In the years to come major US–owned streaming services like Netflix and Disney+ will need to submit to UK regulators if they want to keep offering their services in the United Kingdom.
The UK recently announced that in two years its new Media Bill will go into effect, and they will start regulating streaming services like they do local broadcasters. Streaming services will have until 2026 to become fully compliant with the new rules, according to a report from Deadline.
Under this rule, US–owned streaming services could be fined up to $308,000 USD or become restricted in the UK if they break any of the UK’s harmful material rules that have applied to local broadcasters.
Netflix and others have objected to these new rules saying it would limit their ability to make documentaries available in the UK. Other companies have threatened to remove some content from the UK as they try to better understand the new rules.
The full impact of this new law on the UK and on US–owned streaming services is unknown. Will streaming services pull content or pull out all together. How strictly will these new rules be enforced?
The UK is not alone in its push to regulate streaming. There are many similar efforts in the United States and around the world. This includes a push to treat live TV streaming services like cable TV companies by the FCC. For now, all those rules are far from becoming a reality.
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