How many French films and series must Amazon produce each year? A priori, this question was settled at the end of June in a decree: video-on-demand subscription platforms such as its Prime Video service must devote 20% of their turnover to original European content, of which 85% of French. By transposing the European directive on audiovisual media services of 2018, this text brings new entrants into the cultural exception, according to which broadcasters finance local creation … However, the case of the Amazon service poses a particular problem: it is not sold as a separate subscription, like a Netflix, billed between 8.99 euros and 17.99 euros per month. Indeed, it is integrated into Prime, a package of services which, for 5.99 euros per month or 49 euros per year, also offers fast parcel delivery, a music service, video games, etc.
How then to calculate the obligations? The Superior Audiovisual Council (CSA) is responsible for setting their amount in an agreement signed with each platform, by the end of October. Discussions are underway with Amazon but some are already worried about a possible undervaluation. “Since the spring, we have known that a major issue in the transposition of the AVMS directive in France is the level of Prime Video’s obligations. Their level cannot be totally decorrelated from those of competing players because, for consumers, Amazon’s offer is not far from that of Netflix ”, believes Thomas Anargyros, president of the Union Syndicale de la Production Audiovisuelle (USPA).
A minority of Prime’s turnover
“Amazon’s service is of high quality, we don’t see why it would be valued much less than those of“ pure players ”whose main activity is video, such as Netflix. In service packages like Prime, the video serves as a bonus giveaway and a call product for other activities ”, adds Pascal Rogard, Managing Director of the Society of Dramatic Authors and Composers (SACD). The question of the package also arises for AppleTV +, sold with Apple Music, Apple Arcade and iCloud for 14.95 euros per month, but this service is also available on its own for 4.99 euros per month and it is less developed.
In the case of Prime Video, the stakes in the calculation amount to tens of millions of euros, or even more. For comparison, the Minister of Culture, Roselyne Bachelot, estimated on France Inter at the end of 2020 that Netflix should invest “150 to 200 million euros per year”.
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