Audiovisual

The cinema industry: a disrupted boom period

The Covid pandemic slowed down certain trends within the audiovisual sector, while others gained momentum. An important starting point for an inventory is the Dutch cinema industry, which enjoyed an unprecedented boom for quite some time. Since 2007, visits to cinemas and film theatreshave increased almost every year: from 23 million visitors in 2007 to 38 million visitors in 2019 (see the figure 'Visits to Dutch cinemas and film theatres'). In 2019, these visitors accounted for cinema admissions of no less than 347,6 million euros - yet another record year in a row for the industry (see figure 'Turnover audiovisual in the Netherlands').

In 2020 and 2021, cinemas were closed for 15 weeks and 24 weeks respectively due to the pandemic. They were also struggling with limited auditorium capacity in most other weeks due to the Covid measures in place. That this quelled the upward trends in terms of attendance and ticket salesshould come as no surprise. Total gross sales in 2020 were just 151,6 million, down more than 56 per cent from the record year 2019. In 2021, the number of cinema visits was 14,3 million and gross sales dropped to 143 million euros. This makes 2021 the second worst year ever in terms of cinema attendance since measurements from 1918 onward (FDN and NVBF 2022a). Nevertheless, in between the two lockdowns of 2020 and 2021, Dutch cinemas could count on eager audiences (Blokland 2021, Dijksterhuis 2021a, Entertainment Business 2021).

In 2022, figures on the cinema industry showed the beginning of recovery. A total of 25 million visits were made to cinemas, up 75 per cent from 2021. Total gross sales were 258 million euros, an increase of 81 per cent compared to 2021 (see figures 'Turnover audiovisual in the Netherlands' and 'Visits Dutch cinemas and film theatres'). However, a comparison with the pre-Covid years shows that there has been no full recovery yet: the number of visits in 2022 was 32 per cent lower than the average from 2017 to 2019, the gross sales were 20 per cent lower.

In 2023, cinemas and film theatres in the Netherlands registered almost 32 million cinema tickets sold. 2023 also marked the first year that cinemas and movie theatres were fully open since the pandemic began. This reopening resulted in an increase in cinema visits, with Dutch people going to the cinema or film theatre 1,8 times on average, compared to 1,4 times in 2022. This translated into a turnover of 338 million euros, which is an increase of 31% compared to the previous year (FDN and NVBF 2024b), but the total visits in 2023 remain 14% lower than before the crisis, measured over the years 2017-2019 (see the figure 'Number of visits to Dutch cinemas and film theatres, 2005-2023').

In 2023, more than 4 million cinema tickets were sold for Dutch films, which is comparable to previous years. However, the market share dropped from 16% in 2022 to 14% in 2023, mainly due to the larger supply of foreign films. De Tatta’s, released at the end of 2022, was the absolute hit with more than 500,000 visitors in 2023 (almost 700,000 in total). The sequel, De Tatta’s 2, which appeared in mid-December, also attracted a lot of interest in the first weeks (284,000 visitors in 2023). Bon Bini: Bangkok Nights, which came out a week later, also performed well (226,000 visitors in 2023). Furthermore, the Sinterklaas films did well again, along with the family film De Bellinga’s: Vakantie op Stelten and the thriller Sweet Dreams, the big winner of the Golden Calves, was eventually visited almost 75,000 times.

Shifts in the production chain

Besides doubling the share of Dutch films in cinema attendance, the pandemic also brought about another temporary shift in the relationship between national and international films. As major media conglomerates, the so-called majors, withdrew their extremely expensive films in 2020, the minors filled the resulting gap in cinema supply. Suddenly, these independent distributors had the same market share in 2020 as the majors a year earlier (63.4 per cent versus 63.7 per cent, respectively) (Nederlands Filmfonds 2021a). By 2021, the minors' market share in cinema attendance had again dropped to 42.1 per cent. Now, the majors have regained control over most of the distribution of cinema films (Nederlands Filmfonds 2022a).

After the reopening of Dutch cinemas, there was a rush for a spot on the silver screen, which the industry was already anticipating at the end of 2020 (Busch 2020, Zwol 2021). In 2020 and 2021, 'only' 340 and 301 films, respectively, were released in cinemas in the Netherlands, compared to 492 films in 2019. In 2022, the number of films released increased again, to 468 new titles (see figure 'Number of films released') (FDN and NVBF 2023a).

