The Same Standard Cable Has Followed for 40 Years — Now Applied to Streaming.
"The TEAM NY Act applies the same economic standard cable has followed for 40 years to streaming companies using a modern tax structure, and returns that revenue to local communities."
Assembly Bill A10281 and Senate Bill S9352 would establish a 5% excise on the New York gross receipts of streaming video companies — updating a community contribution framework that cable providers have operated under for four decades and directing revenue to municipalities, libraries, broadband programs, and community media across New York State.
The advocacy portal delivers your message to key New York decisionmakers — including your elected representatives based on your address — and helps the campaign track statewide support for A10281 and S9352.
↓ See how it benefits your communityWhat the TEAM NY Act Does
For 40 years, cable companies contributed to New York communities through franchise agreements — supporting local governments, public access facilities, and civic infrastructure. As video delivery migrated to streaming platforms, that framework became obsolete. The TEAM NY Act does not create a new obligation; it restores economic parity, using the modern legal mechanism appropriate to how streaming companies actually operate.
A 5% Excise on New York Streaming Revenue
The bill applies a 5% excise to the gross receipts that streaming video companies earn from New York subscribers — the revenue they earn in the state, taxed in the state. This is the standard measure used in state excise regimes.
Revenue Directed Back to New York Communities
By statute, excise revenue is allocated to municipalities, community media organizations, broadband and digital equity programs, the state general fund, and other qualified organizations — restoring local investment that eroded as streaming displaced cable.
A Corporate Obligation, Not a Consumer Surcharge
The legal obligation runs to the streaming company, not the subscriber. The bill explicitly prohibits companies from presenting this excise as a separate, itemized charge on subscriber bills.
The core rationale: Cable providers operated under a community contribution framework for decades without abandoning New York — because New York's market is commercially indispensable. The TEAM NY Act applies the same reasoning to the companies that now deliver the same content cable once did, using the legally appropriate mechanism for how streaming companies operate today. This is policy modernization, not a novel burden.
What It Means for Your Community
This is not a bill for media companies. It is a bill for municipalities, libraries, broadband programs, and the civic information infrastructure that New Yorkers depend on. Here is who benefits.
Towns, Counties, and Local Governments
Local governments that once relied on cable franchise contributions have seen that revenue disappear as streaming displaced cable subscriptions. The TEAM NY Act directs a portion of excise revenue back to the municipalities where subscribers live and work.
Public Libraries and Digital Literacy
Public libraries are anchor institutions for broadband access, digital literacy, and civic information. Library systems and the programs they provide are among the qualified recipients of excise revenue allocated by this bill.
Broadband and Digital Access Programs
A portion of revenue is directed to broadband access and digital equity initiatives — ensuring that communities on the wrong side of the digital divide share in the benefits of the same technology shifts generating streaming company profits.
Community Media and Local News
Local news organizations, community information outlets, and public access studios that fill gaps left by commercial media consolidation are among the qualified community media organizations that receive excise revenue under the bill's statutory allocation.
Together, these represent the civic infrastructure New York communities depend on: local government services, the library that provides internet access, the broadband connection that makes remote work and remote learning possible, and the community outlet that covers local school board meetings when no one else does. The TEAM NY Act is designed to sustain all of it.
How the Bill Works
The TEAM NY Act uses established state excise framework to implement a straightforward, administrable policy — no new regulatory infrastructure required.
What Is Taxed and How It Is Measured
The 5% excise applies to the gross receipts streaming video companies earn from New York subscribers. Gross receipts — the revenue earned in-state — is the standard measure used across New York's excise regime. Companies operating at scale already track subscriber and revenue data by state for business and compliance purposes.
No New Bureaucracy Required
The bill uses New York's existing excise administration framework. No new regulatory agency is created. The compliance mechanism is modeled on established state excise practice — it is straightforward for companies already operating in New York's regulatory environment, and it does not require the state to build a novel oversight structure.
The Obligation Runs to the Corporation
The TEAM NY Act explicitly prohibits streaming companies from presenting this excise as a separate, named surcharge on subscriber bills. This is standard corporate excise design: the obligation is the company's, and it cannot be re-characterized to subscribers as a government-mandated line item. Companies make their own pricing decisions; they may not use this excise as the stated justification for a specific itemized pass-through charge to consumers.
Revenue Allocation Is Set by Statute
The distribution of excise revenue among municipalities, qualified organizations, broadband programs, community media, and the state general fund is established in the bill's statutory formula. This provides certainty and transparency — it does not depend on annual appropriations decisions.
Setting the Record Straight
"This is just a new tax on streaming."
The TEAM NY Act restores an economic standard, not a novel burden. Cable companies have made community contributions under franchise agreements for 40 years. As video delivery moved to streaming, that framework became legally obsolete — not because the underlying obligation was unreasonable, but because the legal mechanism didn't fit. This bill applies the same standard using the appropriate modern structure. It is policy modernization, not a new imposition.
"Streaming companies will raise prices or leave New York."
Major streaming platforms operate in every state regardless of state-level tax treatment, because New York's market is too large to walk away from. States that have enacted streaming-related excise or revenue measures have not seen market exits. Streaming companies price based on content investment, competition, and subscriber expectations — not individual state excise obligations at this scale. The TEAM NY Act is calibrated on the same economic footing that cable companies operated under for decades without leaving the market.
"This only benefits media industry insiders."
The principal beneficiaries are municipal governments, public libraries, broadband access programs, and community information infrastructure — not commercial media companies. The bill explicitly directs revenue to local communities and public institutions. The policy design was built around the communities that lost out when streaming displaced cable, not around protecting incumbent media interests.
"Subscribers will see this charge on their streaming bills."
