Lisa Nandy, the UK’s Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, has said the government is “reluctant” to introduce a levy on streaming services.
Last month, a report by Parliament’s Culture, Media and Sport (CMS) committee called for a share of the revenue streaming services make from subscription fees to be paid into a fund to support British High-End TV production.
The report said the major streaming services should “put their money where their mouth is”, adding that they should pay “5 per cent of their UK subscriber revenue into a cultural fund to help finance drama with a specific interest to British audiences”.
However, in an interview with Variety, Lisa Nandy said that the government “doesn’t want to do anything to deter investment” in the UK’s TV and film industry.
“We would be very reluctant to introduce additional levies at a time when business is booming,” she added. “The UK is open for business, and we’re able to attract huge amounts of investment that help to create good jobs in every part of the country.”
Nandy also discussed the impact of technology on the UK’s creative sector, stating: “Technology is really going to democratise the film industry, because it makes it far easier and cheaper for smaller startups and indies to make high quality films and to compete with bigger studios,”
