In March, the German Federal Cabinet approved the draft for a new film subsidy law, put forward by the Minister of State for Culture, Prof. Monika Grütters. In contrast to previous versions, the current draft did not include a special levy for the providers of HD TV programming. Rather, the funds are to be concentrated on fewer projects and the selection of the projects actually awarded grants is to be improved. Oliver Süme, eco Head of Policy and Law, comments:
“We welcome the decision of the Federal Government not to introduce a special levy for providers of HD TV programming in the recently approved draft for a new film subsidy law. We’ve always spoken out against such an extension of the levy, which would have meant the ultimate break with the old system.”
The draft foresees a hike in the film subsidy levies, which apply to programming marketers as well as several content providers such as video-on-demand providers. “Now that the levy has been moderately increased, we need to make sure that the funds raised are used efficiently. The reorganization of the Grants Commission must lead to streamlined, more transparent structures within the Federal Film Fund in order to modernize the grants procedure for subsidies,” Süme demands.
The draft was preceded by a comprehensive debate and discussion process, to which eco contributed with a number of statements. The approved draft for a new film subsidy law will now go to parliament and is due to come into force on 1 January 2017.
