News item | 18-07-2022 | 15:15
Major streaming services that are active in the Netherlands, such as Netflix, Amazon Prime and Videoland, must invest 4.5% of their annual turnover in Dutch series, films and documentaries. This is stated in a bill that State Secretary Gunay Uslu (Culture and Media) sent to the House of Representatives today. The bill is one of the measures that Uslu is taking to strengthen the production and visibility of Dutch films, series and documentaries.
State Secretary Uslu: “Streaming services are becoming increasingly popular and the range of foreign films, series and documentaries is growing. This should not be at the expense of Dutch stories. With this bill we say: if you have success as a streaming service on the Dutch market, you must also contribute to the Dutch offer. This way, Dutch viewers can enjoy beautiful homegrown productions.”
4.5% of turnover with an annual turnover of 30 million euros
The bill obliges streaming services with an annual turnover in the Netherlands of more than 30 million euros to invest 4.5% of their turnover in Dutch films, series and documentaries. This investment means, for example, that they themselves (co-)produce a Dutch title, or purchase and offer an existing, recent Dutch production. Part of the investment should benefit independent producers to ensure a diverse range.
Strengthening production and visibility
In 2022, Uslu will also stimulate the production of Dutch films, series and documentaries in other ways. It makes 11.5 million euros available for the so-called Production Incentive High-end series, a Film Fund scheme for series that are relatively expensive to produce. Series that have previously made use of the scheme are, for example Flying Dutchmen and The Story of the Netherlands. She is also investing 1 million so that 18 Dutch feature films can be seen earlier and longer on public broadcasting.
Since the corona crisis, insurers no longer cover risks related to pandemics. Uslu reserves 5 million euros to cover this for independent productions that are not financed by the Film Fund.
Finally, Uslu is making 6 million euros available with which movie theaters can replace their digital projectors. Partly due to the corona crisis, the movie theaters do not have enough resources to pay for this themselves. That while movie theaters are indispensable for showing (Dutch) films, and for bringing children and young people into contact with culture.