To prevent new Dutch productions from drowning in this reservoir of unreleased films and counterbalance Hollywood's marketing machine, the Netherlands Film Fund launched special subsidy schemes for Dutch distributors and cinema operators in 2021. For example, a film distributor could apply for an additional contribution for release costs, while cinemas were eligible for a screening contribution of up to 1 euro per paying visitor to a Dutch film screening (Nederlands Filmfonds 2021b, 2022b). Cinemas could still use these so-called Full Circle schemes in 2022 (Nederlands Filmfonds 2022c). The schemes may have contributed to the number of Dutch films released in 2022, reaching a record of 83 premieres (see figure 'Number of films released') (FDN and NVBF 2023b).

The relatively quick and well-organised resumption of production work may have ensured that the impact of the Covid crisis on production volume was somewhat less than expected. Indeed, in 2020, 47 feature films were still produced, compared to an average of around 56 feature films per year in 2017, 2018 and 2019. The production value of these 47 feature films, at €87,1 million, was much lower than in previous years: in 2017, 2018 and 2019, films were produced for €94,2, €122,3 and €141,5 million respectively (see the figures 'Number of films produced' and 'Production value of Dutch films'). In part, this difference is because fewer films were shot in 2020 and in 2018 and 2019 some above-average expensive filmswere made. On average, however, the production budgetalso decreased: from €2,11 million per film in the period 2017-2019 to €1,85 million in 2020 (Nederlands Filmfonds 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021a).

While completed movies are crowding each other out of cinemas, delayed projects face quite the competition on the Dutch production market. A major production backlog has created labour market shortages, according to conversations with the audiovisual sector during the summer of 2021. In 2022, the number of Dutch feature films produced (including minority co-productions) rose further to 65, with a combined production value of 129.05 million euros. Of these films, eight were not released in cinemas (some of which were released via 'video-on-demand' (VOD), possibly due to the large number of Dutch releases that capped cinema capacity). Both the number of films and the total production value demonstrate an increase compared to 2021 (45 films, 117 million euro production value)(Nederlands Filmfonds 2023).

The rapids in streaming land

In 2022, a record turnover of more than 1 billion euros was earned by SVODs (subscription-video-on-demand, platforms where you have access to all available titles with a subscription, such as Netflix and Videoland) and TVODs (transactional-video-on-demand, where you pay once for access to a specific film via, for example, Pathé Thuis or Picl) together, which is an increase of 22% compared to the previous year (822 million euros). One TVOD service (Picl) works directly with cinemas and distributors, offering users the ability to watch films at home while they are still in theatres. Users pay the price of a regular movie ticket and can choose to ‘donate’ their admission fair to one of the associated theatres. Most of that money, approximately 955 million euros, came from the SVOD market (in addition to films, also reality TV, sports and series). Contrastingly, DVD and Blu-ray sales have been declining for years, and 2022 was no exception. Physical stores (DVD and Blu-ray carriers) earned a total of 20 million euros, a decrease of 13% compared to 2021 (NVPI/FDN/GfK).

The number of VOD platforms available to the Dutch public has increased in recent years. A total of 55 TVOD and SVOD platforms are available (including 'catch up'). In 2022, three major VOD platforms were introduced in the Netherlands: HBO Max, Viaplay and SkyShowtime. Although specific figures are not made public, the Netherlands Film Fund points out that the growth of the total number of subscribers to VOD services is slowing down.

Research for the VOD-monitor by Film Distributors Netherlands (Filmdistributeurs Nederland) shows that 73% of Dutch households used VOD platforms in the last quarter of 2022, a percentage that is almost equal to the same period in 2021 (72%). Netflix remains the most used SVOD platform in the Netherlands. Of all Dutch households, 63% say they used Netflix in the last quarter of 2022. When it comes to watching Dutch films, Videoland has the largest selection and is the most used service after Netflix. Regarding paying users, at the end of 2021, Netflix had 3,2 million subscribers, followed by Videoland (1,3 million) and Disney+ (1,1 million). None of the platforms show a major increase or decrease in the number of subscribers compared to 2021. The most popular TVOD platform in the Netherlands is Pathé Thuis: 11% of households indicate that they use this platform to rent or buy films online (VOD Monitor, FDN and Nederlands Filmfonds).

