Italy: Streamers must invest more in local content
March 22, 2024
From Branislav Pekic in Rome
The Italian government has adopted amendments to the Audiovisual Media Services Law that prioritise investment in original Italian content, particularly for streaming services.
Streaming players like Netflix and Prime Video must now invest 16 per cent of their Italian revenue in European productions (down from 20 per cent, but 70 per cent must be Italian – up from 50 per cent). This translates to 11.2 per cent of their revenue specifically for independent Italian productions (up from 10 per cent).
They also must invest 3 per cent of their revenue in Italian films released in the last five years (up from 2 per cent).
For commercial TV groups like Mediaset the investment quotas remain unchanged, i.e. they will continue to invest 6.25 per cent of their revenue in Italian productions. At the same time, the obligation to invest in Italian movies released in the last 5 years has been reduced from 3.5 per cent to 3 per cent.
While industry groups wanted more specific requirements for documentaries, animation, and ownership rights for producers, those proposals weren’t included in the new law, reports Il Sole 24 Ore. However, the Ministry of Culture is working on revisions to the audiovisual tax credit programme, which could address these concerns.