Berlin moves to make streaming giants pay for German films

German lawmakers are going after the money machines behind major streaming platforms with a draft legislation that would require the likes of Netflix, Amazon Prime and Disney+ to invest directly in German film productions.

The proposed investment mandate, long announced by the government, could channel hundreds of millions of euros into the country’s struggling film industry, as German media outlets point out.

Under the new rules, major streaming companies operating in Germany would be required to invest at least 8%of their annual domestic revenue into the German production sector.

The measure is aimed at supporting an industry that has come under increasing pressure in recent years. Major German studios such as Studio Babelsberg and Bavaria Film have struggled with declining capacity utilisation amid growing competition from other European production hubs.

The government says the mandatory investment quota is intended to complement existing public subsidies by attracting more private financing into German productions.

Culture Minister Wolfram Weimer stated that such investment and incentive programs will finally make way for the creation of stable conditions that, in turn, will allow the German film industry to compete internationally.

Officials also want influence over how the money is spent, including ensuring funding flows into German-language productions. Companies that invest more than 12% of their revenue would face fewer regulatory requirements.

The government said €250 million in federal film funding is already available immediately, noting that support for the sector was doubled last year. Combined with other subsidy programs, Berlin says it is now providing more than €300 million for film and television productions.

The new minimum investment quota would not apply only to international streaming giants, but also to domestic broadcasters, including RTL Group, ProSiebenSat.1 Media, as well as public broadcasters ARD and ZDF. For broadcasters, the calculation would be based on spending tied to their non-linear, on-demand offerings.

Industry figures cited by German media outlets show that revenues from pay television and paid video-on-demand services in Germany reached roughly €5.5 billion in 2024, while forecasts estimate that the advertising market for television, video streaming and audio media will rise to €6.5 billion by 2026.

These estimates show that nearly three-quarters of advertising revenue from video streaming will go to major global tech companies, including Alphabet Inc., Amazon, ByteDance and Meta Platforms.

Germany is following a broader European trend, as France has already imposed one of the continent’s toughest systems, requiring streamers to invest between 20 and 25 per cent of revenue into French-language productions. Similar schemes are also in place in Italy, which mandates around 20 per cent investment, while Spain, Denmark, Switzerland and Poland have introduced lower quotas of roughly under five per cent.

By Nazrin Sadigova