Finally, there is already an agreement on Netflix’s obligation to produce series and movies in Catalan , extendable to the rest of the co-official languages of Spain. The pulse between the Government and ERC has led to an audiovisual law that requires financing from international streaming platforms for Catalan, Galician and Basque.
The future audiovisual sector law requires that 0.7% of profits be allocated to creating content in co-official languages , and affects Netflix, HBO Max, Disney + and other paid streaming services.
Another obligation for Netflix and the rest of the sector is to include dubbing and subtitles in co-official languages if they exist , something that was not happening. The complaints came mainly because there was content in Catalan adapted by TVE (regional television) that did not have subtitles or dubbing on Netflix.
The law speaks of pre-financing, that is, advancing money to steal series, movies or programs. Netflix and its competitors have to allocate 3.5% of the profits obtained in Spain for independent productions , and within that percentage 0.7% of co-official languages would be included.
ERC estimates that audiovisuals in Catalan, Galician and Basque will receive between 10 and 20 million euros from streaming services. Netflix’s recent price hike was justified precisely because that way they will be able to increase their catalog with original content.
Netflix and HBO Max have been producing productions in Spain for some time, while the most recent Disney + has not yet been released, something that the new law should encourage. Although it only talks about financial obligations, it is most likely that it will materialize in its own content, not just contributions to the sector.
ERC’s initial proposal required that 6% of the content be produced in Catalan , to which the Government replied that European legislation would not allow it. The agreement between both forces will avoid problems in the processing of the General State Budgets for 2022, already approved in Congress and pending to pass through the Senate.
Therefore, Netflix and the other platforms will have more series and movies in Catalan, Basque and Galician , in this way it seems that the controversial call to unsubscribe from Netflix due to the lack of Catalan in its catalog ends.
