Film levy for broadcasters and programme distributors

On the basis of the German Film Subsidies Act (FFG), TV broadcasters and program marketers have to pay a film levy to the German Federal Film Board (FFA). In order to calculate how much the film levy is for you, you must report your theatrical film share or your revenues to the FFA, depending on your business model.
The amount of the film levy is calculated as follows:

• Public broadcasters pay 3 percent of their theatrical film costs for the year before last. Costs include license fees, pro rata program distribution and administration costs as well as co-production contributions to theatrical films.
• Free-to-air, private television broadcasters pay between 0.15 percent and 0.95 percent of their net advertising revenues for the year before last. The specific amount depends on the share of theatrical films in total broadcasting time. Offerings are exempt from the film levy
  • with a theatrical film share of less than 2 per cent or
  • if the net advertising revenues are less than EUR 750,000.
• Pay-TV broadcasters and program marketers (pay-TV) pay 0.25 percent of their net revenues generated in Germany in the year before last from subscription contracts or individual payments. Marketers are exempt from the film levy
  • with a theatrical film share of less than 2 percent in relation to the pay-TV package or
  • if their total net revenues from these offers are less than EUR 750,000.
• Television broadcasters can provide the film levy up to 40 percent as a media service, i.e. in the form of advertising time for theatrical films. It should be noted here that the film levy replaced as a media service must be increased by half.

The film levy is used to finance all measures of the German Federal Film Board (FFA).