For 5 euros per month, Gaumont Classique offers more than 200 classics in black and white. An annual offer also exists.
Gaumont, the French cinema giant, is launching into streaming. For 5 euros per month or 50 euros per year since Tuesday May 10, the SVOD platform (or VàDA in French) provides its subscribers with a catalog of 200 films, all in black and white. Other classics will be added regularly, as well as documentaries.
Gaumont and streaming
If Gaumont is not the first French player to venture into the streaming market (myCANAL, Canalplay, Salto, myTF1 Max, 6play Max…), its membership in the world of cinema is surprising. In France, where the media chronology protects theaters enormously, it is rare to see an actor on the big screen speak well of streaming. We remember in particular the boycotts of Netflix at the Cannes Film Festival, which led to the ouster of the American champion of the competition.
Admittedly, Gaumont Classique only offers old films, but it reveals Gaumont’s interest in SVOD. Hard not to find it interesting. Could we go further one day?
On Gaumont Classique, there are several cult French films produced by Gaumont such as The Tontons gunslingers Where A witness in the city (films unavailable elsewhere). The streaming service also exists in the form of an iOS or Android application, but is not currently included in bundles, such as that of myCANAL. In its press release, Gaumont says that it will enrich its “Classic” catalog on May 17 with films linked to the Cannes Film Festival. More additions will take place regularly, with “the ambition to make new audiences rediscover works of cinematographic heritage in black & white”. He also specifies not to stop selling physical formats or rights to other channels, but just to want to bring everything together in the same place.
Is Gaumont going against his convictions by launching into the world of streaming? We might be tempted to think so, but the reality is that Netflix is Gaumont’s biggest customer today. The American streaming giant buys a lot of series from him, which suggests that Gaumont has reason not to totally hate his new rivals. By launching his own platform, he secures the rights to his old films and brings them to light. Whether people are willing to pay for aged content remains to be seen.