The bill explicitly prohibits streaming companies from presenting this excise as a separate, itemized consumer surcharge. The obligation is the company's. Companies may make their own pricing decisions, as they always do — but they cannot use this bill as the stated justification for a named government pass-through charge on subscriber bills. This is the same design principle that applies to corporate income taxes and most excise obligations.
"Why does any revenue go to the state general fund?"
Allocating a portion of excise revenue to the state general fund is standard practice across New York's excise regime — and it is required for the measure to carry fiscal standing in the legislative process. General fund allocation is what makes a revenue bill scoreable and credible. The TEAM NY Act directs significant shares of revenue directly to municipalities and qualified organizations by statute; the general fund allocation is what makes the overall structure legally and fiscally workable.
"Why not just apply the sales tax to streaming instead?"
Applying New York's sales tax to streaming raises complex bundling, classification, and jurisdictional issues that make it a less precise mechanism. The excise approach maps cleanly onto how cable franchise contributions have worked — a defined percentage of in-state revenue, directed to defined beneficiaries, with clear statutory authority. That alignment is what makes the "same economic standard" argument both accurate and legally grounded.
Send a Message in Support of the TEAM NY Act
The most effective thing you can do right now is send a message through the TEAM NY Act advocacy portal. The portal routes your message directly to key New York decisionmakers — including your own elected representatives, identified by the address you enter — and helps the campaign track statewide support for A10281 and S9352.
-
Go to the Advocacy Portal
Visit ourteamny.org to access the centralized advocacy portal for the TEAM NY Act campaign.
-
Enter Your Address
The portal uses your address to identify your Assembly Member and State Senator and routes your message accordingly. Messages are delivered to key decisionmakers including bill sponsors and legislative leadership, in addition to your own elected representatives.
-
Send Your Message
Review and send your message in support of Assembly Bill A10281 and Senate Bill S9352. Constituent messages that are specific and informed carry real weight in Albany. The portal provides a framework; personalizing your message — with a sentence about why the bill matters to your community — strengthens it.
-
Share This Page
Forward this site to neighbors, local elected officials, and organizations in your community that depend on local funding: libraries, community media outlets, municipal governments, and broadband programs.
Join the TEAM NY Act Coalition
The TEAM NY Act coalition brings together New York municipalities, library systems, community media organizations, broadband advocates, arts institutions, and civic groups that support modernized media policy and the reinvestment of streaming excise revenue into local communities.
If your organization wants to see this bill pass, there are meaningful ways to participate.
Ways to engage:
- Adopt a municipal resolution or organizational letter of support for A10281 and S9352
- Submit a letter from your organization directly to your Assembly Member or State Senator
- Participate in district outreach and constituent education events
- Add your organization's name to the public coalition
- Request a briefing for your board, staff, or membership
Connect With the Campaign
Your information will be used only for TEAM NY Act coalition coordination and stored through our Google Workspace account. We do not sell your information to third parties.
Frequently Asked Questions
It is a policy modernization that restores an economic standard, not a proposal to impose something novel on an industry. Cable companies made community contributions under franchise agreements for 40 years — and the companies that replaced cable as the primary video delivery mechanism have not. The TEAM NY Act applies the same underlying economic standard to streaming companies, using the legal mechanism appropriate to how they operate. The frame is parity and modernization, not new burden.
The bill creates a corporate obligation and explicitly prohibits streaming companies from presenting this excise as a separate, named line-item surcharge on subscriber bills. Companies make their own pricing decisions — based on competition, content costs, subscriber growth targets, and market conditions — and those decisions belong to them. What the bill does and does not do: it does not authorize companies to itemize this tax as a distinct pass-through charge to subscribers. Companies price their services; they may not use this bill as the stated justification for a specific, itemized consumer charge.
Allocating a portion of excise revenue to the general fund is standard practice in state excise design and is required for the bill to carry fiscal integrity in the legislative process. It is what makes a revenue measure scoreable. The TEAM NY Act directs significant shares of revenue directly to municipalities and qualified organizations by statute; the general fund allocation is what makes the overall structure financially and legislatively credible.
New York's sales tax structure was not designed with streaming subscriptions in mind, and applying it to streaming raises classification, bundling, and jurisdictional questions that make it a less direct and more complicated mechanism. The excise approach is administratively cleaner and maps more precisely to how cable franchise contributions have worked — a defined percentage of in-state revenue, directed to defined beneficiaries. That alignment is what makes the "same economic standard" argument both accurate and legally precise.
The bill uses existing New York State excise administration infrastructure. No new regulatory agency is required. Companies operating at scale in New York already track in-state revenue and subscriber data for business and compliance purposes; the compliance framework maps to what they already do.
The statutory allocation directs revenue to municipalities, community media organizations, broadband and digital equity programs, the state general fund, and other qualified organizations as defined in the bill. For precise statutory definitions, we encourage you to read the full bill text: A10281 at nyassembly.gov and S9352 at nysenate.gov.
Resources for Supporters and Partner Organizations
These materials are for constituent supporters, partner organizations, and anyone who wants to communicate about the TEAM NY Act with their community, local officials, or legislators. All materials are aligned with the bill's policy framework.
TEAM NY Act: One-Page Overview
A plain-language summary of what the bill does, who it benefits, and how to support it. Suitable for sharing at community meetings or forwarding to local officials.
Coming SoonTalking Points for Community Groups
Approved messaging for supporters speaking about the TEAM NY Act at public meetings, to local media, or in conversations with elected officials.
Coming SoonModel Municipal Resolution
A template resolution for town boards, village boards, county legislatures, and other local governing bodies wishing to formally support A10281 and S9352.
Coming SoonCommunity Outreach Flyer
A printable one-page flyer for libraries, community bulletin boards, and public meetings — explains the bill and directs constituents to take action.
Coming Soon