This year's delegation trip to the USA provided a glimpse into a divided country: on the one hand, technology of the future with robot taxis and thousands of delivery drones, and on the other, the successful cultivation of traditional markets. Walmart is celebrating record results and the medium-term growth rate for cinema sales is forecast at 7 to 9 per cent. The fear of "Trump 2.0" is focussing attention on Europe and giving the unworthy political spectacle an international stage. Back in Germany, the political bubble in the centre of Berlin is discussing personnel issues, while the economic issues that are vital for the survival of the country as a whole are falling by the wayside. Where is the hard-won progress to reduce the disadvantages of the location? Where are the urgently needed reforms in film funding? None of the parties currently represented in the Bundestag had the topic of culture and the economy on their agenda in the last general election in a form that would have made it into the Wahl-O-Mat. Instead, debates on headscarf bans and speed limits dominated. In Germany, parties are elected that later occupy government offices - the term "chancellor candidate" is therefore misleading in itself. We need responsible policies for the business location and the implementation of urgently needed reforms - NOW!
The hope that people in the US would not be aware of the political "Armageddon mood" in Berlin has not materialised. Despite the election shock in the USA, players involved in international markets and production opportunities were focussing on the news from Germany. There was widespread incomprehension about the lack of clarity in the scheduling of the federal elections, the sessions of the Bundestag and the introduction of the long-announced new film subsidy programme. The external view of Germany is no better than the German view of the USA: the inability to act and lack of planning certainty can be better recognised in retrospect than in the backward-looking media bubble, which is limited to researching causes. Only a few media outlets actually offer people's problems space for projection and reflection.
The American entertainment industry is far ahead of the German television industry. In Germany, cinema only plays an economically relevant role for a few production companies. These companies are dependent on commissioned productions, which are still available. In an international comparison, Germany benefits from strong creatives and effective structures. Nevertheless, the production volume, which is still above average, has fallen significantly compared to previous years. Added to this are planning uncertainties, cancellations at short notice and a lack of competitiveness due to the overall economic conditions, which are now threatening the existence of the production industry. Late payments and insolvency-related total defaults are a particular burden on service companies in the supply chain. Companies that disappear now will hardly be able to re-emerge in the medium term - the investment burdens and the need for specialised skilled workers are simply too high. This weakens the location as a whole and also puts production companies under pressure. Falling supply will continue to drive up prices and availability.
At the same time, the offerings and potential uses of artificial intelligence, metaverse applications and platform solutions (SaaS) are steadily increasing. As the industry magazine Variety recently reported, metaverse applications such as Roblox - largely unnoticed by German media makers - are capturing target groups below TikTok and undermining the added value of traditional models in the long term. It is high time to emerge from the bubble.
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(Author: Markus Vogelbacher)
Image: © IFP, 2024