Almost 10% of the content on streaming platforms already has audio or subtitles in Catalan.
The number of titles available in their own language has doubled in three years, mainly thanks to the addition of dubbing.
BarcelonaCatalan continues to grow on streaming platforms, with 9.7% of all titles now featuring audio, subtitles, or both in Catalonia's native language. These figures from the Desdelsofa.cat database obtained by ACN and updated on March 21 show a sustained increase since 2022, when the percentage stood at around 4%. In the last three years, Catalan-language series and films have doubled, primarily thanks to the addition of dubbing, to a greater extent than the original versions, according to this specialized website. Its website notes that of the 68,349 titles—not necessarily all different—in the catalogs of the ten main platforms, such as Netflix and Prime, 6,659 are in Catalan.
Catalan government sources admit to the ACN that Catalan is still "far from having a presence "equivalent to that of other languages with a similar number of speakers" on platforms, but they also celebrate the fact that it is increasingly available in more titles. According to the executive, last year a record amount of resources was allocated to subsidies for dubbing and subtitling, and this year the contribution is expected to be maintained.
The same sources explain that the Language Policy agreement with the CCMA for the transfer of Catalan dubbing to platforms has led to the incorporation of 3Cat audio and subtitles into the catalogs, and contact with the same companies has led, for example, to Netflix dubbing and subtitling. The government states that, in addition to increasing supply, consumption is being encouraged by encouraging Movistar+, Netflix, Disney+, and Max, among others, as well as companies in the distribution and exhibition sector (Fedicine, Adicine, and the Catalan Film Association), to showcase and advertise the content they offer in Catalan.
The data, which considers only the ten most consulted platforms on Desdelsofa.cat, reflects that the presence of Catalan varies depending on the streaming service. Thus, on Netflix, 3.4% of the 8,470 titles available have audio, subtitles, or both in Catalan, a slightly higher percentage than Apple TV (2.2%) and Disney+ (3.1%). The figure reaches 6.7% on both Prime Video and Max, and 7.8% on Rakuten TV. The volume of Catalan is significantly higher on Movistar+ (13.1%), Acontra+ (20.5%), Filmin (24.5%), and AnimeBox (33.9%). Since 2014, the Catalan government has had an agreement with Movistar+ to subtitle films and series and to support Catalan dubbing.
3,000 Catalan titles on Filmin and 1,200 on Prime Video
Each of the content-providing companies has been increasing the presence of Catalan in their catalogs, except for Max, which, coinciding with the transition from the HBO Max brand to the current one, fell from 7.6% to 6.1% last year, although it has now recovered to 6.7%. Database sources explain that the disappearance of titles, dubbing, and subtitles was not exclusive to Catalan with the rebranding.
In fact, Max had virtually no content in the country's native language three years ago, and now it has more than 100 (each series counts as one title, not one per season or per episode). Similarly, the figures were also negligible on Netflix, which now has 289 titles with Catalan presence. On Prime Video, there were around 100 in January 2022, and now it hovers around 1,200 of the total of more than 17,000. And the leap also occurred on services like Movistar+, with half a thousand more, and Filmin, which added a thousand titles, surpassing 3,000 with Catalan presence.
Àlex de la Guia, creator of the website Desdelsofa.cat—which publishes which titles are available in Catalan on each platform—applauds the fact that the language's presence has improved "since 2021," because "before, there was practically nothing in Catalan." The activist believes that Catalan on the platforms is "so bad" because the Catalan government "didn't call Netflix when it arrived in Spain" in the fall of 2015, nor Prime when it landed in December 2016. "We've lost ten years," she concludes. In her opinion, successive executives "did nothing" until the arrival of the Aragonese government, when "talks began with the platforms."
Not all dubbed and subtitled content is available on the platforms.
However, he believes that a "perfect evolution" would at least include Catalan subtitling and editing "in 100% of already dubbed and subtitled content." In fact, he emphasizes that the incorporation of content is happening "very slowly," especially in the case of Netflix, which, however, is the only one, along with Prime, that does some dubbing and subtitling in Catalan at its own cost—Max and Filmin do so thanks to subsidies.
De la Guía encourages Salvador Illa's executive to continue dialogue with streaming companies because "the audiovisual sector is a spectacular nest of linguistic references for all ages": "We need quality content in our language, but with quality dubbing, there's no shame in dubbing." Furthermore, he asks the parties involved to make greater efforts to inform people about the existence of Catalan versions through advertising and to ensure that the interface can also be in this language—by default, the player works in the interface language. For consumers, he suggests constantly requesting Catalan versions on the platforms.
