Netflix moves into EU quarter

The American movie streaming giant Netflix has opened an office on Square de Meeûs in the EU quarter. The satellite office is called Los Gatos Streaming Service Belgium, a reference to the media company’s home office location in Los Gatos, California, part of Silicon Valley.

It’s a logical next step in the multinational’s European offensive, as it will be at the centre of EU lobbying as well as commercial activities. Netflix already has an office in London and a production site in Spain as well as its European headquarters in Amsterdam. It’s also planning a Paris location.

Once simply a streaming service for film and TV series, Netflix is now a leading producer, having created hit series like House of Cards, Orange is the New Black and Stranger Things and movies such as Frye: The Greatest Party That Never Happened, Okja and the Oscar-winning Roma.

It now plans to make Netflix originals in Europe, including feature movies and documentaries as well as series. It currently has more than 150 European productions planned. The expansion is also due to remaining competitive against the likes of Disney, which now plans its own streaming platform.

But mostly: The EU is requiring Netflix to invest in local productions as well as to provide at least 30% of its catalogue to European countries. This makes Belgium an attractive option for an office, as the country’s tax shelter for audio-visual productions has successfully provided funding to innumerable co-productions.