The Swiss Federal Office for Culture (BAK) plans to set up its own streaming platform for Swiss films by 2024. The long run-up time results from the necessity to resolve copyright issues. BAK subsidies to Swiss original productions amount to CHF 30 million a year.
The model for Swissflix is the global platform Netflix, serving 130 million subscribers worldwide. Unlike the offering of the US giant, the Swiss platform will be free, as viewers financially contribute to film production by paying taxes.
Swiss output is presented mainly at the film festivals in Locarno and Solothurn. The titles are released in cinemas only for a short time and there are ever fewer DVDs, so the online streaming platform should prevent the titles from being forgotten.
BAK's idea is that the national film archive, Cinematheque Suisse in Lausanne, will be responsible for Swissflix.
