SWISS FILMS VOD Study
Availability of Swiss films on streaming platforms
17.07.2023
SWISS FILMS has analysed for the first time the presence of Swiss titles on video-on-demand platforms throughout Europe (Switzerland excluded). The study, based on data from the Lumiere VOD database of the European Audiovisual Observatory, reveals that Swiss film productions and coproductions are widely available in Europe, predominantly in Switzerland’s neighbouring countries.
Only Swiss film productions and major Swiss coproductions (excluding minor coproductions) were considered for the analysis. Their availability on 850 VOD platforms offered in Europe was examined. Due to the volatility and constant change of VOD offerings, the following results only reflect the availability of Swiss films on the most recent cut-off date of the data collection, October 1, 2022. Information on sales or viewing frequency of the individual films cannot be provided due to the lack of data.
Broad range of Swiss films
In October 2022, there were 731 different Swiss films or major coproductions available on 129 European platforms outside Switzerland. They were on offer in 40 TVOD, 67 SVOD and 22 FOD catalogues*. On average, a Swiss film available online is present in at least eight European countries.
Amazon has the most extensive offer of Swiss productions on a TVOD platform with 290 titles, followed by iTunes, Google Play, YouTube Movies and UniversCiné. The latter is the only non-US company in the top 5. Magenta TV dominates among SVOD platforms, followed by Amazon Prime Video, Sooner, Rakuten TV and DAFilms.
The most frequently offered Swiss films in Europe are the animated film MA VIE DE COURGETTE (2016) and the documentary film ABOVE AND BELOW (2015) – in 76 catalogues each, followed by the documentary films INSULAIRE (2018) and BARACOA (2019) in 75 catalogues each and EL TIEMPO NUBLADO (2014) in 74 catalogues.
More recent films from Switzerland are naturally more widespread on VOD platforms than older productions: a clear majority of the titles available on European platforms are productions since 2010, with a peak for films from 2018 (60 titles).
Geographical prevalence
VOD offerings of Swiss productions are most frequently present in neighbouring countries and the British Isles. Germany has the largest offer in the country-specific TVOD catalogues (269 Swiss titles), followed by Austria (269), the United Kingdom (233), France (204) and Ireland (127).
In the country-specific SVOD catalogues, the offers are similarly disseminated: Austria has the largest offer (314 Swiss titles), followed by Germany (232), the United Kingdom (182), France (170) and Ireland (164).
Conclusion
The study shows that many recent Swiss films are available on platforms in Europe. So far, however, the available data does not provide any information on how often films are viewed nor what revenues are generated.
SWISS FILMS will continue to closely follow the development of the dissemination of Swiss films on VOD platforms. Further analyses based on the Lumiere database will follow and will be included in the evaluation of the current support measures and activities provided by SWISS FILMS.
Data source: Lumiere VOD directory | European Audiovisual Observatory.
*SVOD = Subscription Video on Demand: Subscription offers with flat rate and unlimited content
TVOD = Transactional Video on Demand: Content is purchased on a pay-per-view basis
FVOD = Free Video on Demand
The term catalogue (in contrast to platform) refers to the local offering of a particular platform. For example, Amazon has a specific catalogue for Germany or France, which does not necessarily include the same range of films.