Independent.ie reports that RTÉ’s Rory Coveney, a brother of Minister Simon Coveney, will recommend introducing a levy on foreign media outlets targeting Irish viewers.
Documents seen by Independent.ie ahead of Mr. Coveney’s appearance at the Oireachtas Media Committee indicate that the broadcaster believes such a levy would provide an “invaluable stimulus” to independent media producers in Ireland who have been “devastated” by Covid-19 and the 2008 economic crash.
Under the proposal, foreign video-on-demand providers that target Irish audiences would be expected to pay the levy, as currently happens in several other EU member states.
“Significant revenue is derived by media service providers located elsewhere, which target Irish audiences but which have no obligation to invest in Irish content,” Coveney, the director of strategy at RTÉ, will tell TDs and senators.
“The funds derived from such a levy would provide an invaluable stimulus for the independent production sector here that has been devastated first by the economic crash and more recently by Covid-19.”
Echoing RTÉ, Independent.ie understands that Virgin Media will tell the committee a “distortion” between broadcasters and digital media providers exists in the market in regards levies imposed, revenue, advertising and regulation, and that the company is “already a payer of very significant levies”.
Sky Ireland will warn however that levies on content could become “distortionary” and require “flexibility”.
“We also believe that this could be achieved via other avenues which are less distortionary than content levies have the potential to be,” the meeting will be told.