Switzerland is divided. Through forums, debates relayed by the media and tweets, left and right parties have been harpooning each other in public for days. At the heart of their discord, a change in legislation which aims to force the Netflix streaming platform to invest in local series and films. If the first applaud this law on cinema, the second launched a referendum this Sunday to try to counter the text.
“LexNetflix” – that’s its name – plans to force platforms to invest 4% of their turnover directly in productions (films, series, documentaries, etc.) or by paying a tax from 2024. Since 2007, this obligation to investment in Swiss cinema has been imposed on national television channels must invest 4% of their turnover. But films are more and more often watched online via platforms which generate more than 300 million francs (289 million euros) in turnover each year in Switzerland – mainly from Netflix, Disney + and Blue.
The aim is to galvanize the international visibility of Swiss audiovisual creation. And to promote the production of series and films “more innovative”. “Swiss cinema has become very international. This new stage allows him to go even further., underlines the Swiss director Lionel Baier, whose film “The drift of the continents” will be in Cannes in the official selection of the Fortnight of the directors. According to him, the obligation should breathe more “of ambition” in the production of series and films. For the director of the Cinémathèque suisse, Frédéric Maire, the reform will allow “to boost Swiss cinema” thanks to the additional funds and the promise of distribution on the platforms.
Insufficient arguments, according to the Referendum Committee which is fighting against the law, fearing a domino effect: that this quota of 30% of European content is then applied to “other players, like Spotify and Apple Music”. Above all, he fears that the obligation to invest will lead to an increase in the price of subscriptions.
For its defenders, the reform will make it possible to shoot more films in Switzerland, which will benefit the local economy, while strengthening the competitiveness of national film production against European countries which already apply an obligation to invest in streaming platforms. . “If we want to stay present and be able to offer new generations of viewers content according to the codes they like, we have to enter the race on these platforms”, explains Marie Klay, secretary general of the Association romande de la production audiovisuelle, which brings together more than a hundred producers throughout French-speaking Switzerland. According to polls, the change to the cinema law should be narrowly approved by Swiss voters on Sunday.