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Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Streamers Urged to Pay U.K. Levy to Protect Embattled British TV Drama in Parliament Report: They Must ‘Put Their Money Where Their Mouth Is'
The British government has been urged to take a series of drastic measures to help support the beleaguered U.K. TV industry and indie film sector in a major parliament committee report. Following months of evidence provided to MPs by some of the biggest figures in the British creative industries, the wide-ranging report asserted that 'tax breaks and a streamer levy should be on the table' as part of an 'urgent package of support for U.K.'s crisis-hit high quality drama sector.' More from Variety Warner Bros. Discovery, Netflix, Disney and More Media Stocks Rally as Trump Sets 90-Day Pause on Tariffs for Some Countries 'Black Mirror' Creator Charlie Brooker on Dealing the Show's 'Biggest Body Blow' in Season 7 and Whether He Took Another Swipe at Netflix: 'Almost Disappointingly, No' 'Slow Horses' Star Jack Lowden in Talks to Play Mr. Darcy in Netflix's 'Pride and Prejudice' Series (EXCLUSIVE) Amid spiraling costs, a collapsing ad market, major funding cuts across the local networks and the recent global pullback by studios and streamers when it comes to local co-productions, the report called for an enhanced tax incentive for domestic high-end TV, much like the new Independent Film Tax Credit (IFTC), announced in 2024. Some of the evidence given to MPs underlined a crisis when it came to getting prestige British storytelling financed ('Wolf Hall' director Peter Kosminsky said 'Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light' could only get made when lead star Mark Rylance took a major pay cut). To that end, the report urged streamers, who it said 'benefit from the creativity of British producers,' to 'put their money where their mouth is' by committing to pay 5% of their U.K. subscriber revenue into a cultural fund to help finance 'drama with a specific interest to British audiences.' It added: 'If the industry does not voluntarily establish the fund within a year, the Government should introduce a statutory levy.' Also on the subject of TV, the report argued that that 'dynamic between independent producers and streamers is not sustainable,' and that U.K. production companies were being 'gutted by deals that deny them the ability to fully monetise their intellectual property.' It said the government should consider ways that U.K. could retain a greater share of IP rights when working with streaming platforms. While the report acknowledged the IFTC — as called for by the previous committee in the last parliament — as a 'welcome first step' for the film industry, it said it was a 'game-changer but not a silver bullet for all the problems facing independent British film.' It recommended that the U.K. government go further with, among various measures, a targeted 25% tax relief towards the P&A costs of films that had benefitted from the IFTC. In an industry that is dominated by freelance workers, the report also made a range of recommendations on ways to bolster both skills and workers rights. Among them was it backing — as put forward by the last committee — for the government to appoint a dedicated Freelancers' Commissioner. Other recommendations including the government funding an AI observatory and tech demonstrator hub with the British Film Institute, a reduction in taxes on cinema tickets and a twice-yearly analysis comparing the U.K.'s film and high-end TV tax incentives with those of other countries in order to maintain competitiveness. The report also addressed efforts to tackle bullying and harassment, urging the industry to commit to 'unconditional, long-term funding' of the previously-unveiled Creative Industries Independent Standards Authority 'within six months.' It added that the government should step in to explore options to fund the body should the industry not delivery a voluntary solution. 'Big box-office blockbusters made in Britain have showcased the U.K.'s world-class film and high-end television industry like never before,' said committee chair Dame Caroline Dinenage MP. 'But the boom in inward investment of recent years now risks crowding out our many talented independent British producers. While streamers like Netflix and Amazon have proved a valuable addition for the industry and economy, unless the Government urgently intervenes to rebalance the playing field, for every 'Adolescence' adding to the national conversation, there will be countless distinctly British stories that never make it to our screens.' Kosminsky — who made the case for the 5% levy on streamers — unsurprisingly welcomed that aspect of the report. 'This is a brave thing to do in the current political climate and absolutely the right solution,' he said. 'However, I do think it is important to stipulate that the fund created by this levy should only be available to productions which are either commissioned or co-commissioned by a public service broadcaster. As far as I can see, this isn't made clear in the report and it is an essential aspect of the 5% levy solution to the problems our industry faces.' In a statement provided to Variety, Netflix pushed back against the recommendation, arguing that the added cost from the levy would only be passed on to the consumer. 'The U.K. is Netflix's biggest production hub outside of North America — and we want it to stay that way,' a spokeswoman said. 'But in an increasingly competitive global market, it's key to create a business environment that incentivises rather than penalises investment, risk taking and success. Levies diminish competitiveness and penalise audiences who ultimately bear the increased costs.' Numerous distributors, including StudioCanal, Lionsgate, Black Bear Pictures, Altitude, Picturehouse Entertainment and True Brit, applauded the urge for the government to offer a P&A tax relief on British indie features. 