The Streaming Wars: European culture could be a major step towards recovery

Gérard Pogorel | 14th April 2021 | Uncategorised
Members of the cast and crew of Netflix’s hit German TV series Babylon Berlin pick at the Bambi Awards in Berlin, 2018. Robert Schlesinger/Getty Images
Members of the cast and crew of Netflix’s hit German TV series Babylon Berlin pick at the Bambi Awards in Berlin, 2018. Robert Schlesinger/Getty Images

Politicians across the bloc ought to remember the films and series they enjoyed during lockdown – and support their continental producers.

Confronting the great digital transformation, the European Union is engaged in a defining effort on many fronts. At a regulatory level, the 2016 General Data Protection Regulation addressed data property and privacy issues. The 2020 package Digital Services and Digital Markets Acts proposes to define the obligations of “gatekeepers” and the rules of a level playing field for services and platforms. By so doing, the EU promotes itself as a culture of its own. It then comes as no surprise that the effort also involves initiatives regarding the mother of global cultural wars, the film and TV industries.  The great coronavirus pandemic is reshuffling the cards in the film and TV battles for subscribers. Home entertainment has taken central stage as cinemas, outdoors and city venues are a no-go. Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney Plus, WarnerMedia, Apple TV and others now operate subscription campaigns across the world with spectacular success. As the big streaming platforms storm across the Atl...

Subscribe to The Mace

Join the member community shaping British politics and stay ahead of what's really happening in the world of politics and public affairs, with expert analysis, breaking news, and insider insights from Westminster and Brussels. The Mace is the leading news source and resource for the government affairs industry, offering required reading and lobby intelligence for professionals.

To see what you are missing out on by not subscribing to The Mace, click here to download our full membership info-pack. This includes having no paywall on op-ed content or profiles/interviews, allowing professional profiles to be read with maximum impact and visibility by government, special advisers, MPs, peers, civil servants, and policy and political decision-makers.



Clashing Tribes: The Longevity of ‘Us’ and ‘Them’ Politics

Mace | October 4, 2020

Whatever you think of identity politics, the social battleground between ‘Us’ and ‘Them’ is here to stay, argues Robert Ford.

Hard rain coming: Inside the Whitehall revolution

Mace | October 4, 2020

George Peel examines Downing Street’s ruthless approach to civil service reform

Long Table: Peter Mandelson’s Cosy Country Life in Lockdown 

Mace | October 4, 2020

Tucked away in Wiltshire, Peter Mandelson read his way through lockdown, when he wasn't zooming into the Lords

Protecting our Heritage

Mace | October 1, 2020

There is perhaps no organisation that exemplifies Britain’s regional spirit of place better than English Heritage.

The Scourge of the Political Celebrity

Mace | February 6, 2020

Political celebs don't win elections, they just get in the way

A Shakespearean in Downing Street

Mace | February 6, 2020

It was in another lifetime that Boris Johnson stood up – on the eve of the May era, in fact – and quoted Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar

Eton Mess

Ferdie Rous | January 31, 2020

David Cameron’s bio states that booking him offers an ‘unrivalled perspective on the future of the European Union’. This rings a little hollow when set against the referendum…

Happy Times

Mace | January 31, 2020

The strange hierarchy of the press gallery

The Seldon Slap

Mace | January 31, 2020

Sir Anthony Seldon's new book goes down well with Olly Robbins

Aggers for PM?

Mace | January 31, 2020

Jonathan Agnew – a politician?