Paris (AFP)
Subscription video platforms like Netflix or Amazon will have to invest 20% to 25% of the turnover they achieve in France in the production of French or European works, announced Wednesday the Minister of Culture Roselyne Bachelot, in an interview with Les Echos.
This range is lower than the floor rate of 25%, mentioned at the start of the year by his predecessor Franck Riester.
However, the very principle of making the streaming giants, such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney + or Apple TV +, now contribute to the financing of French creation, "is a revolution", underlined the Minister at Les Echos, assuring to have "placed the bar very high ".
"It could be as revolutionary and structuring for the sector as the 1981 law on books," she told the business daily.
In exchange for this investment obligation, which appears in a draft decree open to consultation until November 10, streaming platforms will be able to benefit from a relaxation of the so-called media chronology regime, and broadcast films sooner after their theatrical release, when they have to wait 36 months now.
In addition, the Minister has taken a step towards the actors of traditional television, who are requesting (in particular the private groups Canal +, TF1 and M6) of numerous regulatory relaxations: she calls for discussions to be opened as of now to revise the obligations of historical broadcasters vis-à-vis cinema and TV producers in particular.
"If there is no agreement, the state will take its responsibilities. We are concerned about fair treatment between platforms and traditional television channels," she stressed, promising that by 'summer 2021, "we will have modernized the general framework of contribution to the financing of the creation of all the actors".
© 2020 AFP