The Albanese Government has updated the Spherex Classification Tool approval to include ratings for theatrical releases, home entertainment, and streaming content in Australia. Spherex was previously approved to classify online films.

The Irish Film Classification Office (IFCO) has recently released new draft guidelines for film classification for public consultation. These guidelines reflect contemporary social values while balancing the need to protect children and young people from harmful content and upholding adults' freedom to choose what to view.

Due to government-mandated regulations, exporting content to international markets poses a significant challenge for many in the Media and Entertainment (M&E) industry. These regulations can take different forms and are intended to guide the public on the age appropriateness of film or TV titles. From a creator and distributor perspective, keeping up with the changes and understanding their rationale requires skills and knowledge outside their core competency. Non-compliance can result in financial penalties and is complicated because regulations are subject to change, and no two countries implement rules similarly. This post explores three types of changing regulations globally: local content requirements, prohibitions on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) content, and revised age-rating criteria.

The Media and Entertainment (M&E) industry is complex, and many factors can impact content's ability to find an audience. Writing and producing an engaging story are only two elements of a profitable title release.

The French writer Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr wrote in 1849 , "the more things change, the more they stay the same." Writing about the social changes occurring in France at the time, his point was that nothing changes without a fundamental shift in knowledge and thinking.

Most people have the regretful experience of causing a misstep that could have been avoided. Something as simple as publicly mispronouncing your boss's name, telling your partner their favorite outfit makes them look fat, or promising a client a discount only to find out the deal doesn't extend to them can have embarrassing consequences. The sad truth is that committing a faux pas is more likely when you don't know as much about the situation or audience as you should. The challenge is how to avoid them.

Spherex has been approved as the national classification tool and a new mechanism to regulate film content in Australia.

How Spherex technologies assess your content's cultural fit for global audiencesHave you ever eaten something unique at a restaurant and wondered, and maybe even asked, what the chef did that made it so good?Of course, you have.

If you're one of the approximately 460,000 production companies on the IMDB Pro active COMPANYmeter looking to release a title that will attract an audience among the world's 7.7 billion people living in 200+ countries and territories, then you have your work cut out for you. Besides having to write a well-told, engaging story, you must decide where among the world's 300+ streaming platforms and 25,000+ linear channels to release it.