Australia’s producers have raised concerns about the commissioning deals offered by streamers, calling them “unfair” and “unrealistic,” according to a study by Screen Producers Australia. The survey revealed that streamers ranked the lowest in overall deal fairness within the industry. Despite the launch of high-profile streamer series like Paramount+’s “The Last King of the Cross” and Netflix’s “Heartbreak High” reboot, streamers ranked below industry average in seven out of nine categories and showed a decline in performance compared to the previous year.
The survey also highlighted a significant drop in the perception of fairness in streamer deals. Last year, 74% of respondents agreed that the deals were fair, but this number decreased to 40% when considering overall budgets, deliverables, terms of trade, and rights retention. While free-to-air channels like the ABC were still considered to offer the least appropriate budgets, streamers experienced a concerning 24% decrease in satisfaction, with only 65% of producers reporting satisfaction with their budgets.
More than a third (36%) of producers reported having to agree to unfavorable variations in existing deals with streamers, without receiving any material benefits. This marks a significant shift from the previous year’s survey, where only 19% of producers reported the same issue with streamers. SPA CEO Matthew Deaner compared the business practices of streamers to “fishing ‘super-trawlers,'” stating that they were potentially causing permanent damage to the screen ecosystem by denying SMEs and creatives the use and financial benefits of their own ideas.
Despite the challenges faced by the industry, Australia’s production business has been booming. However, it has also been impacted by the writers and actors strikes. The introduction of content quotas by the Australian government is expected to significantly impact streamers’ future investments. The quotas, set to take effect on July 1, 2024, aim to ensure a sustainable and vibrant screen sector in Australia. Negotiations between the government, TV and film industries, and streamers are ongoing.
The survey ranked 16 linear and streaming groups based on feedback from 110 small-to-medium-sized producers who worked with streaming services between 2020 and 2022. The rankings included streamers like Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, Binge, Disney+, Netflix, Paramount+, and Stan, as well as public networks like the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and Special Broadcasting Service (SBS), and commercial free-to-air channels Seven, Nine, and Ten. Subscription TV services from the BBC, Discovery, Foxtel, and Paramount Global were also included in the survey.
