Source · Select Committees · Culture, Media and Sport Committee
Recommendation 15
15
Acknowledged
Streamers' practices threaten HETV balance, demanding increased support for British content
Conclusion
In HETV, the balance between inward investment and domestic production is at a tipping point. It is time for streamers to put their money where their mouth is. They laud the UK’s mixed production ecology, with public service broadcasters and independent producers at its heart, but their business practices are putting that at risk. They need to step up their support for the making of culturally British content, and not just reap the cultural and training benefits it provides. Ultimately, they should then benefit from a healthier supply of PSB-made shows that they can license for their platforms. (Conclusion, Paragraph 61)
Government Response Summary
The government commits to supporting the domestic sector and culturally relevant UK content, and will build on the Media Act and Ofcom's review to support public service media, but does not propose specific action to compel streamers to increase their support.
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
We are committed to supporting and strengthening our domestic sector, and we recognise the challenges this part of the sector, including UK producers, have experienced. We want to see the sustained production of culturally relevant UK content, and to ensure the right conditions for domestic producers to benefit from the IP they have created. We want a healthy, mixed film and TV ecology and we welcome inward investment, including from SVoD services. One of the benefits of a mixed ecology is that producers can strike deals both with streamers, which typically involve higher upfront fees, and with PSBs, whose terms of trade mean that secondary rights normally remain with the producer. Investment from SVoD services contributes to the success of our domestic sector, from creating jobs to investing in the skills pipeline through training programmes such as Amazon’s Prime Video Pathway, direct investments such as Disney’s contribution to the new National Film and Television School expansion, and opportunities to learn on the job on some of the biggest productions in the world. This is not to mention the economic benefits, from Barbie contributing £80 million to the UK economy,16 to Bridgerton contributing £275 million to the UK economy and supporting 5,000 local businesses over the past five years.17 We are mindful, therefore, of the importance of enabling strong inward investment given the benefits it provides for our domestic industry and wider economy, and we have no plans to introduce a levy on SVoD services. In line with our objective to support a mixed ecology, we will however continue to engage with major SVoD services, with the independent production sector and with PSBs on how best to ensure mutually beneficial conditions for all parties. As part of the Sector Plan, the government is also committed to removing barriers to growth for the sector by tackling barriers to accessing finance domestically, including through increased support from public finance institutions such as the British Business Bank, increasing the pool of debt and equity finance available to the creative industries. This includes exploring solutions that support and address the different challenges and needs of businesses in different creative sub-sectors, including in film and TV. The Industrial Strategy’s focus on improving conditions for investment for UK businesses will put UK producers in a stronger position in terms of both financing projects and negotiating contracts on rights retention. One of the most significant ways the government can support the film and HETV sector is to ensure we have a strong public service broadcasting landscape. Maintaining inward investment is part of this picture; we strongly welcome increased investment in UK content and want to see more successful co-productions between SVoD services and UK PSBs like BBC/ HBO’s His Dark Materials and BBC Three/Netflix’s A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder. We will build on the Media Act and Ofcom’s Public Service Media review by taking action to support public service media and the wider television ecosystem.