The EU Commission is to launch a consultation with the European audiovisual industry with a view to strengthening the ability of producers to retain IP rights and reviewing the ability of UK productions to qualify as European works.
Announcing the consultation at Cannes, EU internal market commissioner Thierry Breton noted that viewing in Europe is dominated by non-European streaming platforms.
He referred to European Commission research published today, titled The European Media Industry Outlook.
The research says that the video-on-demand market is “dominated by a few non-EU companies, with the top three offers coming from the US and representing around 71% of total subscriptions.”
It also found that streamers kept hold of all intellectual property rights on average in 38-62% of contracts with producers, and that producers perceive there to be an increasing tendency of streamers to demand full ownership of rights.
Breton said: “We can see more and more cases of buyout… This dynamic is quite disturbing and should lead us to react.” Breton added that ownership of IP rights is “fundamental” for the prospect of growth for European producers.”
Breton said the consultation will also look into what constitutes a European work. Currently, films and TV shows originating from the UK are still considered European works for the quotas set out in the European Union Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD).
Under the directive, European content must make up a majority of airtime on terrestrial television channels and account for at least 30% of titles on video-on-demand platforms such as Netflix and Amazon
Breton said that 30% of “so-called European” works are actually British or co-produced with the US.
“We need to make sure the efficiency of measures are not undermined by practices with non-European players,” he said.
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