Disney, Netflix, Paramount Plus, Peacock, Max and others have come together to form a new Streaming Innovation Alliance, which intends to protect the interests of streaming services while also continuing to propel streaming innovation forward.
Over the past few months, there has been an increase in coverage surrounding the state of streaming and the forming of new groups. For example, the creation of the Independent Streaming Alliance (ISA) in June by Allen Media Group, Chicken Soup for the Soul and Cineverse, looks to promote competition within the streaming space and support independent streamers.
Now, and first reported by Axios, many of the world’s biggest streaming companies have come together to launch the Streaming Innovation Alliance (SIA). Led by former Republican Rep. Fred Upton and former Democratic FCC acting chair Mignon Clyburn, the group is designed to be able to exert collective power when dealing with new regulatory threats and issues.
SIA board members include some of the biggest names in streaming, including The Walt Disney Company (Disney+ and Hulu), Paramount Global (BET+, Paramount+ and Pluto), Warner Bros. Discovery (Discovery+ and Max), Netflix, Peacock, TelevisaUnivision (ViX), ForUsByUs Network, Vault and Afroland.tv.
According to Axios, one of the most pressing issues the group is looking to distance itself from is the grouping of all streaming services/products together under one regulatory umbrella. For example, the difference between streaming video services like Netflix and Max, and streaming platforms like TikTok, and how legislation for one shouldn’t automatically extend to the other.
We’ve already seen one area of regulatory debate surface in recent months with the creation of the Coalition for Local News and the Preserve Viewer Choice Coalition. Both of which are arguing over how live TV streaming services are regulated differently to cable providers, and whether that needs to change through the reclassification of streaming services.
While not yet publicly announced, it would seem highly likely that the new Streaming Innovation Alliance would be against any such reclassification.
