Wolf Hall director Peter Kosminsky has argued that the UK government is more worried about “poking the U.S. presidential bear” than protecting British TV storytelling.The BAFTA-winning dramatist has been a forceful advocate for a streamer levy to support local scripted content amid a funding crisis, but is sceptical that British ministers share his vision.Kosminsky’s latest intervention comes as UK Parliament’s Culture, Media & Sport Committee recommended that, if the industry can’t design its own scheme, the government should force the likes of Netflix to pay a 5% revenue levy into a cultural fund that supports local high-end TV production.Responding to the recommendation, Kosminsky told Deadline: “However much support builds for the idea of a streamers’ levy to support UK PSB [public service broadcaster] production, I’m concerned that the government isn’t brave enough to introduce such an idea.“They seem to be so terrified of poking the US presidential bear that my fear is they would rather see UK PSB HETV production go to the wall – leaving us with an unbroken diet of streamers’ HE television in the UK – than face the prospect of countermeasures from the White House.”The Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) has been approached for comment. Chris Bryant, the creative industries minister, told lawmakers in January that “we haven’t got any plans” to introduce a levy. Since then, Trump has introduced tariffs and the UK is keen to avoid measures that look like retaliation and risk sparking a trade war.In a statement about the Culture, Media & Sport Committee’s recommendations, the DCMS said: “We acknowledge the challenges facing our brilliant film and TV industry and are working with it through our Industrial Strategy to consider what more needs to be done to unlock growth and develop the skills pipeline. We thank the Committee for its report which we will respond to in due course.”Kosminsky added that the Culture, Media & Sport Committee’s proposal, that the cultural fund “support domestic HETV production,” was too vague. “To have the effect described, to save PSB HETV production and to reinvigorate the co-production market, it’s important to be clear that the fund can only be used for productions with a UK PSB commission attached. Otherwise, there is a danger that a significant proportion of the fund could be siphoned back towards the streamers themselves,” he said.A funding crisis has dominated discussions in the UK scripted community, as executives lament a perfect storm of issues, including U.S. streamers pulling back from co-production, shrinking international sales advances, persistent inflation, ad revenue declines, and BBC funding cuts.There is not universal consensus around a levy, with high-profile figures such as Black Doves producer Jane Featherstone speaking out against the proposal. Others, like Adolescence writer Jack Thorne, think a mix of solutions, including increased tax breaks, is the right way forward.Netflix has warned that it will hike prices if a levy is introduced. “Levies diminish competitiveness and penalise audiences who ultimately bear the increased costs,” the company said.
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