Governments and media giants are aggressively rewriting the rules of engagement—from a presidential push for federal film and TV tax credits in the U.S. to Canal+ conditioning €1B in cinema support on strict media chronology. Across North America and Europe, the message is uniform: money moves the screen industry. Local authorities and platforms are locked in fierce battles over mandatory streamer contribution obligations and tax incentives designed to retain production IP. Where legacy budgets face friction, brand-funded entertainment is stepping in to bridge the financing gap, while regions like Scotland, India, and Cambodia leverage strategic film tourism to channel screen spend directly into local economies. Locations matter. Tap into our local knowledge.

Yet, even as financial pressure accelerates AI adoption and hybrid workflows, the industry is drawing a hard line around what capital cannot buy: our human taste differentiator. Pioneering Human Generative Workflow (HGW) principles keeps creative direction, curation, and human accountability at the center of production—ensuring efficiency never sacrifices artistic integrity. 

Scroll to read the full breakdown of global regulatory moves, funding shifts, and advertising trends, that ultimately shape our PSN Partner work facilitating shoots in locations as distant as Vietnam and Spain, or Thailand and Georgia on the Black Sea.

Advertisers Filling Money Void Of Streamers And Studios

“Brands are developing slates. Expectations need to be tempered. Whether it’s a sponsored White Lotus miniseries on HBO Max, a brand-funded series on Prime or an original concept on YouTube, the truth is, entertainment is hard. ‘The idea that someone on Madison Avenue is just going to suddenly create the next big hit is just not super likely.’ But they may sell some inventory trying.” (THR)

Sony Reveals Outlander Filming Locations In Promotion Of Final Season

“We are using imagery from the series mixed with real-life locations as part of a major drive to celebrate the final season and inspire fans to plan a trip to the many regions of Scotland.There’s no doubt that Outlander has had an extraordinary impact on Scottish tourism on the global stage and is a clear example of the power of screen tourism.” (deadline)

Netflix Launches ‘Incredible India’ Portal In Government Push For Screen Tourism

“Over the past decade, Netflix has showcased India’s diverse cultures, landscapes and traditions helping introduce global audiences to destinations and experiences across the country. We’ve seen how stories rooted in different parts of the country can connect with audiences around the world. When people discover a place or culture through a story, it can inspire them to experience it for themselves.” (TravelTradeJournal)

Canal+ Conditions €1B Strategic Support For French Cinema

“The agreement contains a clause allowing for a downward revision in the event of an adverse change to the media chronology, particularly if the release window for one or more SVOD platforms is brought forward to less than 15 months after a film’s theatrical release. It is worth recalling that it was the signing of a deal with Disney+ in early 2025 that rankled Canal+ (news), and talks are currently under way with Prime Video.” (Cineuropa)

Streamers Combat “Unsustainable” French Windowing And Investment Obligations

“The European Commission is preparing to review the Audiovisual Media Services Directive, and Netflix is lobbying for clearer limits on how far member states can go in imposing investment obligations on platforms. Ted Sarandos also urged EU policymakers not to overlook YouTube, which he described as a “straightforward direct competitor” to streamers and broadcasters which isn’t subject to comparable investment obligations.” (Variety)

France & South Korea Headline Film Summit With Financing Partnership of $1.16B 

“‘France and South Korea have taken different paths, but both have shown that openness to the world can strengthen, rather than erase, a distinctive creative culture.’ The Lumière Partnership is open to additional countries and will prioritize companies with the ambition and capacity to compete at international scale.” (Variety)

State AGs Will See Paramount In Court To Determine Fate Of Warner-Discovery Merger

“Whenever a trial is held, it won’t come fast enough to avoid having to pay Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders $7 million per day, starting on Sept. 30. But that is a cost that Paramount will have to bear to get the deal done.” (Variety)

Paramount Defensive Over LA Country Report Forecasting Industry Job Loss

“The merger would accelerate the downturn in L.A. production, which has already cost 52,000 jobs over the last four years. The report also notes that the combined company would face significant pressure to reduce costs in order to pay down debt, which could entail moving production out of Los Angeles and consolidating slates.” (Variety)

