Denmark establishes 6% streaming levy to support local production

Just as the authorities in Portugal, France, Italy and Switzerland did in the past, it is now the legislators in Denmark who have agreed that global streaming services such as Netflix, Prime Video or Disney + must pay a levy of 6% of their revenue in the country to support local TV production and public broadcaster DR.

“Media consumption in Denmark has changed. International streaming services are filling up more and more, and therefore it is absolutely necessary that they also contribute to our cultural community. With a cultural contribution of 6%, we ensure that we also in the future have Danish-language films, series and documentaries of high quality, which can gather and challenge us,”  said Danish Minister of Culture, Ane Halsboe-Jørgensen, in a statement.

“We are strengthening regional and local media so that more people can have a say in our public debate. We are also adapting media responsibility to a digital age, where both the editorial staff and social media are doing well. Not least, we strengthen DR’s finances, and then we take an important step to ensure good pay and working conditions in the media industry,”  Halsboe-Jørgensen added.

The bill was voted into law on May 22, and comes a week after Swiss citizens voted in favor of a similar law dubbed “Lex Netflix.” Similar laws have been implemented in Portugal, where streamers must pay 1% of their income to the Institute of Cinema and Audiovisuals, and in France and Italy, where streamers must invest in European content. Spain is also considering similar laws.