Tim Davie, BBC Director General, has told a Parliamentary committee he was “open minded” on a continental-style streamer levy as one source of funding for the public broadcaster. He said it was a “good idea” to explore ways in which the likes of Netflix could make a “contribution” to local content.

The proposal has been heavily promoted by Peter Kosminsky, the BAFTA-winning director behind Wolf Hall, where he found he had to make season two for less than season one because of the crisis in scripted drama funding.

Kosminsky wants Netflix and Prime Video to hand over 5 per cent of their UK subscription revenue to a cultural fund for British content. He says seventeen other territories, including France and Germany, have a similar levy.

Davie said he planned to meet Kosminsky to discuss the proposal. “I think the idea that contribution is flowing back into the UK is a good idea. Just exactly how that works and where it goes, I think it requires a bit more debate,” he said.

Creative Industries Minister Chris Bryant appeared to pour cold water on a streamer levy earlier this month, saying the government had “no plans” to unsettle the UK’s creative industries ecology.

The BBC has admitted that multiple greenlit series are “stuck in limbo” amid the funding crisis.

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Tags: BBC, netflix, Tim Davie