In addition, the law ensures equal treatment of TV broadcasters and streaming services. This has been demonstrated by Swiss productions such as «Wilder» and «The Undertaker,» which were successfully sold in other markets. Nor would such an investment obligation necessarily be a disadvantage for the providers themselves. This will benefit the domestic film industry, but also have indirectly positive effects for the country’s tourism sector, for example. The new law will strengthen Switzerland as a production location in an important area of culture, argue the supporters of the law. A Swiss quota will do little to change this. Streaming services have therefore long since adjusted their selection. This is because a quota of 30% already applies in the EU. The proposed quota for European productions is expected to have little impact on the supply of content in Switzerland. However, a number of countries lack rules of this kind altogether, as is the case in England. In some cases, the specifications go further than is envisaged in Switzerland. For this reason, many other countries have created similar regulations, demanding levies from streaming platforms or obliging them to invest in domestic production. This would give the Swiss film sector a considerable boost.Īnd because the proportion of films and series consumed via streaming platforms is rising, this channel is becoming increasingly important for Swiss filmmaking. According to estimates by the Federal Council, an extension of the levy obligation to streaming platforms would result in additional annual revenues of 18 million francs. Domestic productions thus receive over 100 million Swiss francs per year in support. To be sure, the Swiss film industry already receives a broad range of funding from the public sector, the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation and private foundations. The youth political organizations associated with the Swiss People’s Party (SVP), the Free Democratic Party (FDP) and the Green Liberal Party (GLP) have filed a referendum against the law. Moreover, in the EU, streaming services already have to have 30% of their content be of European origin. A quota of 50% European films already applies to TV stations. The law also seeks to promote European film via a second instrument: Streaming providers will be subject to a new rule obliging them to include at least 30% European films in their offerings. The Federal Council estimates that an additional 18 million Swiss francs would flow into the Swiss film sector annually. However, they could also pay this amount into the Swiss Film Fund. The services are free to decide which Swiss productions to invest in. This rule will also apply to foreign TV stations with Swiss advertising windows. Under the terms of the revision, streaming services too will have to invest 4% of their revenue in Swiss film. With the revision of the Film Act, the Federal Council and the parliament want to change this. To date, this rule has not yet been applied to streaming platforms such as Netflix, Sky or Disney+, which are attracting more and more viewers. However, since 2017, Swiss TV broadcasters have also been required to invest 4% of their revenues in Swiss film. This is in part done by the federal government, the cantons and the municipalities. Because the regional language-based markets in Switzerland are small, domestic filmmaking must be provided with significant support. But such figures are the absolute exception. Almost 1 million people have seen the 1978 blockbuster. «The Swissmakers» is still the most successful film in Swiss history. Furthermore, a quota for European films would mean a restriction on consumer freedom, they argue. They believe that the new fee would sooner or later lead to more expensive prices for streaming services. The law will be put to a vote because various youth political organizations have filed a referendum.Today, Swiss filmmaking is provided with funding exceeding 100 million Swiss francs per year. The federal government estimates that the new law would generate 18 million Swiss francs in revenue used for the benefit of Swiss film.A similar quota has long applied to TV stations. A second provision is to be introduced for Netflix and similar providers: In the future, they are to offer at least 30% European films.This rule is also meant to apply to TV stations with Swiss advertising windows. These platforms are now also expected to spend 4% of their revenues in Switzerland on domestic productions. The revision of the Federal Act on Film Productions and Film Culture is intended to change this.This does not apply to streaming platforms such as Netflix or Amazon Prime. Today, national and regional language television stations must invest 4% of their revenues in Swiss filmmaking.
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