Andrew Szusterman: South Pacific Pictures Managing Director on the proposed shake up of television and screen production legislation

A mapped-out shake-up of television and screen production legislation is garnering overwhelming support.  

The Ministry for Culture and Heritage has laid out five proposals to combat declining viewership and ad revenue in light of the global shift to streaming.  

Merging the Film Commission with NZ on Air and requiring offshore platforms to invest in more local content are among the suggestions.  

South Pacific Pictures Managing Director Andrew Szusterman told Mike Hosking the recommendations are on the money.  

He says there's been consultation with the industry and the proposals being put forward are pretty good. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Ninety from the Broadcasting Minister, who has some thoughts around
the screen and television sector and New Zealand on air
and the film Commission get merged. The big stream is
like Netflix have more, well, they've got to support more
allegedly local content South Pacific Pictures in the Andrew Schusteman's
with Us Andrew Morning to you, Morning Mark how I
I I'm very well, thank you. An observation about Paul Goldsmith.
He seems disinterested in the portfolio. Am I being unfair?

Speaker 2 (00:23):
I'm surprised about how interested it is. I actually think
that the recommendations that came out of mcchs say are
putting on the money.

Speaker 1 (00:30):
Good, so that's encouraging. So I've been wrong in that.
It's just I'm going back to this business of the
news Google paying for stuff and they just don't seem
to have an urgency about them. You see something different.

Speaker 2 (00:42):
Well, idea, it's difficult. You know, the Digital Bargaining Act
is a whole different kettle of fish. There are similarities,
but what we're talking about is a broadcasting Act that
was you know, put in place in nineteen eighty nine,
a year that TV three was creating the year before
SkyTV in two years after you guys become news talk.
So it's a long time ago and the world has
fundamentally changed. There's been very limited touches to that. But

(01:04):
what we now have is that obviously, along with ad
revenues we have audiences are migrating to just streaming platforms
with great content and local content. Players are getting lisped
out of the play There is nothing unusual from a
global play There are countries all over the world that
are now looking at how to implement the streamers within
their portfolios within their countries. So it's a good move.

(01:27):
And what I really loved about the mcch paper is
so mich was that it's on the money. They've consulted
the industry and the things that the recommendations or the
proposals that they're questioning for submissions are pretty good.

Speaker 1 (01:38):
But consultation is not action. When you go to Netflix
and they go get lost, you're at the bottom of
the world. We've got bigger fish to fry than one.

Speaker 2 (01:45):
Well, I'm sure this isn't the first dance they've had
around this globally. Bike In fact, it so they'll have
a playbook that they'll play to. But you know, I
think the catch all situation. Obviously there's trade agreements that
negate the ability for just activity on the streamers. What
we do have to realize in New Zealand broadcast is
that although there are you know, the charter for tvm

(02:07):
Z was thrown out in twenty twelve, there are actually
no regulations around quotas or the amount of content local
content played on any of the players. What this does
is effective who proposed as a catch all, It'll catch
every player a market and go Look, there's going to
have to be a content requirement where you know, the
options are varied. There is people that talk about levies,

(02:28):
but the requirements they're talking about is a percentage of
gross revenue that would then be spent on local contents.

Speaker 1 (02:33):
A win one insummation. We're moving at last, and we're
in the right direction.

Speaker 2 (02:39):
I think. So. Look, honestly, I'm surprised and happily surprised.
We've been looking for this for quite some time, the
rumors ruminating out of Wellington, this is going to be coming.
And from an industry professional point of view, you read
this and from a local production point of view, from
a prominence point of view, from the broadcasts of being
on remotes and having apps on TVs. These guys have
actually done a really good job and implored it's the

(03:00):
Minister NMCCH for finally acknowledging what government's successive governments of
both types have been kicking ten down the road since
the mid nineties.

Speaker 1 (03:08):
Well done, Andrew appreciated very much. Andrew's system in South
Pacific Pictures. What did I call them? Managing director? That'll
live Managing director. For more from the Mic Asking Breakfast,
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