The British government has effectively ruled out the idea of imposing a levy on U.S. streamers like Netflix amid a funding crisis for domestic scripted series.
Sir Chris Bryant, the creative industries minister, told lawmakers on Tuesday that “we haven’t got any plans” to follow other European countries in introducing a so-called streamer levy.
Bryant’s evidence to British Parliament’s Culture, Media and Sport Committee means ministers have rejected a proposal from Wolf Hall director Peter Kosminsky, who called on streamers to hand over 5% of their UK subscription revenue to a cultural fund for British content.
Kosminsky, who has met with Bryant, said a levy could help remedy an urgent funding crisis in UK content, which is preventing some greenlit series from entering production.
Despite the government’s reluctance to introduce levies, the BFI revealed today that it is examining the idea in more detail. BFI chief executive Ben Roberts told MPs that the institute is conducting a “piece of analysis” to understand how it would impact the UK’s screen ecology. The work will be completed in the summer.
Roberts made clear that “there’s absolutely no consensus that a levy would be the right approach right now.” Among the detractors is Jane Featherstone, founder of Black Doves producer Sister, who told lawmakers earlier this month that it “may have unintended consequences that will not be the right thing for our industry.”
The likes of Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video are subject to a patchwork of schemes across 17 European countries. In France for example, streamers must invest 20% of their local revenue into domestic content, while in Denmark, a 5% levy goes towards financing films and TV shows through the Danish Film Institute.
The UK has taken a hands-off approach, partly because of the high level of inward investment from streamers in shows like Baby Reindeer and Slow Horses. The policies put in place across European countries have also come at a time when the UK has diverged from the EU following the Brexit vote.
Streamers are now pulling back from co-producing certain shows with British broadcasters, contributing to a funding crisis that means that — even with tax breaks and an international sales advance — producers are struggling to fund high-end dramas. This is particularly impacting domestic stories that will have limited appeal in the U.S.
The BBC sounded the alarm about funding gaps last week, revealing that multiple greenlit series are “stuck in limbo” and not able to enter production, one of which is A24’s adaptation of Booker Prize-winner Shuggie Bain. Pact, the UK producer trade body, estimates that there could be 15 stalled projects across the UK’s public service broadcasters.
In an interview with Deadline, BBC drama boss Lindsay Salt blamed a “perfect storm,” citing “a difficult global sales market, high inflation due to demand for talent and infrastructure, and some of our former co-production partners no longer wanting to share their rights with the PSBs, along with a smaller licence fee in real terms.”