Netflix is calling for a cap on the mandatory investments it is required to make in French content as it pursues its lobbying push to gain an earlier access to newly released movies.
The U.S. streaming giant, which has become one of the biggest private backers of French film and TV production, is warning that the current rules are becoming unsustainable, and argues that without changes, American platforms could end up accounting for nearly half of all financing for French creation by 2030, up from roughly a quarter in 2024, according to estimates cited by Le Monde.
“As an essential partner of French creation, and determined to remain one, we are sounding the alarm about the viability of the current rules for financing by broadcasters,” a Netflix spokesperson told the French newspaper.
At the heart of the debate is France’s 2021 decree implementing the European Audiovisual Media Services Directive, which has required subscription streamers such as Netflix, Prime Video and Disney+ to invest 20% of their local revenue in French and European films and series. The country imposed some of the highest obligations on streamers in Europe.
As Brussels prepares to revisit the directive this fall, Netflix is hoping the European Commission will hear their call to limit investment requirements.
