As New Zealand considers the future of its news and broadcasting industries, global streamers and tech platforms are set to face enhanced statutory obligations in the United Kingdom.
These steps by the UK Parliament come at a time when governments across the world are considering how – but also whether – to intervene as traditional media heavyweights struggle in the wake of declining viewership and advertising revenue as well as other market forces.
In New Zealand, these issues came to the forefront as a result of the proposed (and then cancelled) TVNZ/RNZ merger. The debate over the future of the media has recently been reinvigorated by Warner Bros. Discovery’s announced shutdown of Newshub’s operations, and continues as TVNZ reports financial losses and announces its own programming changes. A recent briefing to the Minister responsible for news and broadcasting indicates that legislative change is being considered, although the form of such change is still up for debate.
In this insight we summarise the new laws in the UK, look at what is happening across the globe, and provide an update on the current state of play in New Zealand.