Hollywood Unions Push For Warner Bros. Discovery Settlement With States

“The Directors Guild of America and IATSE are urging California Attorney General Rob Bonta to settle his antitrust lawsuit with Paramount, arguing that prolonged uncertainty over the Warner Bros. Discovery merger is bad for the industry. The unions (and) the maintenance of the two studios as separate entities that will each produce at least 15 films a year.” (Variety)

Paramount Settles European Commission Warner Bros. Merger Concerns Over Film Distribution

“Paramount has committed to divest its stake in UIP within 13 months of completing the transaction. The company has also agreed that, for the following ten years, it will neither enter into any new co-distribution agreement with Universal in the EEA nor transfer Warner’s distribution to distributors that also handle Universal or Disney releases in the former UIP territories.” (Cineuropa)

UK Approves Paramount-Warner Bros. Merger

“Paramount beefed up promises ​about ​programming ⁠and news provision in the country. ‘These conclusions further demonstrate the misguided and gerrymandered market definitions relied upon by the U.S. state AGs in their antitrust complaint in California.” (Variety)

LA Location Filming Declines YOY

“On-location production activity for the second quarter totaled 4,711 shoot days (SD), a 12.7 percent decrease from the same period last year (5,394 SD in Q1 of 2025). The brightest spots in the television category were TV dramas, which although down 6.4 percent year-over-year in Q2 with 732 SD, also picked up 55.1 percent over the immediate prior quarter. Incentivized productions now account for 38.3 percent of the shoot days in this category.” (Shoot)

Australians Want Local Stories But Few Actually Watch Them Says Study

“High levels of expenditure associated with productions being made here should never be mistaken for evidence that the Australian screen industry itself is in good health. Prominence, discoverability and meaningful promotion of Australian content need to be part of the conversation about how we ensure Australians continue to see their own stories on screen.” (Screen Producers Australia)

Branded World Building Crafted For Online Continuity

“What happens when the product not only appears in this world, but triggers something in it? Then product placement becomes plot placement. It can enable action, change relationships, trigger conflicts or create rituals.” (LBB)

Microdramas Feed Increase Of Video Ad Spend

“The beauty of serialised short video is that it gives brands space to build a narrative across episodes, landing and underscoring a message that will stick. The brands that command the next decade of attention will be those that learn how to build worlds with creators.” (Shots)

Positioning Paid Media In A Creator’s Mediascape

“Creator content is no longer being treated as an extension of a campaign – it is increasingly the engine that powers it. Start with cultural insight upstream, use paid to compound and drive effectiveness. This is the collision we’re designing for.”(LBB)

US & UK Lower Barrier For Entry To CTV Advertising

“‘Ad revenue from SMBs is the next gold rush for broadcasters and streamers.’ But this is not about displacing the Fortune 500. Most of the smaller businesses launching TV campaigns in 2026 represent ‘pure new money.’” (The Current)

An Expansionist View on AI Influence

“‘The things that can now be created now that AI is more readily available and integrated. This, to me, is more interesting, and truly showcases the potential for talent that can get them excited. Not just the ‘how’ we make things, but also the ‘what’ we can create.’” (LBB)

U.S. Presidential Push For Federal Film Incentive

“We look forward to working with the Administration and Congress on a bipartisan bill that will have the greatest possible impact on promoting domestic film and television production, creating good jobs, and strengthening America’s homegrown film and television industry,” (Variety)

10% French Film Board Funding Boost/Penalty Anchored to Gender Parity

“Beginning Jan. 1, 2027, productions will only be penalized if they fall below an initial minimum threshold of three qualifying positions for fiction films, five for animation and two for documentaries. Those thresholds will increase incrementally each year until 2030.” (Variety) Learn more from PSN France  about how this can impact your project.

