Accessibility of content: Disney+

6.9.2021

Question for written answer  E-004086/2021
to the Commission
Rule 138
Marcel Kolaja (Verts/ALE)

On 12 August 2021, the Walt Disney Company announced it would postpone the launch of its video on demand (VOD) service Disney+ in the Central and Eastern European region until summer 2022. The service is already accessible in Austria, Germany, France, Spain (since spring 2020) and in some other EU countries. However, access from Slovakia, Czechia, Poland or Greece is blocked.

• 1.Does the Commission believe that the Walt Disney Company’s decision to deprive users from some Member States of access to their service is in line with the principles of the single market?
• 2.Given the revision of the Geo-blocking Regulation planned for 2022, does the Commission see unequal access to some VOD services, including Disney+, from different EU regions as problematic?
• 3.Dialogues with stakeholders on accessibility of audio-visual content are planned before the revision of the Geo-blocking Regulation. Given companies’ reluctance to offer equal access, what steps is the Commission planning next, apart from the aforementioned dialogues, in order to incentivise access to content?