Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video appeal French content plans

Netflix, Prime Video and Disney+ are appealing plans by the French government to introduce new spending obligations, which the world’s biggest streamer said “cross a line” and are being unfairly applied.

Pauline Dauvin, content chief for Netflix France, penned an op ed for domestic newspaper Le Monde in which she decried the rules set to be implemented over the coming years that will force streamers to increase spending on local docs, animation and live shows.

Streamer spending obligations across Europe have become a hot topic over recent years as an increasing number of countries have implemented European Union legislation known as Service de Media Audiovisuels à la Demande (SMAD) to force companies such as Netflix to fulfil local investment quotas.

The legislation, which falls under the European Audiovisual Media Services Directive, allows France to require streamers to invest 20% of local revenues in domestic and European films and series.

Under the proposed rules, that investment requirement would double across animation, docs and live.

Dauvin wrote that Netflix - which spends around €250m annually on French series such as Lupin - had appealed to the government to relax obligations but said negotiations had proven unsuccessful, prompting it to now file an appeal with the Council of State.

French trade Satellifacts has also reported that Prime Video and Disney+ have filed appeals, with Dauvin confirming that Netflix has asked for a cap on “investment obligations.”

She said this would not be “to reduce our role but to make sure it remains sustainable and aligned with what audiences actually want to watch.”

Dauvin continued: “These new rules cross a line. They attempt to fix in law the exact genre balance of our slate, constrain our ability to back other types of French works – drama, comedy, unscripted – and do so only for streamers, while traditional broadcasters are spared.”

The appeal comes months after Netflix lost a court battle in Belgium over requirements to invest in French-language content in the Wallonia-Brussels Federation. 

Last month, Netflix launched its far-reaching content pact with domestic broadcaster TF1 that sees the latter’s shows and channels becoming available via the streamer.