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The Changing face of the EU’s Audiovisual Media Policy
  • ISSN: 2516-3523
  • E-ISSN: 2516-3531
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Abstract

This article considers the provisions in the European Union’s revised Audiovisual Media Services Directive concerning video on demand (VOD) services and the effectiveness of supply-side cultural diversity regulations in achieving their purported policy goals of increased production and consumption of European works. Because the Netherlands is the ‘country of origin’ to several multinational VOD services, including Netflix, we conducted a case study of this specific national context. We examine the quota for and prominence of European works, as well as different forms of financial obligations. We find that the former two policy tools may require new strategies to effectively reach their objectives in a nonlinear context. Our evidence also indicates that the latter remains controversial in the domestic audiovisual industry, as stakeholder positions are dependent on the type(s) of production stimulated. Based on this, we argue that securing the independence of producers and ensuring VOD services are transparent with respect to performance data are essential to promoting source diversity and a sustainable value chain.

Funding
This study was supported by the:
  • University of Amsterdam’s Research Priority Area: Global Digital Cultures
© 2021 Intellect Ltd
This article is Open Access under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International licence (CC BY-NC-ND), which allows users to copy, distribute and transmit the article as long as the author is attributed, the article is not used for commercial purposes, and the work is not modified or adapted in any way. To view a copy of the licence, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.
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2021-11-01
2025-04-27
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/content/journals/10.1386/jdmp_00070_1
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European audiovisual media policy in the age of global video on demand services: A case study of Netflix in the Netherlands
Journal of Digital Media & Policy 12, 425 (2021); https://doi.org/10.1386/jdmp_00070_1
/content/journals/10.1386/jdmp_00070_1
/content/journals/10.1386/jdmp_00070_1
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  • Article Type: Article
Keyword(s): Audiovisual Media Services Directive; cultural diversity; media policy; Netflix; nonlinear television; prominence; quota; video on demand regulation

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