Netflix calls for legislative reform to invest less in French creation
The platform believes that the obligations imposed on it have become “unsustainable” and also calls for faster access to films after their theatrical release.
Netflix is turning up the heat.
As the European Commission prepares to re-examine the European directive on audiovisual media services this fall, the American streaming giant is asking for a cap on the mandatory investments it must devote to French creation.
Since the 2021 decree transposing the European directive, subscription platforms such as Netflix, Prime Video or Disney+ are required to invest 20% of their turnover generated in France in French and European films, series and documentaries. One of the highest levels of obligation in Europe.
Today, Netflix invests more than 250 million euros per year in French creation, including around 60 million euros in cinema. The platform finances or produces between 20 and 25 French works each year. But she believes that the current system is no longer viable.
“As an essential partner of French creation, and determined to remain so, we are warning about the viability of the current financing rules for broadcasters,” a Netflix spokesperson declared to the daily Le Monde.
According to estimates cited by the newspaper, if nothing changes, American platforms could represent almost half of the financing of French creation by 2030, compared to around a quarter in 2024. Netflix considers this progression disproportionate to the real demand of the French public for national works.
The platform also does not hide its other objective: to obtain a relaxation of the media chronology. Present in France for almost twelve years, Netflix believes it is penalized compared to Disney+, even though it is investing more in local production.
Today, Canal+ can broadcast a film six months after its theatrical release. Disney+ benefits from a nine-month window thanks to its reinforced commitments to French cinema. Netflix, for its part, must wait fifteen months before offering a feature film on its platform. The group has been campaigning for several years to reduce this deadline to twelve months.
These rules also impact films produced or distributed by Netflix. In particular, they prevent the platform from presenting its feature films in competition at the Cannes Film Festival, which requires a real theatrical release for all candidates for the Palme d’Or. This is also why the next Narnia, directed by Greta Gerwig, will not be released in IMAX in France and will be put directly online on Netflix.
