OTT libraries in Western Europe: is the emphasis really laid on local content?

In recent years global streamers have invested in European production in an effort to develop their local content offering, partially pushed by the EU’s Audiovisual Media Services Directive which states that streamers’ catalogues must contain at least 30% of European content. This led to US streamers endorsing multiple European flagship projects like Money Heist or Lupin for Netflix, the recent releases of the French series Escort Boys and the German programme Maxton Hall on Amazon Prime Video, and Disney+ announcing several European original productions at the last Séries Mania event in March.  However, the current OTT market is facing difficulties as subscriber growth rates tend to slow down with major SVOD platforms launching hybrid models to attract new cohorts of viewers and diversify their revenue streams. In Western Europe, global OTT platforms are facing increased competition from BVOD and OTT Pay TV services on one side, and FAST channels capturing a growing share of the advertising market on the other. Investing in international content has always been a strategy for global platforms to become more attractive outside the US, and help them find new sources of content. As the American production industry has been under heavy load since the end of COVID-19, recent strikes have put everything on hold for six months, and the resumption is likely to create multiple bottlenecks. While investing in local productions may be risky for US streamers as they might not appeal to their entire subscriber base, will they pursue their quests for localized titles in international markets in the future?  Netflix dominates in volume of titles in Western Europe Netflix remains the clear leader in terms of library size in Western Europe with an average of 8.900 titles available in each country, thanks to substantial investments in original content production over the last years. The company's content budget is stabilizing after years of growth, which was interrupted by reduced spending in 2020 due to COVID-19 and in 2023 because of Hollywood actors and writers’ strikes. After reaching a peak of $17.5 billion in 2021, the budget declined to $12.6 billion last year. This year, Netflix plans to allocate $17 billion to TV shows and movies, focusing on fewer but higher-quality productions, according to Bloomberg. This strategic shift follows last year's ending of several original series, including the coming-of-age drama Sex Education, the drama Firefly Lane, and the fantasy series Shadow and Bone. Amazon Prime Video comes second in the region, with substantial efforts made to produce originals with the notable examples of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power series and the recently released Fallout titles. However the streamer also relies heavily on licensed content and acquiring existing studios with extensive libraries,...