TF1 CEO Rodolphe Belmer told POLITICO that YouTube, not Netflix, is now the primary competitor to broadcasters in France and urged the EU to tighten rules on the platform as Brussels prepares a review of the Audiovisual Media Services Directive. He argued that YouTube’s hosting model creates a regulatory and advertising-market imbalance versus broadcasters and streamers that finance European content and face stricter ad rules. Belmer also said TF1 will make its on-demand programs available on Netflix starting this summer as part of a distribution partnership.
This is the clearest articulation yet of the new “CTV war” framing: broadcasters and subscription streamers are converging into co-investors in premium European content, while YouTube dominates time spent on the biggest screen with a fundamentally different cost and regulatory structure. If AVMSD expansion forces YouTube toward content-investment and stricter ad rules, it could reshape European ad pricing, creator economics, and rights negotiations; if not, expect louder calls to deregulate broadcasters to survive. The meme to watch: Netflix becomes a channel, YouTube becomes the regulator’s target.
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