The article examines growing European regulatory and institutional pressure on US streaming platforms, highlighted by Netflix’s challenge to local investment obligations under the EU’s Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD) in Wallonia-Brussels, where a Belgian court largely ruled in favor of the EU while referring questions (including whether acquisitions can count toward obligations) to the EU’s Court of Justice. It also covers the Council of Europe’s new Convention on the Co-production of Audiovisual Works for Series, aimed at standardizing co-production rules and improving access to national support, alongside data suggesting US content represented nearly half of catalog availability on EU streamers/VoD services in 2025 versus 32% European-originated programming.
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Add as preferred sourceThis is Europe’s “regulation-as-industrial-strategy” moment: the continent isn’t just asking streamers to carry European stories—it’s defining what counts as contribution, and it’s doing it through multiple institutions (EU + Council of Europe). For streamers, the CJEU decision could reshape budgeting (production vs acquisition), rights structures, and how global originals are financed locally. For producers and financiers, standardized co-pro rules plus easier access to national support could shift deal leverage and greenlight velocity. The emerging meme: in Europe, the rulebook is the roadmap.
