Download Regulating audiovisual and digital services in the global trade context

Europe's audiovisual market is worth EUR 142 billion, but almost two-thirds of the revenues of its ten biggest audiovisual groups operating in Europe go to US companies. The proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery by Paramount Skydance is one recent example illustrating the continuing concentration and changing balance of power in the global audiovisual market. Against this backdrop, how do the latest trade tensions, including proposed US tariffs on imported products and services impact Europe’s audiovisual sector, and what legal safeguards protect us from such shockwaves?

The European Audiovisual Observatory has just published a new IRIS report, Regulating audiovisual and digital services in the global trade context, examining the increasingly complex relationship between audiovisual and platform regulation, international trade and cultural and digital sovereignty. As Europe seeks to protect its cultural diversity while operating in a global digital marketplace dominated by international technology giants, the report explores how regulation, trade policy and taxation are becoming closely intertwined. This report was authored by Sophie Valais, Deputy Head of the Observatory’s Department for Legal Information, and Amélie Lacourt, Legal Analyst within this Department.

Chapter one – Setting the scene: the European audiovisual market looks at the changing balance of power in the European audiovisual industry. While Europe's audiovisual market generated around EUR 142 billion in revenues in 2024, the report shows that market power is increasingly concentrated in the hands of a small number of global platforms. US companies account for almost two-thirds of the revenues of the ten largest audiovisual groups operating in Europe, highlighting US dominance and the strategic challenges facing European media players.

Chapter two – Sector-specific rules: regulation and trade impact examines how European rules designed to promote cultural diversity are increasingly becoming the focus of international trade debates. The authors look in particular at the growing US criticism of a range of EU regulatory measures, such as those supporting European works under the Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD), as well as the Digital Services Act (DSA), the Digital Markets Act (DMA), the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the AI Act, after the US Trade Representative (USTR) identified several of these measures as potential trade barriers. The report examines how such rules are becoming part of wider trade disputes, raising important questions about Europe’s ability to regulate its audiovisual and digital markets while preserving its regulatory and cultural sovereignty.

Chapter three – The international trade framework for the audiovisual sector explains the legal architecture governing audiovisual trade, from WTO rules to EU bilateral trade agreements and the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. This chapter shows how the European Union continues to defend the long-standing “cultural exception” principle according to which audiovisual services deserve specific treatment in international trade negotiations because of their unique cultural value rather than being treated as ordinary commercial goods.

Chapter four – Digital taxation and trade disputes in the global digital economy analyses one of today's most contentious policy areas: digital services taxes. As more countries seek to tax the revenues generated by global digital platforms, these measures have become a major source of transatlantic trade tensions. The authors explain how national digital taxation initiatives, US trade investigations and ongoing OECD negotiations are redrawing the global framework for taxing the digital economy and influencing future audiovisual policy.

The report’s concluding remarks highlight the increasingly complex interplay between cultural policy, digital governance and international trade. As the audiovisual sector becomes more digital and globally interconnected, Europe is seeking to preserve cultural diversity and strengthen its cultural and digital sovereignty while maintaining an open and competitive market. With market power concentrated among a small number of largely non-European companies and regulatory frameworks continuing to evolve, tensions between trade liberalisation, cultural policy and digital sovereignty are likely to remain a key challenge for European audiovisual policy.

This latest IRIS report provides policymakers, regulators, lawyers and audiovisual professionals with an accessible guide to one of the most dynamic and politically significant issues facing Europe's media sector today: balancing open international trade with the protection of Europe's cultural diversity and regulatory sovereignty.

 Meet the authors (in alphabetical order): Amélie Lacourt, Legal Analyst and Sophie Valais, Deputy Head of Department for Legal Information