Streaming services for the first time will have an organized, unified voice in Washington to both lobby on behalf of consumers and to band together in the face of potential federal regulation.
A new trade organization called the Streaming Innovation Alliance has launched as of Tuesday, September 26 and will represent top streamers, including Netflix, Max, Paramount+, Peacock, all of Disney’s streamers, as well as niche companies Afroland.tv, ForUsByUs Network, TelevisaUnivision, VaultAccess, and ViX. Notably missing from that group: tech giants Amazon and Apple, as well as Roku and Tubi.
The Streaming Innovation Alliance is working closely with the Motion Picture Association (MPA), the trade alliance that represents Hollywood studios with the goal of telling “streaming’s story to state and federal policymakers.” It aims to “drive forward a new era of creativity, opportunity, value, and choice in home and mobile entertainment by advocating for smart policies that will support innovative streaming services and the viewers who love and depend on them,” according to a release.
Streamers want to make sure they’re not held to the same regulatory standards as social media companies like TikTok and Instagram, demonstrating that the content on their platform is curated and vetted rather than produced by individual content creators. At least one bill, the Kids Online Safety Act, has been introduced in Congress to protect children from potentially dangerous, sensitive, or extreme material online, but that law and others have been criticized as too broad by consumer groups.
Along with the group’s launch, the SIA also unveiled a survey of Americans about their impressions of streaming services. Among the findings, the poll says that a majority of people associate streaming services as sources of entertainment more so than YouTube or other social media platforms. The poll also indicates they trust streamers far more in terms of not being exposed to misinformation, hate speech, harassment, or sensitive material than they do social media. It even claims that 73 percent of those polled believe streamers should be regulated the same or less than they are now.
Charles Rivkin, the chairman and CEO of the MPA, helped bring together the SIA. It’s also led by senior advisors Fred Upton, a former Republican Congress member and the Chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and Mignon Clybyrn, a former Democrat policy maker who served as Acting Chair of the FCC.
“Streaming provides great value, vast programming choices, and unprecedented options for consumers,” Rivkin said in a statement. “The MPA looks forward to working with the SIA and its members to ensure federal and state policy propels this incredible innovation forward — and doesn’t undermine the value and diversity consumers are enjoying today.”
“Streaming services have opened up a new era of progress for program diversity that is bringing relevant stories and options to historically underserved communities at a record pace while opening doors for production jobs to people of color that have been shut for decades,” Clyburn said. “Any policy that drags down streaming would turn back the clock on this vital progress as well.”
“The rise of innovative, new video streaming services is an American success story we should celebrate and encourage, not smother with obsolete and ill-fitting rules and regulations designed for completely different technology, products, and business models,” said Upton. “Viewers have never gotten more for their entertainment dollar, and I urge policymakers to resist any effort to curtail this hugely beneficial innovation. Let’s not allow some backwards looking regulatory scheme to block gains consumers so strongly value and appreciate today.”
Axios first reported the news.