Exclusive content plays a key role in the battle for streaming subscribers. Another strategy is to join forces, as in 2021 when the media companies RTL Nederland and Talpa Network announced their intention to merge in order to gain a stronger competitive position against international rivals. However, the merger ultimately was not successful. Finally, streaming services also compete on subscription prices. To (continue to) offer low prices, Netflix, Disney+, HBO Max and Discovery Plus in some countries have the option of choosing a subscription with advertisements, which is cheaper than an ad-free subscription.

First steps towards financial circularity

Because video-on-demand has generated more than half a billion euros in turnover in the Netherlands since 2020, the discussion around financial circularity in the production chain has become even more urgent. A hot topic within the audiovisual sector is the skewed distribution of income: revenue mainly flows to end operators such as streaming services and cinemas, while they hardly contribute to development and production in the Netherlands. In the policy plans for 2013-2016, the Netherlands Film Fund already pointed out the need to correct this, which was agreed upon in the following years by, among others, the Council for Culture (Nederlands Filmfonds 2012, Raad voor Cultuur 2018, Rutten 2019, Reijn et al. 2019).

On 31 October 2023, the Senate agreed to a long-awaited bill by former state secretary Gunay Uslu (Culture and Media), which, from 1 January 2024, obliges major streaming services in the Netherlands to invest 5% of their annual turnover in Dutch audiovisual productions. This measure, which applies to streaming services with an annual turnover of more than €10 million, such as Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon Prime, is expected to generate around €45 million of additional investment in Dutch films, series and documentaries. This bill is an important part of broader initiatives to strengthen the Dutch audiovisual sector.

The investment obligation allows streaming services to invest in different types of productions (with the exception of sports). At least half of the amount must go to Dutch films, series and documentaries, which will stimulate the development of the cultural offer and strengthen the competitive position against international providers. Moreover, at least 60% of the productions will be created by independent producers, which will promote diversity in the supply and strengthen the audiovisual sector . An evaluation after 3 years will assess the practical effects of this investment obligation.

Talent and scenario development

The importance of investing in the quality and visibility of Dutch films was also highlighted in the Principles of Cultural Policy 2021-2024 by then-minister Van Engelshoven. Thus, more attention should again be paid to the development of scenarios and film plans (Engelshoven 2019, 25). Since then, several initiatives in the field of audiovisual talent development have emerged, such as the new network organisation FilmForward, which is also explicitly committed to a more diverse and inclusive sector. In addition, Netflix and ROSE stories, in 2022, entered a three-year partnership to invest in the development of creative talent in the Netherlands, aiming to create more opportunities for groups still underrepresented in the TV and film industry (ROSE stories 2022). Other examples include the national competitions Generation Inclusion and the 3LAB Series Contest, as well as regional initiatives such as Cinesud and New Nordic Wave, which are boosting opportunities outside the Randstad.

Within the sector, there have been discussions concerning the quality of Dutch films on the international market. A study conducted by the British research agency Olsberg SPI, commissioned by the Netherlands Film Fund and presented on September 23rd, 2023, during the Netherlands Film Festival, shows that Dutch feature films are significantly less successful abroad compared to those from Belgium, Denmark, Austria and Sweden. Despite the Netherlands producing the most films of the countries surveyed, they are rarely selected for major festivals or win major awards. The Film Fund has long noted that the Netherlands performs well in documentaries, Virtual Reality (VR) productions and short films, but is less successful in feature films, despite significant investment in this genre. Yet the same report revealed that several Dutch feature films attracted many visitors to Dutch cinemas and film theatres (See: 'The cinema industry: a disrupted boom period' above).

On February 1st, 2024, the Netherlands Film Fund launched its policy plan for the period 2025-2028, which sets out five key priorities: focusing on quality, putting creators at the centre, highlighting talent, increasing audience reach and creating room for experimentation. The plan responds to the findings of the Olsberg report. "We choose quality over quantity, more creative freedom for creators and more attention to audiences," stated managing director Sandra den Hamer. Amid the rapidly growing film programme from various countries and on various platforms, the Film Fund stresses the importance of sufficient attention and budget to produce original, distinctive Dutch films and series.

FM in transition: new players and trends in radio  

The national FM frequencies were re-auctioned in July 2023 under the direction of the National Digital Infrastructure Inspectorate. This auction took place because the licences for national FM frequencies have a limited period of validity and are redistributed when they expire. In 2022, the licences were extended by the then State Secretary for Economic Affairs and Climate, but this decision was challenged by radio station Kink who won, meaning the auction still took place in 2023.  

