Netflix and Amazon Prime could be subject to a quota of 20% of European content.
Visiting the Cannes International Film Festival, Andrus Ansip, commissioner for the single digital market, told Les Echos, that such quota will the basis for the work of the commission responsible for revising the Directive on Audiovisual Media Services. Ansip said that there is a need to “create a fairer playing field between them and the TV.”
The 20% quota could apply to both the catalogue of available content, but also to show them in the home pages of the sites in question. However, the proposed quota still has some way to go before being implemented. The college of 28 commissioners must agree on the percentage, and it must be approved by the European Parliament and the Council.
Currently, Netflix is operating out of Amsterdam and is not subject to any constraints. It comes to no surprise, that the news on a possible European quota for SVOD services comes from a French newspaper, from a country where the movie industry is heavily dependent on investments by the broadcasters, enforced by French law.
