Australian content quotas will be placed on Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video and the other international streamers.
Plans to impose quotas were unveiled this morning as part of the Australian government’s ‘Revive’ National Cultural Policy. The five-year policy plan aims to shake-up the country’s wider cultural landscape.
Figures haven’t yet been released but the plan is to introduce the legislation in the third quarter of this year. ABC News reported details of the policy are being negotiated with the film and TV industries and the streamers.
The quotas will be in place by July 1, 2024. Local press reports suggest the required investment level will be set at 20% but this hasn’t been confirmed.
Local broadcasters already have local content quotas and News Corp’s pay-TV market leader Foxtel is required to put 10% of its spend on drama channels into local scripted production.
Streamers have had several successes from Australian originals, with Netflix rebooting high school drama Heartbreak High and Prime Video and Disney+ investing heavily. Anticipation around Paramount+ Australia’s upcoming drama series Last King of the Cross has also been building internationally for the past year.
The Revive policy suggests local audiences are predisposed to streamers over broadcasters and that the subscription streaming market is worth nearly A$2.5BN ($1.7BN) in revenue.
accepted that “[t]hese new streaming platforms are producing some high quality Australian content,” but added: “However, unlike free-to-air broadcasting services and subscription television, these services have no requirements to make Australian content available on their platforms. The ready availability of mass content produced in other countries, particularly the United States, risks drowning out the voices of Australian storytellers.”
The Revive policy has five key aims, including putting the country’s First Nations citizens first and reflecting the full range of its storytellers.