One of Australia’s top TV network bosses has accused the federal government of failing to regulate the overseas streaming giants and social media platforms, saying they’re “eating our lunch”.

In recent years, the traditional free-to-air broadcasters have been under mounting pressure with falling revenue, dwindling ratings, the rise of streamers and tough advertising conditions.

At the Seven West Media annual meeting earlier in November, chair Kerry Stokes highlighted the network’s long-running iconic soap, Home and Away, as an example for the need for tighter control.

K Capital’s David Kingston asked Stokes whether there was any hope for shareholders that the company would show a capital gain, The Australian reported.

“Seven West Media shareholders have been punished with large capital losses and also no dividends since 2017. The issue here for shareholders is, is there any hope?” he said.

The newspaper then asked whether shareholders should “give up” on the company, questioning why the network bought a large stake in media group, ARN.

“Unfortunately, I actually agree with you … there’s nothing you’ve said that isn’t true,” Stokes said.

“We live in an environment which has changed dramatically, and it has changed because of streamers like Amazon, Google and Facebook, who are eating our lunch.

“And we’ve got a government and policy settings which make it impossible to contain them. They take our product, redistribute it in various fashions, they clip it, they put it on YouTube, they do all sorts of things with it for which we get no reward.”

He said social media platforms had allowed users to populate content belonging to the company without any “reservation”.

“[Somehow] it’s OK for these people to clip it up and put it on TikTok or any form of platform they wish to without any reservation or control,” Stokes said.

“If you go to TikTok, you’ll see more excerpts from Home and Away than you will on Home and Away … but we get nothing for that and our government doesn’t seem to think it’s worthwhile doing anything about it.”

‘We pay our taxes’

Industry heavyweights including the Screen Producers Association have long advocated on behalf of the local industry for legislation that imposes a 20 per cent Australian content spend requirement for the streaming giants such as Netflix.

It was set to be introduced in July, but that date has come and gone.

More recently, there were concerns a quota system might run up against the US Free Trade Agreement and with a new president-elect in Donald Trump, legislation may still be a way off.

In his official chairman’s address, Stokes, in the context of speaking about the recent Seven Telethon – which raised $83.3 million – said “our people are deeply ingrained in our towns and cities, where we fight for our viewers and readers”.

“We are a business built on and loved by millions of Australians, who make up our broad Seven family,” he said.

“This is in stark contrast to overseas-based streaming platforms.

“Unlike them, we pay our taxes, look after our people and follow the strict broadcasting rules.”

SPA boss Matt Deaner told The New Daily he “welcomes [Stokes’] views on the long-awaited and overdue streaming regulation”.

“The case for this regulation has been well and truly made, and online is where our audiences increasingly are now,” he said.

“We have also long argued for the inclusion of commercial broadcasting’s successful BVOD [broadcast video on demand] services such as 7Plus, 9Now and 10 Play within the scope of government regulation thinking, so that all screen content delivered online is treated consistently and to avoid any future gaps.”

He said there was “little doubt that there’s an uneven environment for Australian audiences in which some platforms are regulated and others aren’t”.

‘Complex piece of regulation’

ABC chair Kim Williams has also publicly commented on the issue, telling Deaner in a live Facebook stream on November 6 that investment and regulation were needed to fund Australian stories.

“Never before has Australian content mattered more,” he said.

Deaner said there was “no doubt that this is a complex piece of regulation” that has been on the table for almost a decade.

“Dealing with powerful digital tech platforms isn’t easy, especially when they are based in the US and backed by their government and forceful trade bodies,” he said.

“The experience of dealing with Meta over the News Media Bargaining Code shows how tough this is for the Australian government.

“It is indeed difficult now to see the opportunity for this matter to be regulated until next year.”