Film Funding Cuts Planned To Follow Recent German Government Boost 

“Cuts at this stage would send a disastrous signal. Trust cannot be rebuilt from scratch every year. The industry needs planning certainty and a reliable framework so that long-term investment decisions are made for Germany’s benefit.” (Screen Global Production)

Industry Confidence Shaken By Screen Queensland Funding Cut

“Only with multi-year funding certainty can the industry forward plan and support a pipeline of projects across two years, creating more jobs for Queenslanders and boosting our local economy.” (ABC News)

Canada Screen Industry Urges Government To Uphold Streamer Contributions

“Global streamers insist they already spending significant amounts in Canada and do not need the burden of obligations. They have made similar arguments in Europe and Australia, but their position is disputed by most domestic production and film communities, who warn against the creep of homogenized global content.” (deadline)

Swiss Film Industry Calls For Incentive

“The extent to which the Swiss film industry is losing out to competition from other production hubs offering attractive incentives was illustrated by the example of William Tell, UK Director Nick Hamm’s screen version of the life of the Swiss national hero. The film was shot on location in the Italian province of South Tyrol in autumn 2023.” (Screen Global Production) 

Euro Fund Execs Defend Shielding Inward Investment

“‘The incentive war – if we pour so much tax money into an automatic funding system, at the very end we lose the IP.’ Film funds need to take decisive action to keep IP within the countries of creation if the industry is to have ‘any independent producers left in Europe.” (Screen Global Production)

Film Tourism Fuels India State-Sponsored Incentive

“Through Hello Meghalaya and its film tourism initiatives, the state is seeking to position itself not only as a scenic filming destination but also as a source of original stories and home-grown creative talent.” (Times of India)

Action! On Cambodia Film Sets To Spur Tourism Recovery

“This could potentially create a chain of economic benefits, beginning with international productions spending money on locations, accommodation, transport, local crews and other services during filming, before the finished production provides longer-term exposure for the destinations featured on screen.” (The Phnom Penh Post)

Hollywood Spawns Human Generative Workflow

“HGW encourages us to look at where human judgment, creative direction, editorial decision-making, and accountability exist throughout the filmmaking process. The objective is not to slow innovation, but to ensure that technology remains a precision instrument in the hands of artists, rather than becoming the force that determines the creative process.” (The Ankler)

Our Taste Differentiator At Risk

“Taste is often what you choose to leave out. That’s one of the hardest parts of our job, and it’s almost entirely driven by judgement. If taste really is becoming our competitive advantage, then perhaps the conversation we should be having isn’t whether it matters. It’s where it comes from, and how we make sure there’s still a way for the next generation to acquire it.” (LBB)

Power Of Human Judgement Revealed In Adland Report

“AI has made creative work faster and cheaper, but if you treat it as a shortcut, you just get average output. The real value comes from skilled human judgement using AI to sharpen human craft, not replace it.” (LBB)

Ad Industry Gets Real

“‘The audience will vote with their feet.’ When brands choose to invest in human craft, they’re rebuilding trust with their audience, and trust delivers results. The time, the effort and the craft that goes into making a commercial with a real cast and crew isn’t wasted. ‘The future is human’.” (Shots)

AI Transparency Act Impact on Adland

“‘I don’t see regulation as a limitation of creativity. It won’t change the workflow so much as add a hygiene step. It’s an opportunity to establish more professional, responsible and thoughtful ways of working with AI.” (LBB)

Keeping “Made by Humans” Worthy Of The Claim

“Made by Humans” will not win simply because consumers hate AI. The evidence does not support that tidy conclusion. People appreciate convenience, personalisation and lower prices. Many cannot identify AI content, and plenty will accept it when it is useful, relevant and good. The claim will win where automation makes the alternative feel meaningful.” (Creative Pool)

Look To Mentors To Resolve The Talent Problem In Advertising

“The industry has become faster, leaner and more demanding. Teams are smaller. Deadlines are tighter. Managers are spread across more work than ever before. The people who should be teaching are often too busy delivering. Better mentorship doesn’t just create happier teams. It creates better work.” (LBB)

Business Boost To Shooting On Film 

“Kodak is on firmer ground than it has been in a decade, and film is the part of the business growing fastest. This is the fourth consecutive quarter of year-over-year improvement, it comes twelve months after the company was warning about its ability to continue as a going concern, and it lands in the middle of a genuine resurgence in shooting on film.” (CineD)

Prime Video Supports Aussie Mental Health Action Plan

“The MHAP is a roadmap to improve mental health, reduce risks and improve workplace practices across the Australian screen industry, shifting from a fragmented approach to workplace mental health to an evidence-informed and coordinated response that encourages proactive prevention.” (Amazon)