'When releasing a British film in the U.K., we are spending and competing in advertising terms with Blockbuster movies, games and other commercial retailers, who have many more millions of pounds in their budgets than independent film distributors,' said True Brit CEO Zygi Kamasa. 'In order to ensure that those very films that are now being supported in production are adequately released, then a tax credit for P&A would be a huge boost to distributors and to those films to maximise their potential box office takings.' Best of Variety What's Coming to Disney+ in April 2025 The Best Celebrity Memoirs to Read This Year: From Chelsea Handler to Anthony Hopkins Oscars 2026: First Blind Predictions Including Timothée Chalamet, Emma Stone, 'Wicked: For Good' and More
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Army looks to artificial intelligence to enhance future Golden Dome
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — The U.S. Army is looking to increase autonomy through artificial intelligence solutions to reduce the manpower needed to manage Golden Dome, President Donald Trump's desired homeland missile defense architecture, the service's program executive officer for missiles and space said this week. As the Army contributes a large portion of the in-development air and missile defense architecture for Guam, it is looking to adapt those capabilities for a Golden Dome application, Maj. Gen. Frank Lozano told Defense News in an interview at Redstone Arsenal on Wednesday amid the Association of the U.S. Army's Global Force Symposium in Huntsville, Alabama. Some of the Army's major contributions to the Guam Defense System include new modernized radars, an emerging Indirect Fire Protection Capability and its new Integrated Battle Command System, or IBCS. 'What we're trying to do is three things,' Lozano said. 'We're wanting to integrate more AI-enabled fire control so that will help us reduce the manpower footprint. We're wanting to create more remotely operated systems so that we don't have to have so many operators and maintainers associated with every single piece of equipment that's out there.' And, he said, 'We need to have more autonomously operated systems.' Currently, the Army typically has a launcher with a missile and a launcher crew consisting of at least two to three soldiers. 'In the Golden Dome application, we would likely either have containerized missiles — think box of rockets — or we might actually put rockets and missiles in the ground,' Lozano said. Those systems would require less frequent upkeep, as a smaller manpower footprint means status checks might only happen every couple of weeks, and test checks would be conducted remotely, he said. In order to work on such capability, the Army is planning to use what it learns from maturing the Guam Defense System, which will become operational in roughly 2027 with Army assets. The service will also pivot its Integrated Fires Test Campaign, or IFTC, from a focus on testing the Guam architecture incrementally to how to inject autonomy and AI into those systems for Golden Dome beyond 2026. The IFTC in 2026 is considered the Guam Defense System 'Super Bowl,' Lozano said. Then, beyond 2027, he said, 'If we're called upon to support Golden Dome initiatives, we need to have those advanced AI, remotely operated, autonomous-based formations and systems ready to go.' To begin, the Army will be focused on defining the functions that human operators perform at all the operator terminals within an IBCS-integrated fire control center or at a particular launching station, Lozano said. Once those functions are defined, Lozano said, the Army will have to define the data sources that drive action. 'We have to create the decision rubric that assesses and analyzes that data that then drives a human decision, and then we have to code AI algorithms to be able to process that information and make the right decision,' Lozano said. 'There will be trigger points where the software has to say, 'I'm not authorized to make that level of decision. It's got to go back to the human and deliver.'' For the first time, the Army's Program Executive Office Missiles and Space is interacting with many new market entrants in the AI realm to work on the effort. For example, Lozano said he met this week at the Global Force Symposium with the French defense firm Safran. Safran, known for its assured position, navigation and timing capabilities, is planning a significant U.S. expansion. The defense firm provides capability for various Army missile programs, including Patriot air and missile defense systems and IBCS, as well as Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System and Precision Strike Missile programs. Lozano told the company he is looking for ways to reduce humans having to perform actions, such as verifying that timing data is synchronized with satellite timing. The Army has also begun discussions with Anduril, which, in early January, acquired the U. S. defense company Numerica, which happens to write the Army's IBCS fire control software. The service has discussed with Anduril how it can start looking at integrating more AI fire control functionality into its major air and missile defense command-and-control system. Part of the plan is focused on engaging with some nontraditional industry, such as venture capitalists and newly established small companies tackling these challenges, according to Lozano. The Army will spend the next six to nine months defining what it wants to look for from industry and then will begin hosting industry days and issuing requests for information, he said.
