The issue is that Netflix has largely concentrated on the major European markets when it comes to content production. The United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain and Scandinavia dominate in terms of co-productions and even in terms of international distribution. This arguably makes a certain amount of sense; these are all home countries for languages spoken around the world. Co-productions from the United Kingdom can easily find an audience in the United States, while co-productions with Spain are easily sold in Latin America.
However, Netflix is handling the international distribution of Irish films like The Siege of Jadotville and television series like Puffin Rock, Rebellion and The Fall. Still, initial evidence suggests that smaller countries may find themselves at a disadvantage when it comes to chasing Netflix co-production deals, particularly when competing with countries that have more developed infrastructure for the production of film and television.
At the same time, it is perhaps too early to tell. Netflix have committed to creating 400 jobs in their European hub in Amsterdam, and show no sign of slowing international production. More to the point, other online streaming services have also begun to branch out into international content. Amazon snapped up the international distribution rights to the British science-fiction anthology series Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams in a move that many read as a direct response to Netflix’ success with Black Mirror. One of Amazon’s most high-profile series is The Grand Tour, effectively a resurrected version of the classic format of the BBC’s Top Gear.
The era of streaming and online content has heralded great change in terms of media production and consumption. It often feels like the entire world can now be viewed through a laptop screen. It can be difficult to make sense of all of this, to understand the forces at play. Interpretation is an art, rather than a science. It is prone to error and confabulation.
For example, it is a cliché (and largely incorrect) to argue that the Chinese word for “crisis” derives from the characters that represent “danger” and “opportunity.” However, there is a similar Chinese character that translates as the more neutral “a point where things happen or change.”
This would seem to be one of those points.
CinÉireann / February 2018 61