Exclusive: Netflix, Amazon, YouTube launch new streaming coalition
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Illustration: Shoshana Gordon/Axios
Three of the biggest names in streaming on Monday announced the formation of a new policy coalition to support their positions on key issues.
Why it matters: Over the past year, government regulators have scrutinized sports leagues moving their rights to streaming, prompting streamers that aren't attached to broadcast networks to come together to advocate for their shared interests.
Zoom in: The Streaming Access and Choice Alliance launched Monday with Amazon, Netflix and YouTube as its founding corporate members.
- The alliance is led by TechNet, a trade group that represents Big Tech companies.
- In a statement, TechNet said the coalition will advocate for "technology-neutral policies that encourage innovation in entertainment — enabling streaming services to invest in a wide range of programming, including live sports."
The big picture: Earlier this year, the Department of Justice and the Federal Communications Commission opened an inquiry into whether the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961, which allows leagues to pool and sell TV rights collectively, should be revisited.
- FCC chairman Brendan Carr questioned whether too many sports rights are moving over to paywalled streaming services as a result of an antitrust exemption granted to sports leagues as part of that law.
- The National Football League believed Fox Corp. was behind a pressure campaign on the issue, Axios previously reported.
Catch up quick: Netflix, Amazon and YouTube's parent Google were all part of a previous trade group called the Internet Association that dissolved in late 2021 once it became clear its members' interests were too dispersed.
- Netflix joined the Motion Picture Association that year, a signal that its interests were becoming more aligned with Hollywood in some cases than Silicon Valley.
- While MPA represents the film interests of several entertainment companies, including Netflix, Amazon, Disney, Paramount and others, it doesn't advocate for streamers' policy goals specifically.
Zoom out: Because the biggest streamers are mostly owned by corporate parents with a diverse set of interests, there isn't a single trade group set up to represent their interests.
- Coalitions, which tend to arise in response to specific issues, are used by streamers to address particular lobbying challenges.
- For example, streamers including Netflix, Paramount+, Warner Bros. Discovery's HBO Max, Comcast's Peacock, Disney, TelevisaUnivision and Univision's ViX, and others formed the industry's first major coalition called the Streaming Innovation Alliance in 2023.
- The SIA helped streamers challenge local broadcasters that were urging the FCC to take action on a regulatory loophole that they argued imperiled their distribution on streaming services.
