Netflix Has Edge in Indiana Video Service Fee Oral Arguments

The Indiana Supreme Court seemed likely at oral arguments Thursday to rule that Netflix Inc. and other streaming companies aren’t subject to state video service provider franchise fees and that an amendment explicitly excluding them from the charges is constitutional.

Indianapolis and other cities argued that the 2023 amendment to the Indiana Video Service Franchises Act, which exempted streaming services from the fees, violated the state constitution’s single rule provision because it was lumped in with an unrelated government finance omnibus package.

“I’m struggling to see how a policy decision by the General Assembly to say ‘We’re not going to ...