Netflix says it is concerned that Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles’s local content quotas on streamers “are unworkable and risk undermining the very goals they aim to achieve,” per a statement from Lucy Leveugle, VP of content for Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg, issued by the streamer yesterday as its legal proceedings against the directive began.
In December 2023, FWB updated its local content mandates with a new sliding scale that resulted in platforms needing to invest up to 9.5% of local revenues in the Belgian audiovisual production industry. In August 2024, Netflix lodged a legal challenge, and court proceedings began in Belgium yesterday. It maintains that the required percentage is too high and omits the investments the streamer makes in local content through licensed titles.
“The required contribution level is more than double that of most European countries and almost four times higher than Wallonia’s previous standard,” Leveugle said in yesterday’s statement. “Plus, the proposal excludes many of the investments that most directly benefit creators, such as licensing titles. Far from strengthening Belgium’s creative sector, these rules would limit opportunities for local storytellers and restrict the diversity of stories we can bring to viewers. That would run counter to the spirit of the EU directive itself, whose purpose is to help audiences discover and enjoy a greater variety of European stories.”
The streamer has been active in Belgium for 12 years and says it has worked “hand in hand with independent producers, writers and directors to create truly local stories,” with a slate that has included Undercover, Johnny par Johnny, Into the Night and more. “Through our partnerships with initiatives like youth platform WAJOW and the new Mediawijs programme for high schools, linked to our series Adolescence, we also support the next generation of storytellers,” Leveugle said.
The statement from Netflix Benelux yesterday also highlighted the platform’s investments across the region. “Between 2020 and 2023, Netflix invested more than €6.5 billion in European TV and films, supporting 60,000 jobs across the region. We’ve consistently and constructively worked with European regulators towards sensible national investment obligations under the Audiovisual Media Services Directive.”
Leveugle concluded: “We remain fully committed to Belgium, to its creators and our members. All we ask for is a fair and workable framework that rewards investment, nurtures creativity, and allows stories to keep traveling the world.”
The outcome of this case is expected to have wider implications for the EU’s Audiovisual Media Services Directive, which is up for review this year.
