A Deluge of Streaming Content Floats Competition and Criticism

Michael Hedges November 13, 2019 Follow on Twitter

Not everybody likes the offerings on television, cable, free-to-air or streaming. It’s OK. Watch what you like, right? Some TV shows are offensive. Don’t watch. Some are stupid. Again, don’t watch. Unfortunately, there are people out there who want to have a word about TV shows they don’t like. Criticism is just fine, until it crosses that line.

Streaming service Netflix offers a wide variety of programs. Recently released is the five-part true-crime documentary series “The Devil Next Door.” The true-crime genre is are very popular these days. This one is about Ivan (John) Demjanjuk, charged and tried for crimes against humanity in Israel, later overturned, and then for accessory to murder in Germany. There he was convicted, sentenced and died in prison. Evidence showed he had been a guard at the Auschwitz, Sobibór, Treblinka and Plaszów death-camps located in then-occupied Poland. In the documentary a map was shown that located various Nazi extermination camps, including those Mr. Demjanjuk was said to have guarded, were located in present-day Poland. In Polish the documentary is titled “Ivan the Terrible of Trebiinka.”

This detail distressed Polish officials. The ruling right-wing nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party has challenged Polish duplicity in the death-camps where two million Polish Jews died. Recently, a law was written to make references to death-camps in Poland criminal offences. In the documentary the phrase “Nazi death-camps in Poland” is used.

“Perhaps for Netflix mistakes in the documentary are not significant, but for Poles they have fundamental significance,” said Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki in a letter to Netflix chief executive Reed Hastings, quoted by media portal press.pl (November 12). “I believe that this terrible mistake was made unintentionally and I hope that you will be able to correct it as soon as possible.” He asked for the maps in question to be changed.

Other Polish political leaders were less diplomatic. Deputy Minister of Justice Sebastian Kaleta suggested “legal action” could be taken against Netflix. "Tools for the protection of Poland's good name prepared at the Ministry of Justice have been created for such unpleasant circumstances,” he said, quoted by TV news channel tvn24.pl (November 12).

"The viewers were misled,” said Deputy Prime Minister Jaroslaw Gowin in a statement. “They saw post-war Poland and neighboring countries in a distorted form.” Until “necessary corrections” are made, he added, showing the documentary must be “discontinued.”

"We are aware of the concerns,” said a Netflix spokesperson, “and we are diligently investigating the case.”

Netflix is not alone in the Polish streaming video on demand (SVoD) market. Private-sector broadcasters TVN/Discovery and Polsat have streaming platforms and are advancing on collaboration. The advantage for TVN/Discovery is content production, including international distribution agreements. Polsat is the country’s primary internet provider. State broadcaster TVP has its own VoD platform, unlikely to offer politically incorrect content.

Netflix and Amazon Prime have their own competitive advantages, offering marquee-value international productions. Then, too, Disney+ is coming to Poland, probably in mid-May, with its deep library and brand cachet. Still, most people in Poland get their TV fix from cable and terrestrial channels.

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