UK government resisting 5% streamer levy to help local productions

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The UK government isnā€™t going to follow the likes of France and Denmark, and add a levy to the likes of Netflix and Prime Video.


Against a backdrop of funding concerns for British original scripted television series, it looks like the UK government is going to resist the idea of a levy on streaming service subscriptions. The idea had been put forward by Peter Kosminsky, the director of Wolf Hall, who mooted the plan for streaming services to be charged 5% of their UK subscription revenue. That money would then be put into a pot for the development of scripted British film and TV material.

Itā€™s an approach that’s been taken elsewhere in Europe, but creative industries minister Sir Chris Bryant has now told the Parliamentary Culture, Sport and Media Committee that “we haven’t got any plans” to introduce something similar.

In France, for instance, 20% of local subscription revenue is required to be invested in French productions. That’s not stopping the British Film Institute – BFI to its mates – from exploring the idea, and it’s doing some work to understand whether such a levy would be helpful or not. It’s hedging its bets, with BFI chief executive Ben Roberts admitting he’s not sure yet that it’d be the right approach for the UK industry. The key factor here might be that so many streaming services are making shows in the UK in particular.

Yet while they may be using the facilities, so to speak, the number of streaming service co-productions in the UK isn’t in a healthy place. The BBC has noted that it has a slate of series that it’s given the go ahead to from its side, but can’t close the funding gap needed to get them in front of cameras.

Itā€™s a long road to a streamer levy in the UK even if the government was in favour. The early signs are it’s not, however, and there doesn’t seem to be much in the way of an alternate proposal on the metaphorical table.

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