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Animation in Europe

AE

ANIMATION in EUROPE federates 25 Animation Producers' Associations from 22 countries within the E.U.

Lobbying Activity

Response to Update of EU rules on audiovisual media services

21 Dec 2025

Please find the Animation in Europe contribution attached.
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Meeting with Henna Virkkunen (Executive Vice-President) and

4 Sept 2025 ยท Roundtable with representatives of the media industry

Response to Evaluation of the Geo-blocking Regulation

10 Mar 2025

Territorial exclusivity, supported by geo-blocking, plays an indispensable role in securing funding for content development, creation and production, as well as in providing for the optimal marketing, distribution and exploitation of the finished film, TV and other audiovisual content across all distribution channels (theatrical, physical carriers, all forms of broadcasting and all forms of online distribution). Territorial licensing is the foundation of the European audiovisual industry, enabling producers to finance and distribute high-quality, diverse, and locally relevant content across all EU Member States. It is not merely a business strategy but the backbone of the sectors economic model, ensuring that production companies can recoup costs, secure funding for future projects, and tailor content to different national markets. Beyond its economic role, territorial licensing plays a vital part in safeguarding European cultural diversity. Removing territorial exclusivity would not lead to greater choice for consumers but rather to a narrower, homogenized media landscape, where mainstream, internationally profitable content would take precedence over regional productions. A ban on the use of geo-blocking to support territorial exclusivity for film and audiovisual content and services would severely jeopardize the creative and economic sustainability of the film and audiovisual sector in Europe. This would result in a drop in the number and range of films and audiovisual content produced, with a smaller variety of languages. Distribution and circulation would be drastically reduced across the EU. This would have a direct and negative impact on consumer welfare: significant reduction of choice in content, distribution, and access options as well as a surge in prices. The exemption of the audiovisual sector from the Geo-blocking Regulation is therefore not a barrier to consumer access, but a necessary measure to protect cultural diversity, encourage investment, and sustain a thriving creative industry across Europe. The principle of territoriality allows producers to license content on a country-by-country basis, allowing adaption of distribution strategies to the economic conditions and cultural preferences of each region. This approach ensures that content remains affordable in less affluent areas while fostering stronger audience engagement. Exclusive territorial rights provide a crucial incentive for investment in both local and international productions. Without these rights, the industrys financing structure, particularly pre-sale agreements that secure early-stage funding, would be severely undermined. The impact of including AV in the EU Geo-blocking Regulation (https://shorturl.at/JmiTi), by Oxera, indicates that erosion of territorial exclusivity would have a significant short-term impact on industry and consumers, with up to 9.3bn of welfare lost per annumas well as medium- to long-term outcomes that would be worse than they are today (a welfare loss of up to 4.5bn per year). Equally, as regards sports content, the impact of potential changes to geo-blocking regulation on sport (https://shorturl.at/QRIBl), by Oliver & Ohlbaum, shows that 103 million people in the EU could be exposed to higher prices when accessing coverage of many top-tier sport competitions if a ban on geo-blocking were to be introduced. Complementing this comment, please refer to the 2023 Joint Statement (https://shorturl.at/pBzoV) signed by more than 700 organizations and entities across Europe demonstrating the clear and unambiguous call to ensure the continued exclusion of audiovisual services from the Geo-blocking Regulation.
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