just doesn’t enrich the SPA and it’s backers.
I just don’t buy the suggestion there is no audience any more. Kids will watch good Kids TV if it is discoverable for them, and, as OzTAM has told me, they watch it over and over. Bluey is a prime example of this. If it was on Seven, Nine or 10, kids would watch it there. They also manage to find The Block and watch that too. Networks did a lot of dumping shows onto multichannels in low level Sunday slots like 11am. No wonder they had trouble finding them, allowing networks to say “look they don’t watch.” Afternoons are full of news, soap and game shows. You have to create destinations. We have a world reputation in making kid’s shows, not unnecessary rubbish.
Bluey is the exception, the majority of Australian cartoon series are poor quality but get continued funding, due to the quotas. The Deep would be a recent example, great premise, but generic characters, and a story that goes nowhere, at a snails pace.
The only kids still watching free to air are those without an alternative choice (poor online access). I doubt the ratings are accuarate at all, as most kids have moved to streaming. 11 AM on a weekend is a decent timeslot, a bad timeslot is the middle of the night, with inapporiate commericials shown.