The German government is pressing ahead with plans for an investment obligation for streaming services. At a government press conference on 22 April 2026, it was confirmed that international platforms should be more involved in financing German and European film and series productions in future. However, specific legal regulations are still being finalised by the ministries.

Although this makes the political direction clearer, the specific organisation remains open.

Clear message to the platforms

At the centre of the plans is the political expectation that major streaming services will reinvest a portion of their revenues generated in Germany in local content. The aim is to strengthen Germany as a production location and reduce dependence on international financing structures.

This is a clear signal for the industry: politicians want to significantly expand the responsibility of global platforms for local content.

Lots of politics, little detail

As clearly formulated as the objective is, its implementation remains unclear. Neither concrete quotas nor binding mechanisms have yet been finalised. The question of how the investment obligation will interfere with existing subsidisation and co-production models also remains open.

This is precisely where the central conflict lies: depending on its design, the model could interfere deeply with the financing and rights exploitation structures of the film industry.

Industry between hope and uncertainty

The reform could open up additional sources of financing for producers and funding organisations. At the same time, there is growing uncertainty as to how stable and predictable the future framework conditions will actually be.

The fact that the government has set the political framework but the technical details of the model have not yet been finalised is seen as particularly critical.

Conclusion: signalling policy with an open outcome

The federal government has set the course, but the decisive levers remain unclear for the time being. For the film and series industry, this means: political momentum yes - regulatory clarity not yet.