WME, CAA, and UTA joined forces with production companies, including Legendary and Imagine Entertainment, to form a new industry coalition. The alliance intends to lobby for legislation requiring streaming services to source at least 50 percent of their original programming from independent producers.
Proposed rules would also place restrictions on the duration of licensing agreements between platforms and creators. Jeff Sagansky stated that streamers are currently commissioning 30 to 40 percent less programming than they did several years ago.
Sagansky also noted that the streaming market has narrowed down to approximately four major players. While supporters were unsuccessful in passing a tax credit bill introduced in September, the coalition is targeting 2027 for legislative action.
Rep. Laura Friedman said, "My focus right now is on passing our bipartisan national film tax credit bill to put film and television workers back on the job, but I look forward to continuing to work with stakeholders to ensure the industry is vibrant for the future." The Coalition for Program Diversity previously attempted to secure a regulation in 2002 requiring 25 percent of primetime content to originate from independent sources.
Independent producers often face streamers taking full rights for periods of 10 to 20 years. Andrew Long observed that the current streaming marketplace offers more diversity than the three-network era of the 1970s.
