Convened this Tuesday by the National Center for Cinema and Animation (CNC) for a meeting on media chronology, the audiovisual sector remains very divided, even if the discussion has provided the basis for a constructive dialogue.
In January last year, the French cinematographer and the main representatives of the audiovisual sector signed a new agreement on media chronology at the Ministry of Culture. For reference, this regulates the air dates of movies, online and on television, especially in the months after their theatrical release. These rules, which should protect the creation, have been the subject of intense negotiations since the emergence of streaming platforms, which disrupts the situation.
In addition to TV channels, only Netflix has signed this agreement, among other platforms such as Disney +, Amazon Prime Video or Apple TV. The Disney firm has clearly dampened enthusiasm.
“We believe that the new media chronology does not establish a fair and proportionate framework between the different players of the audiovisual ecosystem. This is all the more disappointing as we have increased our investments in the creation of original French content.” The company comments.
For reference, in September 2020, Disney canceled its threat to boycott cinemas in France. And it was not because the firm no longer believed in the big screen, but to avoid the limitations of the French media timeline, while largely contributing to the meteoric growth of its Disney + platform. The latest threat to date: the possibility of his blockbuster Black Panther: Wakanda Forever not being released…
“We ask the public authorities not to obey the dictates of paid platforms!
On September 28, the managers of the free TV channels TF1, France Télévisions and M6, Published a column in Le Monde newspapercondemns A “blackmail” certain US platforms. Disney, to name a few: “As soon as the new chronology came into effect, Disney, unwilling to sign the text, reinterpreted it to remove the exclusive exploitation of free television.”
“The free-to-air channels have played the game, although the arrival of these new players with international financial power is likely to give them increased competition. Channels have recognized that pay platforms can broadcast films before them. Despite the very modest additional contribution of these services. Mark – about 50 million euros per year, or less than half of free TV. they wrote.
In June of last year, Ellen Etz, president of the Walt Disney Company of France, firmly defended her position on media chronology. The interview was given to Les Echos newspaperthat he was “It is unfair, restrictive and inappropriate to change patterns of movie consumption.”
And to make good on the threat: the firm announced that Christmas Disney, Avalon, would be a Disney+ exclusive. The decision, which angered cinema operators, Through the FNCF, the National Federation of French Cinemas. Disney’s positioning in France is all the more worrying for some audiovisual players, as the firm accounts for 20% of French box office…
Media timeline: The last burst bunker
It was under this title that SACD General Director Pascal Rogard spoke A post on his blog In Le Monde on the second day of the Free Channel Leaders Forum. “To find out today that Disney can decide not to release movies in theaters 8 months after signing the deal is still amazing.” he writes
It follows: “However, it is not SACD’s fault that it said this and reiterated it loudly when we decided not to sign, given the risks this new chronology poses to cinemagoers by impoverishing its supply of film carriers.
Beyond the “marketing” logic that can push a platform to reserve a major movie for its subscribers to make its service more attractive than a competitor’s, it is clear that the rules for platforms and especially after an excessively long period. The room and the very short corridors of exclusivity granted to them are a complete foil.”
SACD’s position remains unchanged since January. “PNo one can imagine that the terms of this agreement can remain valid for three years today. The rapid changes in the sector in terms of supply, technology and demand will inevitably lead to a rapid evolution of the place of cinema in all the offers on the French market. Thus, concluding this contract for a period of 3 years seems incomprehensible and unreasonable.” Then his general manager thundered.
Reforming the existing system
While Netflix, which has 10 million subscribers in France, signed a January deal that would allow it to air a film 15 months after its release and for 7 exclusive months, the Redmond giant also remains in favor of further reform of the system. on the place.
“Our position has not changed. We are the only subscription video service that has signed the agreement. We have done it with a constructive approach as a partner of French creativity.” Comment on the platform, in the notes distributed by the newspaper the world. “But we said then that in the long term we could not be satisfied with a fifteen-month period. We would like it to be reduced to at least twelve months, i.e. the period proposed by the Ministry of Culture. before signing the contract”.
With all of these considerations in mind, the CNC held a meeting yesterday that brought together professional organizations, studios and platforms to review the terms of use of the timelines set out in the January agreement in relation to the new media timeline we have. Back in detail here.
According to the information of our colleagues Boxoffice ProDiscussions at this meeting turned out to be constructive. “Regarding the narrowness of the broadcast window for free-to-air channels – one of the points criticized by Disney – the representatives of the television groups reaffirmed their desire to use the protected period, and agreed not to block this entire window. The message was well received by the studio, as well as other participants, Warner Bros. and Paramount, whose streaming platforms will launch in France in the coming months.
Further reform of the media timeline? Some have no real interest in doing so, such as Canal+, which was added to the deal last January. The next meeting should be arranged at the end of November, after the still theoretical release of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever in cinemas. But the noose tightens. At the end of January 2023, a review point is planned, where all review conclusions will be drawn.
And the exchanges promise to be tough, in the background Cinema attendance is the lowest. It painfully reached 7.4 million admissions in September; That is, 20% less than in September 2021 and 34% less than in September 2019. This is the lowest level of attendance recorded since 1980, the first year of the Center National du Cinéma’s monthly statistics…
Source: allocine
Emily Jhon is a product and service reviewer at Gossipify, known for her honest evaluations and thorough analysis. With a background in marketing and consumer research, she offers valuable insights to readers. She has been writing for Gossipify for several years and has a degree in Marketing and Consumer Research from the University of Oxford.
