Swiss Companies Join Forces to Found Swiss Film Studios AG

A group of prominent Swiss production companies has joined forces and founded a new outfit called Swiss Studios AG in Zurich.

The groundbreaking move was prompted by the so-called “Lex Netflix,” the Swiss law that forces streamers such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video to re-invest 4% of their local revenues in Swiss film and TV productions.

Shareholders of Swiss Studios include Elite Filmproduktion, represented by Roger Kaufmann; Praesens-Film Production AG, represented by Corinne Rossi; Contrast Series, represented by Ivan Madeo; Bavaria Fiction Switzerland, represented by Dominic Fistarol and Marcus Ammon; and Kinescope Film GmbH, represented by Matthias Greving.

“We are delighted to have taken a groundbreaking step for the Swiss and European creative industries with the founding of Swiss Studios,” Malte Probst, chairman of the board and CEO of Swiss Studios AG, said in a statement.

“Now it is time to bring the new opportunities arising from the ‘Lex Netflix’ for Switzerland to life with exciting content,” he added.

When ‘Lex Netflix’ was passed in May 2022, Switzerland’s culture ministry estimated that it would inject the equivalent of between roughly $18 million and $30 million into the Swiss film and TV industry.

In 2023, Netflix announced its first Swiss original, a co-production with Swiss network RTS titled “Winter Palace” that will chart the birth of winter tourism in the Alps as conceived by a Swiss hotelier and British aristocrat in the early 20th century.

In the statement, Swiss Studios said it will “offer everything from a single source – development, production, distribution and marketing of media projects – as well as licensing distribution and other services related to handling investment and accounting obligations.” It aims to “become the center for Swiss film and television projects through united efforts and consolidated know-how.”

“Our mission is to use the services of Swiss Studios to enrich the Swiss film industry and create internationally competitive productions,” said board member Ivan Madeo.