Trends and Perspectives on Digital Platforms and Digital Television in Europe| The “Netflix Tax”: An Analysis of Investment Obligations for On-Demand Audiovisual Services in the European Union

Abstract

Throughout time, the European Union’s media policy has attempted to strengthen the internal market for audiovisual services through economic and cultural measures. To anticipate or react to the dominance of foreign platforms, the revised Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD) extends its quota regime and obligation to invest in European works to on-demand audiovisual players, also when targeting a foreign market. Through document analysis, this study examines the financial investment obligations on these platforms in 10 European Union states. We found that several countries already target on-demand audiovisual platforms, and some regulations also capture foreign players. However, new policy measures are characterized by significant differences, resulting in fragmentation rather than harmonization. Moreover, the contribution requirements themselves are thus far limited and may offer only partial support to the intra-European circulation of content.