US streaming giant Netflix is taking its first steps in helping the industry during the global COVID-19 crisis. According to a press release from the company led by Ted Sarandos, "The COVID-19 crisis is devastating for many industries, including the creative community. Almost all television and film production has now ceased globally - leaving hundreds of thousands of crew and cast without jobs. These include electricians, carpenters, drivers, hair and makeup artists and more, many of whom are paid hourly wages and work on a project-to-project basis. This community has supported Netflix through the good times, and we want to help them through these hard times, especially while governments are still figuring out what economic support they will provide."

Netflix is therefore creating a $100 million fund to help with hardship in the creative community. Most of the fund will go towards support for the hardest hit workers on the company's productions around the world. "We’re in the process of working out exactly what this means, production by production. This is in addition to the two weeks pay we’ve already committed to the crew and cast on productions we were forced to suspend last week", the press release reads.

In order to provide help beyond their own productions, Netflix "also wants to support the broader film and television industry. So $15 million of the fund will go to third parties and non-profits providing emergency relief to out-of-work crew and cast in the countries where we have a large production base. In the United States and Canada non-profits already exist to do this work. We will be donating $1 million each to the SAG-AFTRA Foundation Covid-19 Disaster Fund, the Motion Picture and Television Fund and the Actors Fund Emergency Assistance in the US, and $1 million between the AFC and Fondation des Artistes in Canada."

Regarding the impact of the initiative in Europe, the company is working with existing industry organisations to create similar creative community emergency relief efforts, and will soon announce these details.