Australia sets local content quotas for international streamers

Australian content quotas are set on Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video and the other international streamers.

Plans to introduce quotas were unveiled this morning as part of the Australian Government’s ‘Revive’ National Culture Policy. The five-year political plan aims to shake up the country’s wider cultural landscape.

Numbers have not yet been announced, but the plan is to introduce the law in the third quarter of this year. ABC News reported that details of the policy are being negotiated with the film and television industry and streamers.

The quotas will come into force on 1 July 2024. Local press reports suggest that the required investment level is set at 20%, but this has not been confirmed.

Local broadcasters already have quotas for local content, and Foxtel, News Corp’s pay-TV leader, must allocate 10% of its drama channels’ spend to local scripted production.

Streamers have had several successes with Australian originals, with Netflix rebooting the high school drama sad high and Prime Video and Disney+ are investing heavily. Excited for the upcoming Paramount+ Australia drama series Last King of the Cross also built internationally last year.

The Revive policy suggests that local audiences are more vulnerable to streamers than broadcasters and that the subscription streaming market is worth nearly A$2.5 billion ($1.7 billion) in revenue.

It accepted that “[t]These new streaming platforms produce high-quality Australian content,” but added: “However, unlike free-to-air broadcasting services and subscription TV, 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, threatens to drown out the voices of Australian storytellers.”

The revitalization policy has five main goals, including putting the country’s First Nations citizens first and reflecting the full range of its storytellers.