Australia‘s new streaming content quotas has “materially changed the competitive landscape” for New Zealand‘s production community, a screen body has warned.
New Zealand’s producers guild, Spada, said New Zealand was at risk of being left “at a disadvantage unless policy settings catch up,” and urged the country’s lawmakers to introduce levy on streamers’ local revenue as it claimed “the time to strike is now.”
On January 1 this year, Australia’s production community was handed a boost when the Labor government brought into a law directing that the likes of Netflix, Prime Video and Disney+ – any streamer with more than one million local subscribers to spend 10% of their total Australian expenditure – or 7.5% of their revenues – on local originals.
Spada claims the quota introduction has narrowed “the window for New Zealand to respond,” as global streamers adapt to their new obligations. Unlike Australia, New Zealand’s international trade commitments make quota-based local content obligations on streaming platforms “legally complex and vulnerable to challenge,” claimed Spaded, because “explicit cultural carve-outs” were not made in several international agreements, which could lead to disputes should a similar system be introduced.
“Australia has gone for a quota system, because they already have local production quotas in place for free-to-air broadcasters,” said Spada President Irene Gardiner. “We don’t have that here, so Spada has advocated for a levy on the streamers’ New Zealand revenue, which could then be invested back into local production via the screen funding agencies NZ Film Commission, NZ On Air and Te Māngai Pāho.”
“We are actively engaging with policy makers on the best way forward and the right settings to go for, but the time to strike is now, so we can leverage off what is happening in Australia.”
It is possible that some New Zealand content could be technically eligible under neighbor Australia’s system, but Spada noted that “inclusion is not guaranteed and does not substitute for having domestic policy settings that support local production and sustainability.”
“The streamers currently pay no tax in New Zealand, face no regulation, and use broadband infrastructure that was partially funded by our Government,” added Gardiner. Her guild claims the “consequences of those imbalances” are seeing global streamers taking audiences and advertising revenue away from local broadcasters and producers.
“As has happened globally, their negative impact on local viewership and therefore advertising revenue in the domestic market has been huge, which has created serious challenges for local production,” said Gardiner.
Spada pointed to “levy-style or contribution models” in place in “several comparable markets” such as France, Canada and Germany as ones to follow. These see international streaming platforms required to contribute financially to domestic screen production, either through direct investment or payments into national content funds.
Spada said New Zealand’s lawmakers must now make a choice about the future of production in the country. “With Australia moving ahead, New Zealand has a clear opportunity to act now,” said Gardiner. “Delaying further risks long-term damage to local production, jobs and the ability to tell New Zealand stories on screen.”
An industry report from Irirangi Te Motu last year covering 2024 showed linear TV channels such as pubcaster TVNZ and Sky’s Three still has the widest reach (84% of viewers), with global video platforms such as YouTube and TikTok not far behind (64%) and subscription streamers at 56%.