The presidents of the three audiovisual groups sign a platform to denounce the attitude of the streaming platforms.
It is quite unusual to see the giants of the French audiovisual industry gathered in the same forum. This is however the case today through the columns of the newspaper The world.
A media chronology that is still going badly with the streaming giants
In this letter entitled ” We, responsible for free television, ask the public authorities not to give in to the diktat of pay platforms “, Gilles Pélisson, CEO of TF1, Nicolas de Tavernost, chairman of the management board of the M6 group, and the president of France Télévisions, Delphine Ernotte, challenge the public authorities after the recent declarations of the American streaming platforms.
A brief reminder of the facts. At the beginning of the year, the various players in the film and television sector agreed on a revision of the media chronology. SVoD platforms such as Disney+ or Amazon Prime Video saw their broadcast window for films released in theaters brought forward to 17 months, compared to 36 months previously. Netflix benefited from a distribution of films at 15 months, thanks to a financing agreement signed with French cinema.
Free television channels, such as TF1, M6, France 2 or France 3, have to wait 22 months to broadcast films, which they have nevertheless been able to finance in part thanks to co-production agreements. The three groups also recall having put 144 million euros on the table to finance 126 films, against 50 million committed by SVoD platforms.
The problem is that only a few months after the signing of this new agreement, streaming platforms already want to review the media chronology to their advantage.
French channels want to enforce their broadcast window
Disney is the most vindictive actor today on the issue. After withdrawing from theaters his next “Christmas film” titled Avalonia, the strange journeythe American studio wants to cancel the release of Black Panther: Wakanda Forevernothing less than the latest and highly anticipated Marvel Studios movie.
TF1, M6 and France Télévisions speak quite simply of a ” blackmail “and indicates in the forum that Netflix benefits today” of this wind of American protest to turn around and challenge it in a solidarity of circumstance “.
The three groups recall the importance of the chronology of the media to guarantee the good health of French cinema and its diversity. They urge the authorities to do not give in to the interpretive diktat of these international pay platforms “. The French groups ask in particular that their distribution window be respected, with the impossibility for the platforms to broadcast these films during this period. Thus, a Disney film should, for example, be withdrawn from Disney+ when M6 recovers the broadcasting rights.
” The survival of French cinema is at stake, which the unencrypted channels finance and are the only ones to offer the public free of charge: do we want access to cinema in France to be reserved for paid services? », Conclude the three French actors.
Discussions on the media chronology will resume between the various audiovisual players from October 4 to try to find a new compromise.
Source : The world
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