US coalition seeks law requiring streamers to spend half of budgets on independent productions
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The American Entertainment Alliance is proposing that federal legislation require streaming services to spend at least half their content budgets on independent US productions. The coalition, whose founding members include CAA, WME and UTA, says consolidation has narrowed opportunities for independent creators and threatens jobs in the US film and television industry.
Its other proposals include returning some licensing and syndication rights to producers after several years, using federal policy to make US production more viable, and requiring transparency in recommendation algorithms to prevent platforms favouring their own content. The alliance was announced a week after Paramount completed its $111 billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery. The Streaming Innovation Alliance, which represents major streaming companies, says government mandates could dampen production and discourage creative risk-taking.
- A new coalition wants streamers to spend half their budgets on US indie productions.
- Its proposals also cover rights, domestic production and recommendation algorithms.
- Streaming companies say mandates could discourage production and creative risk-taking.
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Streaming services fund and distribute films and television programmes, either making them in-house or buying them from outside producers. Independent productions are made outside the major studios and platforms, often by smaller companies that rely on selling or licensing their work to reach audiences.
The American Entertainment Alliance brings together talent agencies including CAA, WME and UTA with independent producers and entertainment figures. It is seeking rules that would steer more streaming spending towards US independent productions and give producers greater control over rights to their work.
The debate matters because streaming has changed how programmes are financed, owned and found by viewers. The Streaming Innovation Alliance, which represents major platforms, says spending rules could reduce production and creative risk-taking; the competing proposals reflect different views of how to support US production and jobs.
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Supporters argue that streaming consolidation has concentrated commissioning power, limiting independent producers’ access to funding and audiences while weakening jobs and competition. They see minimum spending, rights returning to producers, and rules on platform self-preferencing as ways to sustain a diverse US production sector and ensure creators share in the long-term value of their work.
The case against
Opponents argue that fixed spending quotas and rights rules could constrain how services respond to audience demand and allocate budgets across different kinds of programmes. They contend that added regulation could raise costs or deter investment, reducing production and creative risk-taking rather than protecting them.
Full account
CAA, WME and UTA are among the founding members of the American Entertainment Alliance, a coalition of agencies, production companies and industry figures seeking changes to US film and television policy. Its central proposal is legislation requiring major studios and streaming services to spend at least half of their original-content budgets on independent productions. The alliance says consolidation and the growth of streaming have reduced opportunities for independent producers and weakened the economics of making film and television.
Other founding members named in reports include Anonymous Content, Blumhouse, Imagine Entertainment, Jeff Sagansky, Legendary Entertainment, MRC, North Road, Producers United, Propagate Content and Ziffren Brittenham. UTA vice-chair Jay Sures said the industry needed a regulatory framework that put creators first, protected workers and preserved competition. The alliance also supports changes to creative ownership rules, including a proposal for licensing and syndication rights to return to a production company or outside studio after a number of years.
The coalition’s agenda extends beyond spending requirements. It wants federal policies to make US production more competitive, and calls for greater transparency in recommendation algorithms to prevent platforms from favouring their own content. The launch comes amid further consolidation, including the recently completed Paramount and Warner Bros Discovery merger, which one report puts at $111 billion and another at about $110 billion. The merged company, now called Skydance, has also made commitments concerning independent production as part of a settlement with state attorneys general who challenged the deal.
The alliance’s proposals are advocacy goals; the reports do not describe legislation already enacted or a clear timetable for the coalition’s measures. One account places its Washington effort alongside a federal production tax-credit proposal introduced the previous month, which sponsors hope to pass by January. That report says it remains uncertain whether or how the measure will advance. The other focuses more on the alliance’s wider platform, including rights reversion, algorithm transparency and bringing production back to the United States.
Where outlets differ
The reports describe the proposed 50% spending rule somewhat differently: one says it would apply to streaming providers’ budgets for independent US productions, while the other refers to major studios and streamers allocating half of original-content budgets to indie production.
One report gives the Paramount–Warner Bros Discovery deal’s value as $111 billion; the other says about $110 billion. Both say it closed the previous week.
The first report gives more detail on the alliance’s aims around rights reverting to producers, algorithm transparency and US production incentives. The second adds context about a proposed federal tax credit and the merged company’s commitments to independent production.
The second report’s founding-member list names CAA twice and refers once to the coalition as the “AEI”; the first consistently calls it the American Entertainment Alliance (AEA).
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Originally published by Variety as “CAA, WME and UTA Lead Coalition Pushing for Law to Force Streamers to Spend Half Their Budgets on Indie Productions”.