Spain looks set to impose an 8 per cent tax on OTT services operating in the country.
The so-called ‘RTVE’ tax will hit Netflix, HBO, Amazon Prime Video, Sky Now and DAZN. The tax is aimed at funding Spain’s ad-free public broadcaster, which has been hit in recent years by plummeting advertising sales among commercial broadcasters, who contribute about 1.5 per cent of their revenue to RTVE’s budget.
The tax is part of the Audiovisual Media Services Directive, which aims to level the playing field among broadcasters, pay-TV operators/telecoms and OTT platforms. The plan is for 5 per cent of the levy to go to domestic film production and the rest to RTVE.
According to Spanish newspaper El Español, the tax would apply to revenue generated by Spanish subscribers to an OTT platform. As a result, HBO would be charged a percentage of the revenue generated by its 475,000 Spanish subscribers.
The tax could become law by the end of the year.
