‘Borgen’ Star Birgitte Hjort Sørensen Latest To Question Denmark’s Streamer Tax As Producers Remain “Unhappy Campers”
In Danish political drama Borgen, Birgitte Hjort Sørensen plays a fearless journalist holding power to account. In real life, she’s been calling out government plans to tax streamers and suggesting tax incentives.
The actress has joined a chorus of voices from the Danish production and creative communities condemning Denmark’s proposed Cultural Contribution Act. The legislation includes the demand streamers such as Netflix, HBO Max and Viaplay pay 6% of their local revenues to support local production and public broadcaster DR.
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Hjort Sørensen told local Berlingske podcast Østergaard’s Salon that rather than supporting the local production sector, it would undermine the foundations on which it is build and scare away streamers.
“It’s kind of bizarre to me that you don’t try to embrace market forces that would really benefit Danish culture,” she said.
“If the services are charged an extra payment, then it may be that they either pass it on to the consumers, and then the subscription prices rise. They can also choose to withdraw from Danish production, and then there will simply be no more production.”
Hjort Sørensen, who reprised her role as journalist Katrine Fønsmark in Borgen this year for Netflix, said streaming services had “wildly” grown the Danish production market in the past decade and making it harder for them to invest would be unwise. “There have also been more and more varied series for the Danes, and our level of competence has also raised — for example, when we have made sci-fi, which we have never made before. It will be a huge loss if they disappear.”
The legislation was first unveiled in May under the previous government, but there are hopes the new one, which will be led by the Social Democrats after winning local elections last month, will pull away from the plan.
The proposed tax is just one of several hurdles Danish production has met this year. The international and local subscription streamers have spent most of the year refusing to commission Danish programs and films after hitting an impasse with the Create Denmark union over terms of a new collective fees agreement.
Viaplay has struck a short-term deal that runs through to 2023, but one producer told Deadline this has not yielded any new work. Commercial broadcaster TV2 and Netflix have both agreed terms with Create Denmark, which represents writers, directors and actors, but neither deal is signed. Deadline understands Create Denmark is yet to approach others such as Disney+ and Prime Video, though they have been much less active in exploring local originals, and HBO Max has stopped commissioning shows as it gears up to merge with Discovery+ next year.
A Viaplay spokesman said: “We have recently extended our temporary agreement with Create Denmark and Producentforeningen until June 30 2023, which enables us to resume production of Danish films and series. Together with our partners, we are committed to finding a long-term, sustainable solution and we will continue our constructive dialogue.
“At the same time, there are additional challenges in the Danish media market, particularly the proposed streaming levy, which require constructive solutions. We are engaging with the key political stakeholders on this important issue.”
Last week, the European VOD Coalition, which represents the likes of Netflix and Warner Bros Discovery, said the levy would be “damaging for the whole ecosystem” and urged the new government to “show leadership” by scrapping it.
Prime Video declined to confirm on discussions with Create Denmark, but noted Amazon was “ready to comply with any and all local laws” and is “used to working with levies and is already doing so in other European countries.”
“However, our position in Denmark is that we have troubles getting people to work on projects and it has been a production issue as more and more services has launched locally,” a spokesman added. “As such, we question whether implementing a levy is the right thing to do in Denmark. If the Danish government wants to implement legislation to increase local productions, we see more countries have a more flexible model and have a levy and investment obligation. This has a more positive effect on the whole industry.”
Netflix said its agreement has been ratified but did not comment further.
Deadline has reached out to TV2 and Disney+ for comment.
‘Danish producers are not happy campers’
Local producers we’ve talked to are dismayed by the Cultural Contribution Act and believe streamers will abandon the country’s production sector completely if an alternative isn’t found.
“Denmark is not an attractive market to look at long-term – it’s so unstable, especially considering the ‘cultural contribution’ of 6% will make us more unattractive,” said a source. “We are already an expensive market in terms of content. It’s very high quality, so perhaps that cancels out, but the tax, the highest in Europe, is just that one step too far.”
There is also frustration the Create Denmark situation isn’t yet over, with our source noting: “Danish producers are not happy campers.”
Deadline understands producers groups favor a combination of a smaller levy, around 1% that would be paid to the Danish Film Institute, with the other 5% dropped should investment levels be reached and the whole system averaged over a couple of years.
Similar systems are in place across Europe, though streamer regulation remains a hot button topic in many territories. Ultimately, the question is whether original streaming content ordered locally is more valuable and sustainable than laws that dictate how the platforms invest in content.
Speaking on the podcast, Hjort Sørensen had another suggestion. “We are the only country in Europe that does not have a tax incentive,” she said. “[This would be] a tax rebate scheme, which means that if you invest a number of kroner in film production, you can get some of the amount refunded.”
Updated at 6.10am PT with Prime Video statement.
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