Although listening to radio via FM is decreasing, listening via online platforms and DAB+ is increasing. Nevertheless, 47 percent of Dutch people aged 10 years and older still listen to radio stations via FM (Audify 2023). Young people are using less and less traditional media, which is not only an age but also a generational effect. This causes the gap in media use between generations to grow. Social media have occupied a prominent position in daily media use, especially among young people, while people over 65 mainly use television, radio and newspapers (Scholtens et al. 2023). 

The auction has led to changes in part of the radio market. Two new channels have been added. DPG Media's JOE started broadcasting on September 1st, 2023, and focuses on music from the '70s, '80s and '90s. Radio4All, a new channel from internet entrepreneur Joost Zuurbier, started broadcasting in November 2023. In addition, two of the nine stations moved to a different FM frequency, while five stations retained their current frequency. Talpa Network retained three channels, while Mediahuis decreased from four to two channels. DPG Media had one channel and now has two. BNR remains the owner of the clustered news channel (Scholtens et al. 2023). 

The fact that young people are using traditional media less and less is not an age effect but a generational one. This gap in media use between generations is also widening. Social media have secured a permanent place in daily media use, especially among young people. While people over 65 mainly use television channels, radio stations and newspapers, social media, online viewing and online listening are the most important media types among young people (Scholtens et al. 2023). 

Diversity, equity and inclusion in professional practice

In February 2022, the research report Better is not yet good: the position of women in the film and television sector 2011-2020 was published, which revealed that women are underrepresented within the professional practice of the audiovisual sector. The proportion of women is particularly low in technical positions such as camera operator and sound designer: only ten and five per cent respectively. The research also shows that gender inequality increases when productions are more expensive and longer (Sanders 2022). Following the research and the conference Point of View: Towards a new perspective in film and TV (April 2022), Women in Picture (Vrouwen in Beeld), Point of VieW, the Dutch Academy For Film (DAFF) and the Netherlands Film Festival (NFF) have formed an alliance. Together, they are committed to initiatives and activities that contribute to a deeper understanding and awareness of its challenges, and strive for improvements, including the research project Experiences and perspectives of women film and television professionals. The research results will be published in the summer of 2024.

Data by the Netherlands Film Fund, published in March 2024, show that there is still a disparity between the number of awards given to men and women creators across categories.
Further, women are less likely to submit applications to the fund compared to men and are more likely to be involved in film productions with lower budgets, such as documentaries and short or experimental films. A positive development is that in 2023, the share of women producers in projects awarded rose to almost 48%. However, a mere 41% of the awards last year went to film projects with a woman director, while almost 70% of the total realisation budget in 2023 went to projects with a male director. The Film Fund aims to change and boost the number of applications from women creators.

The KLEUR initiative launched in summer 2020 - intended as a driver for greater inclusion within the Dutch audiovisual sector - already pointed to the need for a baseline measurement of diversity in the sector (KLEUR 2022). At the request of KLEUR and DAFF, the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (OCW) commissioned a study on the representation of people of colour in the Dutch film and television sector. The research report You can't be what you can't see (Je kan niet zijn wat je niet kan zien) on diversity and inclusion in the audiovisual sector (Crone et al. 2023) is an important milestone for the sector, as it is the first time that ethnic diversity and inclusion within this industry have been examined. The study reveals that there appears to be some representation of ethnic groups compared to the national average. But the research also shows that there are differences in emphasis based on ethnic background. Creators from Asian, Moroccan and Turkish backgrounds are less represented in the sector, while creators from Surinamese, Antillean and Indonesian backgrounds are relatively more represented. Creators of colour seem to have a less secure position than their white colleagues. Creators of colour also have less work, tend to be active in the sector for a shorter time and are underrepresented in managerial positions.
A large number of creators of colour themselves experience the level of inclusion as insufficient, which also translates into a more negative assessment of social safety at the workplace. It is striking that especially older professionals in leadership positions give a more positive assessment when it comes to diversity and inclusion. This group consists mainly of white men. Given their influential positions, they should play an important role in promoting diversity and setting policies in this area. However, addressing diversity and inclusion can be challenging as some of the individuals in leadership positions are not fully aware of the issue. The report concludes by calling on both the sector and the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science to raise awareness, especially among those responsible for diversity and inclusion policies within the sector.