Héloïse Goy with Alexis Patri 11:03 a.m., January 24, 2022
The media timeline, that calendar that governs when a movie airs on television and on streaming platforms after its theatrical release, is changing.
Representatives of cinema and broadcasters are heading to the Ministry of Culture on Monday to sign the rules of a new agreement.
The media timeline is changing.
This technical expression refers to the calendar that governs the broadcast dates of a film on television and on streaming platforms after its theatrical release.
Or the time that channels and platforms must wait before broadcasting a film.
On Monday noon, representatives of the cinema and broadcasters go to the Ministry of Culture to sign new rules on the order and the deadlines for the exploitation of films in the cinema.
This signature follows numerous negotiations in recent months.
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Canal+ big winner, TF1 dissatisfied
Among the big winners of this new media chronology: Canal+.
To obtain better exposure than platforms like Disney+ or Netflix, the encrypted channel agreed last December to invest 190 million euros per year in cinema.
Result: Canal+ will be able to broadcast the films it pre-finances only six months after their theatrical release.
So far the channel had to wait eight months.
For their part, free public and private channels will have to wait 22 months to broadcast a film after its theatrical release.
An unfavorable rule according to TF1, which wanted total exclusivity of the broadcast, in order to prevent its films from being broadcast beforehand on the platforms.
Netflix ahead of Disney+ and Amazon Prime
Netflix has signed an agreement with film professionals which notably commits it to financing "small films", up to 3 to 4 million euros. Which still represents between 20 and 30 million euros per year of investment in French cinema. This agreement will give him the right to put these films online fifteen months after their theatrical release, for a period of seven months. It will be longer for Disney+ and Amazon Prime, which will however have to wait a year and a half after the theatrical release to broadcast the films.
Faced with these constraints imposed on the platforms, the Society of Dramatic Authors and Composers (SACD) indicated that it would not sign this new media chronology.
The SACD considers that these new rules risk dissuading platforms from releasing the films they produce in cinemas.
These new rules should come into force on February 10, for a period of three years.